Last Saturday was quite an adventure to say the least. It was all planned perfectly... Patrick's cousin was getting married in St. Louis & our family of four was packed & ready to enjoy a weekend getaway. The girls had beautiful purple dresses to wear, with a black dress coat & black patten shoes. Mommy had her first new dress in years, long-sleeved dark gray with ruffles. We had reservations at the Hilton right next to the arch (the official wedding hotel) which was a HUGE mistake but more on that later. We left the house promptly at 7:00 am Saturday morning. We had plenty of time to make the 5 1/2 hour trip with approximately 2 stops. Patrick was to go to the 1:30 wedding (I wouldn't dare take my twin two year olds to a Catholic wedding) and then we were to all go to the reception at 6:00. The girls had been talking about eating cake, dancing, & wearing their dresses for several days. So the car ride was great. Timing was on target. We located the church downtown & decided we wouldn't have enough time to go across town, check in the hotel & then for Patrick to return to the church. So Mommy was to keep the girls entertained in the van while Daddy was inside at the wedding. We pulled in a side parking spot, I have to say we were a bit like vagabonds. Patrick went inside to the wedding. The girls & I ate lunch in the car, sang songs, & we even took a little walk in the neighborhood around the church. We found a playground but it was padlocked & the girls were disappointed (this in inner city St. Louis). Finally, the wedding was over & we were off to the hotel. Did I say mistake??? OK, yes the hotel was beautiful with a view of the arch & the Cardinal Ballfield but NOT family friendly when you have to unload your entire mini-van--I mean 2 cribs, suitcases, wedding attire, snacks, cups, toys, etc. Mistake #2--LOTS of elevators. The girls are terrified of elevators, I am talking SCREAMING the entire trip and refusing to even enter the elevator. So we had to park in a parking deck several blocks away, Patrick carrying as much as possible & me walking with the girls (one on each arm). Elevator #1 down to the street. Walking downtown, waiting for crosswalk lights. Into the hotel. More elevators to the 14th floor. Finally into the room. Girls finally settling down from screaming in the elevators. Mommy setting up cribs for a nap so we can be happy during the reception. Daddy back to the parking deck two more times for all of our stuff (you can't borrow a luggage cart unless you pay $18 for bellhop service, we are cheap what can I say). Mommy got the girls in their cribs. Mommy & Daddy watch the LSU/Georgia game. The girls finally settle down. Mommy literally walking into the bathroom to get in the shower at 4:30 when Geneva stands straight up in her crib with a panicked look and VOMITS everywhere!!!!! "Geneva sick" "Geneva burped" "Geneva stomach hurts". OMG!! What a panicky mommy moment. Geneva has only thrown up one other time over a year ago so I know this is serious. What do I do? My child just threw up all over herself, her bed, and a hotel room. Lexa wakes up "My stomach hurts." (There is a bad stomach virus going around their school). Well obviously the wedding reception is out of the question now. Patrick & I made the decision to drive home. I am having all of these panicky feelings, what if she continues to vomit all night, gets dehydrated, ends up in the ER, then Lexa gets sick. Driving home seemed like the right decision. After cleaning up Geneva & the room as best we could, Patrick starts making trips back to the parking garage with our stuff. Meanwhile both girls are laying in the hotel bed, "my stomach hurts". After two trips to the car, we are ready to go. More elevators. Down to the front desk to check out (they didn't charge us by the way, we were only there 2 hours but still we left the room in shambles). Into the cold, windy downtown streets, more elevators, to the car. Luckily the girls fell asleep within a few minutes & stayed asleep for 3 hours! We drove in the pouring rain & made it home by 11:30 p.m. What a long day!! The girls were so happy to be in their beds & even happier to receive some anti-nausea medicine which I ALWAYS pack but failed to this time. Not quite the memory we had in mind but the important thing is Katie & Tommy are happily married!
The only pictures I took from our hotel room while Patrick was unloading the car.
