For months we’ve been planning a quick trip up to Oklahoma to pick up half a cow.
(Now that’s a sentence this city girl never dreamed of writing).
My in-laws raise/sell grass-fed beef and they generously set one aside for our family. Well, half of one.
It’s an 8 hour drive on a good day, so we arrived after midnight. We spent one full day on the farm-sitting in the cool breeze while my big kids played “Toss the Empty Shot Gun Shell in a Bucket” and my 3 year old “fixed our hair with spit and a stick” in her outdoor hair salon.
It hurts to be beautiful
There was a bit of horse shoe playing
Rednecks Rock
some fist-bumping among cousins
boo-ya
turtle shooting (what can I say? the land brings it out in my hubby)
I like to call him Eagle Eye
We even squeezed in some hugging
Never to big for a hug from Nanny
and time between the oldest and youngest
His Helper
Oh, the simplicity of farm life and imagination and tick bites.
The apple tree was in full bloom, so there was some serious tree-climbing and arm-reaching for the bright red juicy apple at the top of the tree.
There's not a tree she couldn't climb
I think my kids ate 3 or 4 each.
My mother-in-law spends much of her summer canning and baking and putting away food. Since my oldest has fallen in love with cooking, they spent some time making fresh applesauce.
And that was all in one day. Early Sunday morning, we loaded up the van with 300 pounds of beef and one duffle bag for all five of us. (I packed light for our quick trip).
But while my hubby was loading the car, our little one, started complaining of stomach pain. I did what all good moms do: I sent her to the potty.
But her pain grew worse and within an hour she couldn’t stand or walk. With the van already loaded, we decided to head towards town and home and see if the pain would pass.
It didn’t. We ended up at a small town hospital.
For the next 8 hours.
Can you say WE ARE THAT FAMILY?? (even without Internet).
Um, yeah.
So, they drew blood and put in an i.v. in my three year old’s arm.
She had X-rays and was poked and prodded. The doctor was concerned about a tick bite she got at the farm the previous day. But when he discovered her white blood count was thru the roof, he felt like it was her appendix.
Long story longer….she had to drink contrast, have a Cat Scan and I’m praying the whole time we’re not looking at surgery in this nice, but very small hospital that didn’t have a pediatric needle in the entire facility.
The radiologist insisted she wear the glasses.
My hubby’s family took our beef and older kids back to the farm and we waited for the results.
Turns out it was just GAS.
Kidding. They never really found out what was wrong, but determined it wasn’t life-threatening. (Thank you, Lord for touching her!)
On the second attempt to drive home, the tickle in my 10 year old’s throat turned into a full blown case of I FEEL HORRIBLE, my son got carsick and puked all over a bathroom at a Taco shop, only to be immediately followed by my youngest getting a rock stuck in her nose.
That beef isn’t the only thing that’s been through the ringer.
Oh I feel horrible for laughing out LOUD at your miserable experience…but sheesh…so funny! I hope everyone is doing well now!
Oh my goodness!! It started out as such a pleasant post full of fun and very uneventful! You’ll think twice before taking another “quick trip” next time! Glad everyone is okay though. Must have been scary for awhile!
Did the cow make it okay?
Oh wow, you ARE that family!
So glad your daughter is ok.
So glad that everything ended well. It seems like a domino rally sometimes, doesn’t it? One thing falls apart and soon everything else does, too.
Oh, my! Hope everyone is feeling better now. What a trip! Your daughter is adorable in the picture with the glasses.
Okay, I admit, I laughed and then shared the story with my family. They laughed as well. Only because we have experienced similar circumstances! We just love those family trips!
Glad things were too bad with the little one!
Kristen, I just cried laughing! I am so sorry you had a horrible trip home! I am glad to know we are normal and there are others like us! hahahahah
In reply to Debbie does dinner healthily – Did the cow make it ok? Ah, no – the poor thing is DEAD!!! LOL!
Sorry – couldn’t resist that.
I did wonder how the beef would make it travelling for so long too
What a trip – an 8 hour stop just for gas……..oh dear. I did have to laugh. And the rock up the nose……..ah, the nose. We’ve all been there with kids with objects up their nose!
HOpe the rest of the trip was uneventful
Cheers, Wilm in NZ
Holy cow…literally! Didn’t realize the full extent of the ins and outs of your trip. (totally making light…) My nick hubby would say, well you get what you pay for…as in the beef being free and the nightmare that ensued. Ugh, so thankful EVERYONE is okay!
Gas? GAS? good heavens! (Maybe all those apples…)
We were just reminiscing that a almost exactly a year ago my son’s appendix ruptured and we spent NINE DAYS at the hospital… in lieu of our annual camping trip. UGH. So glad – for you – it WASN’T her appendix!
Oh my gosh, at first everything sounded so wonderful! BUT, it didn’t end that way! You poor thing:)
Sometimes I think that my family is THAT FAMILY and then I read your blog. Thank you for being THAT FAMILY even more than mine
~Jessica
Maybe you should consider a new blog name. You know how so many names in the Bible have prophetic significance….maybe something like We Are The Family That Has NO Troubles? We Are The BORING Family? We Are NOT THAT Family? Glad everything worked out in the end. And I hope you have good insurance!
I feel so bad for you, but I am so thankful that our life is relatively non-eventful even with 5 kids.
Blessings to you and hope things are looking up.
Honey
I was having a bad week… and it has been fairly bad!!! But yours just put it into perspective!!!
Wow! What a crazy trip for you. Your daughter looks precious in those glasses! (:
Hope she is feeling better soon.
Oh no! What an awful end to such a lovely day. I’m sorry you had to go through all that but hey, half a cow – not just any cow but grassfed beef?!? You are very lucky! We’ve been hoping to buy one ourselves.
Oh my. I thought things like this only happen to me!!! I love that you can laugh about it, though. You ARE laughing, right? ……right? …….hello?
Yikes glad everyone is OK now. (I am jealous of the grass-fed beef though)
Kristen, you ARE super mom! If I had travel stories like you do, I would never leave my house with my children! I love your tenacity to not let the “what if’s” keep you from having fun with your kids. You’re a great role model to this “frazzles easily” mom. Thanks! -Sara P.
So glad it wasnt the appendix! Ha! I bet it was all the apples-probably cleared her out. and you know what they say “an apple a day, keeps the Dr. away!”
glad your back home safe & sound.
all I can say is : oh wow! that’s a craaaazzzy trip
Oh, my! I went to bed with a migraine last night only to be interrupted three times with the sound of my kid puking, but somehow I don’t feel as sleep-deprived anymore. Thank you.
Oh my goodness! We had a similar incident with our oldest. He all of a sudden doubled over in pain and was crying in agony. Took him to ER because it didn’t let up after we told him to go potty (Yep, you’re not the only mom that does that…lol!). They did an ultrasound and determined it was NOT his appendix, thank you Jesus! And while we were in the ER room, it stopped. We think it was severe gas too. But we’ll never know for sure what it could have been. God is good all the time!
Glad to hear everyone is okay and is feeling better! Thankfully, we haven’t had to deal with things stuck up the nose so far! Or carsickness….
And honestly, thanks for sharing your little hiccups of life with us, you definitely put things in perspective!
Blessings!
Oh My! What an adventure! I hope everyone is feeling better!!!
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Where in Oklahoma did you visit? That is my state!
Oh honey….you deserve a big ole, BLESS YOUR HEART! (I’d hug you if I could!)
I live 45 minutes from Tulsa in a small town!…Bartlesville.
You know until I found this blog, I truely thought it was only MY family that had trips like this! I am glad all of your little people are feeling better and that no surgery was needed.
May God Bless You and Yours,
Betsy
That’s terrible …. I do like your “My husband rocks” shirt though
LOL!!!!! Oh, boy…I laughed all the way through this post because it is SO “our family” too! ha ha
Also, do your in-laws sell beef? We lost our supplier in Iowa and have been looking for a new one. We have always split a 1/2 with my mother-in-law. If they do outside sales, please email me: cmcjmommy4@hotmail.com.
So glad your daughter is ok – hope you have a better rest of your week!!
Oh my goodness! You poor thing! Hope that today is calmer and you can rest! And glad that your little one is ok!! Scary! Big hugs!
Oh my goodness!!!! How terrible for you and the family!
When it rains, it sure does pour, huh???? Hope everyone is feeling better soon!
oooooh, goodness.
as i was reading, my original comment said, “I know yall were in OK, but this post sure did make me miss TX”…
now, all i can say is I’m sorry… don’t ever leave TX again.
Wow, just when I was about to be jealous of your fun time. Ha! Hope all the beef is ok. You truly are THAT family!
OK. I shouldn’t be laughing, but you have a way with words! That was SO not funny! Oh my goodness! What a crazy weekend you had!!! So glad everyone was OK. And I’m super jealous of your beef!
Wow. All I’m saying.
Good gracious! Was the cow worth it? LOL
The meat survived. I did too. Barely
Talk about perseverance! You go, girl!!!
As the mom of the princess of intestinal distress, my first thought was “Ohhhhhh….that’s too many apples.” And then, “Thank goodness….it was just the apples.”
It was a fabulous trip for a while anyway!!!!!
oh.my.word! what a trip! it’s a good thing you had all that fun at the outset of the trip – lol! i’m hoping your family is all well now and ready for another adventure!
Really? I mean, I don’t think you could make all that stuff up.
And, uhm, what exactly is the protocol for a polite mama and her son’s vomit in the men’s restroom of a taco restaurant? Do you have to TRY to clean some of it up? Or, do you just grab your son and RUN?
And a rock in the nose? Astonishing.
Very happy your sweet girl is all better!
When is the award ceremnony? Because… seriously, you deserve an award!
What a story! Guess you’ll always remember that trip. You got lucky at the ER. When my oldest son was 4 yrs old, we had a similar experience. I took him to the ER after he had been throwing up all day. I expected to just get him rehydrated and sent home. Instead, he had a CAT scan that was inconclusive because they had him drink the dye and he couldn’t keep it down, an X-ray that didn’t show anything, and then a decision to do exploratory surgery to check his appendix. Like your daughter, it wasn’t his appendix, but they took it out anyway.
wow.
I’m so sorry!! What a trip! Gas can be horrible–once we took my teenage daughter to the Instacare because we thought she had appendicitis the way she was carrying on. After the exam and x-rays we learned she not only had some really bad gas but she was constipated. As you can imagine, she was mortified! And I was so relieved she didn’t need surgery I was standing there laughing. She was not pleased with me…hahaha
Sort-of related, we’re getting ready to buy our first 1/4 cow from a local farmer who rasies grass-fed cows. Yay!
You really never fail to live up to your blog’s name!