The holiday from Hell

Many of you already have heard our holiday from hell story, so if you'd like to skip the message and just see the petrefied bangs, head down to the photo section. Otherwise, read on to hear about our family vacation in March.

Our kids had been counting the days to our Florida trip for over a month when we packed them all up in the van and started our journey on my birthday (Thursday March 6th). To me, it was the perfect way to spend my birthday - driving to Florida and escaping the record setting snowfall that we've had this year. Perfect timing actually, because a day later Ontario was dumped with more snow! Our neighbour sent us a few photos of our house (where the snow was 2/3 of the way up our patio doors and the mailbox had disappeared under the snow).

We drove Thursday to Saturday, and had a gloriously smooth ride with kids happy and great to travel with (thanks to two portable DVD players and a GPS that helped us quickly find hotels when the kids were starting to become less tolerant). I was VERY impressed with how well all three of them did on such a long trip (much different than last year's journey).

Saturday, we arrived in Spring Hill to frigid temperatures (58F) and bone-chilling wind. The huge storm that slammed Ontario the two days previous, had hit Florida with cold weather, heavy rains and wind. But it was sunny and there was no snow - so we were still relatively happy. We rented a 5 bedroom house with our friends Darryn, Janet, Leevi and Simon this year. Last year we travelled with them to Joel's parent's timeshare and had a fantastic time.

Sunday we spend day waiting for pool to heat up. All the rain and cold weather had caused the pool at our rental house to overflow, and it was only about 60F when we arrived. However by the end of the afternoon on Sunday, the water had warmed up to "almost" 80F and the kids were in the pool. We enjoyed relaxing, and then Janet and I headed out to TARGET for some of the more serious side of the trip -- shopping. During our little outing, Naomi, Simon, Leevi and Lilah all got ahold of sissors and gave themselves haircuts. Naomi now has "petrified" bangs (after previously having none), Lilah is a little less brave and manages to take a slightly less noticable chunk out of the middle of her head. Simon and Leevi's mom wasn't so happy. We made a notation to never leave kids alone again with scissors when dads are parenting solo.

Monday we enjoyed a day at Tampa Lowrey Park Zoo. This was a fantastic outing and a must see if you are travelling to Florida and not doing Disney. Nicer than Toronto Zoo, it was VERY interactive and the kids really enjoyed being able to walk the entire distance (not huge). We took a skytram through the park near the end and got a bird's eye view of the zoo and the animals. This was fun -- except Myles trips TWICE, tearing most of the skin off his knees.

Tuesday, all hell broke loose. Joel and I decided to take a "couples day" and left the kids in the care of the Shutt's to go golfing. On the way, we got a teensy bit lost (GPS directed us to turn left onto a footpath through the woods). As we drive around trying to find the entrance to the golf course, Joel calmly announces, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I think I'm having a heart attack (while driving)". I look over at him (thinking this was a sick joke), only to discover that it wasn't and that he is gray, sweating and clutching his chest. "HOLY CRAP, YOUR HAVING A HEART ATTACK! PULL OVER!".

The Klassen side of the family has a few shortcomings in their gene pool when it comes to heart disease in men. He apparently inherited them. Long story short, Joel ends up in hospital for the next 3 days after having angioplasty and a stint. He's now OK, but it was hell as the kids and I struggled to cope.

Friday is Joel's first day of freedom and it's pouring rain. We decide to make the best of it and head to Homossassa springs to check out some manatees. He nearly passes out after having a reaction to meds.

We were supposed to leave Florida on Saturday, but it was apparent that he couldn't travel. Fortunately, Joel's parents were heading to Kissimmee that day for their own holiday in their timeshare. We said goodbye to the Shutts and drove 2 hours to Kissimmee. Fortunately the weather was warmer that week and Joel's parents were quite helpful as we all tried to enjoy some time together. All told, we bunked in with them for 3 days until the side effects become more manageable.

Arrive home Thursday (two weeks after leaving), exhausted and in need of a vacation!

So . . . that was the holiday from hell. On a side note, Florida is an incredible place to have a heart attack! Joel was treated VERY quickly and as a result had minimal damage to his heart. The care was excellent, both in the ambulance and at the hospital. If you're ever going to have a heart attack, get some insurance and head to FL. While Joel has had to put away the superman cape since we have come home, he is definately gaining strength daily and we all are slowly recovering!

Enjoy the photos!