Accident Pictures.

Well, huh. This is my 100th post. I was hoping this would be some fantastically humorous post where I had you ROLLING on the floor while I clung to my brilliant Mother of the Year award. And then I'd have this breathtaking giveaway where all my readers (all six or seven of you) would battle out to win it.

But instead... I give you pictures of the car accident I was in last Thursday night.

I've had a few people ask to see the van... it's not quite the effect I was hoping for with my 100th post but oh well.

Thursday afternoon I went to see my friend Danette's new house that she just bought in Payson. It was fun to talk to her all while running around trying to make sure Kaitlyn and Carson were staying out of the road when they went outside. SUPER fun.

After that, we all drove to Santaquin to see my sister and we went to The Red Barn to pig out on their delectible ice cream. The kids thought it was a fantastic dinner choice and highly approved Hey! Does that count for anything?? I'm thinking that at least deserves Honorable Mention..

Afterwords, I stopped by my sister's home to chat with her for a bit.. she's opening a preschool up so I wanted to check out the progress on her school room. I wasn't planning to stay long because she threatened to disown me if we messed up her clean house. Lucky for me, the kids actually played outside and only destroyed her basement so it worked out well for both of us.

I finally left a little after 10 and stopped by McDonalds for a Diet Coke (it's an hour drive!) and a 10 piece nugget for the kids to share and a hamburger for Kaitlyn. Because that's just how much I rock.

As I was heading home on I-15, it started raining and as we entered into a construction zone, near Springville, I moved to the fast lane since the lanes were merging above. Traffic slowed very suddenly and then I stopped. And then I was hit from behind.

I can't decide if I should describe how horrifying it was for all of us or just skip past it. I cry when I think about it, which is a lot. And I'm not a crier! It makes me sick when I think about how I had to do a head count as I turned around to make sure my babies were all still in the car. I was told by many people that it was good we were all in seatbelts and carseats or we would have been ejected from the car.. I believe it! I'm so glad my sister was able to come and get me since she was closer than Drew (plus she had a Truck that fit all of us). My kids were comforted to see her and I was able to bawl like a baby while she took charge and figured things out..

It was a little Saturn Coupe that smashed into us.. she told the cops she was going 50 but I bet it was more than that.

And now the pics. The middle part that's smooshed went almost to the seat where Hayden and Aubrey were.

Drew thinks that her car either went under the rear bumper or just pushed it in and it popped back out. I can't tell you how glad I am that my van held up as well as it did so my kids weren't injured badly.

I was hit more to the right.. the right tail light was everywhere. (you should have seen the lady that hit me.. there was nothing left to the front of her car!


You can see the frame of the van is all bent inwards. Ugh, what if it had been a larger car or truck that hit us? Drew had a friend die just a few months ago from this very same kind of accident. Anyway..

My exhaust was broken and it pulled out the spare tire.. it was barly hanging on after the accident (it's been removed).


The front of my van looks pretty decent considering I was braked and hit the car in front of me.. who was braked and hit the car in front of them. Only the hood was really noticeable for damage. Of course my air bag didn't go off... grrrrr Not so happy about that.

Oh, and the radiator that we spent $200 on and fixed on monday? Yeah, it's toast.
Drew took these pictures so I don't have better ones to show you.. but the inside of my van looks like it exploded. Everything that could pop open or off, did, including the visors, compartments, everything. It all shifted to the right.. I had my cell phone in my lap (I wasn't using it) and when I finally found it, it was across on the far side of the van, by Kaitlyn's seat. Her hamburger was on the floor in the front passenger area. Nuggets were all over the place. Papers were all over the place. And my lovely Diet Coke and 4 ice waters? They exploded drenching everything.

This is the sliding door on the drivers side (tilt your head to the right).. you can see a car part hanging down and you can also see light in the door.. where it wouldn't close. Drew said if you're looking at it from the outside of the van, there's about an inch gap. My door would not close all the way either. The whole side is crumpled.
My seat definitley had the brunt of the accident. It's a power seat and you know how you can move and rotate those every which way? If not, I'll let Carson play with it and then you'll know what I'm talking about.. always a fun surprise. Anyway, it moved all the way up at the very front of the seat where my upper thighs (I'm short, remember?) smashed into the stearing wheel. And my seat some how fully reclined so it was laying ALL. THE. WAY. BACK. plus some.

See how it's broken below?
At the time of the accident I didn't remember what happened but have since figured out that I stopped and looked down into my lap where my phone was (again, wasn't using it) and when I was hit, I hit my forehead into the stearing wheel. I didn't realize until I was home and my sister pointed out the bump that I had done that. And of course then I flew all the way back to the reclined position. I was really confused during the entire night but I kind of get that way during accidents anyway so I didn't think much of it (I told the EMT people).

Hayden usually sits behind me but before I left Amy's house, Carson kept getting out of his carseat. Something he NEVER does. And it freaked me out. So I made Hade sit in back by Aubs and put Carson behind my seat promising him nuggets. I'm so glad I did that.. Hayden always put his legs up on the back of my seat to rest.. can you imagine how my seat would have hurt him? :-S

On Friday I was pretty confused so I went to the ER and was told I had a minor concussion.. I felt like I was wondering around and I'm just not sure what I was supposed to be doing. Thank goodness Misty came over that day- around 1 I realized I had no idea if my kids had eaten anything (they had, Aubrey fed them) and I didn't eat until 2. It just didn't even occur to me.. and the kids would talk but I didn't understand what they wanted from me. Of couse I didn't realize how bad I was until finally Misty and Drew insisted I go. They also took neck x-rays which they said were ok.

I keep thinking I will wake up better, and happy, but after walking around I see that I'm not. Even today.. I'm worlds better but still just not normal. To be honest, I'm feeling very down as well.. I just hurt so much. I went to the chiropractor today and my back/neck/left arm/hips are all sorts of messed up. Ugh.

The Chiro. checked out the kids as well and they all have a few trouble spots although he said he'd do just a few little spots on Hade and Kaitlyn. Aubrey (who also bruised the back of her leg somehow) has more issues with her neck as well and she'll be treated as a patient.

At the accident, Carson took it the worse. Well between him and Aubrey.. she was hysterical and screaming and crying and he was totally silent. And you know how Carson is! It was awful. Once he stopped crying he sat there violently shaking. I wasn't sure what to do either.. I didn't want him to get out of his seat and possibley try to run around- how horrible would that have been? But maybe I should have.. he's very upset. He's been super naughty and mean and distructive. My mom gave me a few ideas how to try and help him talk it out.. I hope they work tomorrow. My warm fuzzy feelings are fading fast. lol His back and neck are also the worst of the kids (so possibly the pain might be making him act this way too). Today I was being iced when the Dr. tried to work on him and he flipped out.. hopefully tomorrow will go better. I want my semi-crazy little boy back!

Like I said (I think?) I'm having a really hard time. So much to try and stay on top of with insurance people to talk to. And so many unkowns.. how much will they give us for the van since I'm sure they'll total it? We've always waited for the right low-miles van to come along and then pay cash- what if we can't find anything good? And once we get the check (and who knows what day that will be) we only have 2 more days with our rental truck (that's another story- only rental enterprise had to fit us all was an F150!). Talk about pressure! And we have a vacation scheduled for Cedar City next Thursday. Will this get wrapped up by then? Will I be able to sit in a car for that long with my back and not be adjusted for 4 days? Plus my 10 year anniversary is over that time (the 14th)... Ugh. Plus I'm frustrated and how difficult it is to take care of the kids.. it hurts to change diapers, hold Kaitlyn, get my own medicine, open jars or anything fun with my left hand like playing the piano or Rock Band. Oh, or that requires much thinking. GRRRR

Hopefully I'll perk up in the next few days. It's been so nice to have so much support from friends and family. Friends that let me whine and complain. Over and over (since I can't remember if I already did or not). Emails.. facebook comments.. dinner arranged.. it means a lot to Drew and I. Thank you. Thank. You.