Wednesday, February 20, 2008

A series of UnForTuNatE events!!

This post has no colorful pictures, and let me explain why....It all starts with Ben throwing his back out and ending up in the emergency room two days before we were to leave for Arizona for a really BIG fireside he was to speak at. There was no particular movement or reason it happened, it just did, but that wasn't going to hold him back from going despite his extreme pain and limp. This had been planed for months!
Valentines day we head out around 10:00am, trailer full of all his original paintings. We are about 3 hours out of town and in need of gas. There just happens to be a gas station we pass, so we turn around and pump $50 into our tank. we take off, we start to sputter... and shake... and eventually stop. A man comes to the window and tells us its our "lucky day" because we just happened to break down next to his store. Johnny was a very nice man and let us use his phone to make some calls. After two and a half hours we take a ride back into town in a big tow truck. My Mom generously lent us her New SUV and head back to get the trailer at the breaking spot. After about 30 minutes I notice that we left the DVD player in the other car. Lovely! I am going to half to travel like the pioneers! we drove to Kanab and decided we had to stay the night. We were booked at a hotel in Mesa for that night as well and could not cancel, so we went to bed knowing we were paying for two nights. The next day driving on the freeway with no signs of life anywhere we get pulled over for going 70mph instead of 60 mph...it was like he was waiting for us to come so he could give us a ticket. The day of the fireside, I arrive at the center and found Ben in his tshirt, locked out of the car that had his suit in it. The keys were with Luke somewhere in the vicinity. There were hangers being bent and random people trying to carefully break into my Mothers car, the police were called to open the car and 5 minutes before Ben was to go on stage, the keys were retrieved and the program started. I had to leave my seat during the opening prayer because of my two whining babies. Apparently during Ben's presentation, he had a shooting pain go down his leg That made him stall, but he collected his thoughts and did an amazing job! The next day we are just about packed and ready to leave but wheres the camera?? anybody seen the camera...? are you kidding me? o.k. this sucks! Ben says where are my lights for my studio? were they left in the building last night? he calls to see if someone can come and unlock the building but oh wait...it's Presidents day, not open, guess we are staying another day. Aunt Jan and Uncle Doug are GEMS for letting us stay with them and destroying their beautiful home with our kiddos fingerprints! Tuesdays we pack up again and get the lights. heading home we are about 4 hours to Provo, Ben calls the dealership to see if they have fixed our car, they tell us that our gas tank was full of water and it had froze and ruined all kinds of parts and that the warranty doesn't cover the $1,200.00 it will take to fix it! I have been thinking in my head, o.k. the only thing left to happen on this trip is an accident, ...when is the accident going to happen?? well my answer came! I hear a clink, clank and Ben sees sparks in the rear view mirror...the trailer tongue has come off the hitch, slides into the car as we pull to the side of the road. we both start balling...thinking, what is happening, I mean we know we have a record of the worst luck but come on, this is an actual force against us! I open the door to see the damage to my Moms new car and there just happens to be a dead stinky dear right by our feet....so now I am thinking that this is just a slap in the face!, I am balling while I am explaining to Bella what happened to the poor dear! we find that the bumper has to be replaced! We go back to the town we came from about 30 miles out, get a pin for the hitch, came back and Ben says where is the trailer?? he says call 911! someone has stolen the trailer with all the paintings in it! I instantly have to throw up! and then I say wait...where is that dead dear? we keep driving and find the trailer, o.k. this has now just become comedic! the 9 hours it takes to get home has now become 14 hours but its not over. The road sign says 1 mile to Salina, we are both looking for the exit, two miles later, where is the exit? we see a sign that says green river, we are now heading into a canyon the opposite direction we should be going! so we try to turn around but see no break in the guard rail for 40 minutes! it is now 11:30pm and we have to back track. all that was going through my head the rest of the way home was,,.. is our home going to be in tact or did it blows up? because the chances of it being the way we left it is slim to none, I:30am we pull up to our house and it is still standing, amazing! all of these unfortunate events that have no explanation, and could only happen to the Mcphersons!

17 comments:

Unknown said...

are you kidding me?? that is the saddest thing ever.. i'm so glad you survived. i would have cried my eyes out.
i hope your luck has turned around..
so, did you ever find your camera? i sure hope so.

Anonymous said...

UNBELIEVABLE!!! BUT TRUE!!!!HOWEVER YOU LEFT OUT A FEW THINGS, LIKE THAT THE LIGHTING FOR THE PAINTINGS WAS NOT WORKING AND THAT THERE WAS SNOW PACKED ROADS FOR MOST OF THE 20 HOUR TRIP TO MESA. YOU ARE BOTH AMAZING THAT YOU LIVE THROUGH THESE THINGS. IT WAS SO FUN TO SEE YOU AND THE GIRLS. LOVE YOU! PEGGY

kristina said...

oh yes, we had to travel through snow packed roads and the thickest fog ever! there were many more small disasters that I didnt add.,and nope, I never found my camera!?

mycattripoli said...

oh my friend!!! aaron and I have stories like that- but I'm afraid your takes the cake!!!

so sorry about ben's back that can be so painful...

but i am happy he spoke and i am sure he and his art had an impact on those who were there.

*Melinda* said...

I cried:( I am so sad for you! I guess you have to take the bad to get the good...

wendy said...

Okay Kristina-
a. I can't believe that happened to you guys! Here I thought you lived a completely charmed life! I'm so sorry you had such a disastrous couple of days!
b. I bet over the next couple times you tell that story it will become unbelievably funny to you. . . (I hope)
c. hope you find your camera soon
d. the morale of the story is that you should never go to mesa without bringing a native for good luck! (ie: me)

mycattripoli said...

Man! I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. What do you say to someone who has been through all that. There must be some awesome good luck on the horizon for you guys. Quick go buy a lottery ticket. On the bright side Ben will have a good story to tell at general conference when he's a General Authority.

BTW you did a great job illustrating your mishaps.

--Aaron

Kiera said...

I know its probably too fresh on your mind to laugh but this is a great story that I'm sure will be retold countless times. It's just totally unbelievable! I'm sooo sorry about your camera, the $1200.00 and Ben's back. I didn't laugh at those things. Everything else, HILARIOUS!

Jessica Stier said...

Holy Cow!!! Are you kidding me? That's just insane. All I can say is that it is a wonderful thing his paintings weren't stolen. That would have just made a story that will be funny in the future into the saddest day in the world. Plus, I'm glad you all made it home safely.

Rachael said...

Oh Kristina...how does this stuff happen??? I have decided that if Ben ever needs a new idea for a movie you guys should just go on another road trip and document it! I am just glad that everyone is home safe and sound...and maybe you guys shouldn't leave the house for a while! I can't wait to tell your grand kids all of your crazy adventures one day!

Cordie said...

I hope I don't freak you out by leaving a comment. I came across your blog, off of Sara's blog, a week ago and have just loved looking at it. You take great pictures! I am so sorry about your crazy trip. I look at your blog to see the neat pictures you take. I promise I am a normal person, you can check out my blog to see for yourself. I have a question. How do you make your pictures so big? Do you change it in your codes? I can't figure it out and would appreciate your help.
Thanks, Cordie

Cordie said...

Oh sorry our blog is cordiet.blogspot.com

Cardon Family said...

I cannot believe all the bad luck you guys had this trip! What a nightmare!!! But the fireside really was awesome and Ben did do a great job...it was so good to see you guys and hang out the little bit that we did! Too bad we dont live closer...our kiddies could play together! Bella and Tanner definitly hit it off! They were too cute. Love those girlies. Hopefully this trip doesnt stop you from coming to Arizona ever again...maybe next time just fly and that might get rid of at least half of your bad luck!!:)

Wendy said...

So what ever happened to the trailer with all of Ben's paintings?? You poor people!! And then to endure all of this with the girls -- dang, this totally takes the cake on any of my "bad trip" stories.

I'm glad that you are all home and safe now!!

KTLADY said...

This could only happen to you guys. We felt so bad when we heard about your trip... it's almost too bad to believe. But we're glad you're still alive. Hopefully Ben's back will quit bothering him. We love you guys.

Olea Mills said...

Holy Crap! I thought Adam and I were going through stressful times. He has had really bad stomach cramps on top of the Brand new truck's check engine light coming on, and a mother (his) is mad because we dont have time to spend an entire day with her (she lives an hour away)
I had Adam read this to put our troubles into perspective, it did just that! It may sound crazy but I really needed to hear about someone else breaking down and crying from frustration. Sorry this is so long. Cant wait to see you guys!

Rachel Mae said...

No way!! I'm so sorry! That sort of reminds me of us on the way back from our honeymoon when our engine blew up outside of beaver and then the car towing us got a flat in the middle of nowhere, etc. But your story sounds a lot worse (plus you had kids in tow). I really hope you find your camera! That's the worst feeling. Ugh. Sorry.