made it!

We made it home safe and sound, after a long eventful journey. We arrived at the Istanbul airport to check in for our 5:45am flight extremely early because the subway stops running at midnight and doesn't start again until 6 in the morning. We waited around until 3am to check our bags, and upon check in, were informed that because Chicago-O'Hare had been closed down due to weather, we would be re-routed. Instead of flying Istanbul to Frankfurt to Chicago to Denver to Kalispell. We would now split into 2 groups, and our family would fly Istanbul to London to Denver to Kalispell, leaving Istanbul on an 8:15am flight. After checking our bags for the new flight...which literally took at least 3 hours, we went through security and got on our flight to London. Zac had a fever at this point. Our flight to London was going well, other than the fact that Cole had now come down with the fever, and so was uncomfortable but sleeping most of the flight. About half way through the flight, Truss started throwing-up...his bodies usual reaction to a fever or virus of any kind. We land in London and have to get our boarding passes printed for our next flight...no big deal. After waiting in line for about 45 minutes, we get our boarding passes, and the guys says "You guys better go straight there, because they are boarding now." We proceed to go through security with 2 sick children, 1 parent with a fever, and the other with a stomach ulcer that has been quite persistently painful for the past few weeks. Upon completion of security checks, we go to the departure screen only to see the words "flight closing" flashing in red letters. We then scoop up all of our carry-on luggage (1 backpack and winter coat each and 1 guitar) and proceed to run as fast as we can through the airport. We literally make it to the gate JUST in time, and wait while they pull Truss out for a random security check. He was such a trooper, running through the airport and then taking off his shoes and letting them search him for anything suspicious seeming:) Our flight from London to Denver was quite uneventful besides a puking child. Cole slept most of the way or watched movies. When we landed in Denver to go through customs, the line was insanely long. After Truss threw-up in an airsick bag a couple of times and tried to fall asleep on the floor countless times, people were kind enough (or grossed out enough) to let us to the front of the line. We then again got pulled aside for a random check of our bags. The guy was super nice and we got through without another throw-up incident. By the time we got all the way to our gate and sat down, Truss decided that after going through 11 airsick bags, he'd had enough, and told us he felt better. Cole ate the crust of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and decided he felt better too. We boarded our flight to Kalispell and all slept for the 2 hour duration of the flight, and when we landed my friend was waiting to pick up me and the boys, while Zac drove home with the students in the van. We came home to a VERY happy dog, a warm and cozy house, and crawled into our soft comfy beds for a full nights sleep.
We are pretty much all feeling mostly better now aside from a cough that doesn't want to let go.
Sorry for such a long drawn-out story....just thought you might enjoy hearing one of our many crazy travel stories....cause why should it ever go smoothly? Where's the fun in that? Love you guys and will post more again soon...this week is crazy for us...the students leave for home on Friday.