We had big plans for Holly's 30th birthday! First ice skating at a park, dinner at the Melting Pot and then a suprise party to end off the night. It was a terribly cold, icy day. Dad, Katie, Andrew and I went to meet David for lunch and do some last minute Christmas shopping, then the plan was to head to Holly's house. When we were finished shopping the roads were a sheet of ice, I almost fell on my head trying to get the stroller in the van at the Metropolis Mall (an outdoor mall in Indiana isn't the brightest idea!), some other shoppers weren't as lucky and did fall as we passed several emergency vehicles leaving the parking lot. We saw several accidents on the hour and a half drive to Hollys (usually a 20 - 30 minute drive...). Ice skating was already cancelled because the weather and Eliza not feeling well, but we were going to make it to the 5:00 reservations at the Melting Pot. We pulled into the parking lot to Holly saying "were going home, Eliza vomited on the way over". However Eliza seemed to be feeling better now, so we urged Holly and Nate to stay. We started off with cheese fondue and were having a good time chatting amongst ourselves. We had a long table and we stayed as far away from the Birthday girl as possible, in case she had contracted the stomach bug as well. The plans were in motion at the Epple home for the suprise party, friends were coming to put salt on the driveway and decorate before we returned. As we were chatting we noticed Holly was missing, so was Nate. My mom informed us that Eliza was vomiting and having diarrhea, Nate was dry heaving his way to the bathroom and Holly was not feeling well either! Holly found her way back to the table with Eliza wrapped in a blanket (she had already changed her shirt on the way over and now they were out of clothes!). Holly and Nate were headed home, the rest of us frantically calling to cancel the suprise party plans. We had already ordered the meal, so the rest of us had no choice but to finish the 4 course dinner. We sang Happy Birthday over the cell phone in Holly's absence. It was not the best birthday for Holly, but we hoped that they would all be feeling better before Christmas...
