NOT a day at the zoo

So yesterday we got up and headed to Denver for a fun-filled day at the zoo. It was one of their free days, and a deal like that just can't be passed up. We were telling Parker all about the animals we would see, and I was already imagining how cute my next blog post would be with the pictures of all the fun we had. Then, about five minutes from the zoo, we were slowing to stop at a stoplight when our Jeep was hit very hard from behind. I still don't really remember the sequence of events. I just remember hearing the kids screaming, and opening the back passenger side door to look at Sadie. I don't remember getting out of my seatbelt or opening my door -- which means I probably didn't look to see if there was traffic before opening my door (we were in the left lane of a three lane road). I was obviously freaking out and worried mostly for the kids. In what seemed like seconds bystanders were coming to help, several of whom were *not a coincidence* off-duty doctors. As I was getting Sadie's car seat out, I noticed that Parker was still in his car seat and I told Andrew to get him out. Andrew said that he couldn't because Parker's door was jammed shut, and even today Andrew can't remember getting Parker out or how he got Parker out although he did. Once we had gotten out of the vehicle and were over to the side of the road, I realized that the truck behind us had hit us, causing us to hit the car in front of us and them to hit the car in front of them. I was still freaking out and had discovered a giant goose egg on the back of my head when the ambulance showed up. The kids appeared fine, but obviously we were so worried about them. The EMTs said right away that they wanted to take us to the hospital to at least check out Sadie since she couldn't tell us if something was wrong or hurting. As we were heading to the ambulance, we walked behind the Jeep and I got a brief look at the damage which actually made me more scared than I already had been. The police officer later told us at the hospital that the entire back end of the Jeep was pushed in at least 10 inches and the back window was completely shattered. They loaded us all in and we were off to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, Andrew's neck started hurting so they had him lie down....neck brace and all. Long story short, they ended up admitting Andrew, Sadie, and I for a short time, and we were all released within 4 hours. We are SO grateful for our safety because we certainly realize that it could have been much worse. Once out of the hospital, we started trying to figure everything else out. The police officer had also told us that our vehicle was taken to the impound which closed before we were done at the hospital, so we had no way to get our belongings out of the Jeep which was also not drivable. In addition, we had no way to get home so my cousin/BFF, Stephanie, came from Colorado Springs to pick us up - THANKS, STEPH! This morning Andrew went back to Denver to clean out the Jeep while I made calls about insurance. Fortunately, the guy who hit us took full responsibility and had already started a claim with his insurance. We are praying for a smooth and fast response as we really want to get this resolved easily. I will keep you posted on the situation as things happen. We appreciate your prayers. Oh, and just to give you an idea of the impact, Andrew found our garage door opener (previously clipped to the driver's side visor) in four pieces in the BACK of the Jeep.