I didn't think you were defending her. Sorry if I came off snarky. I'm just so tired of her trying to ruin the trip. It's not like this is new, she does this every visitation.
For this trip she's said: he's gone before, he's too old, it won't be special for him, he can't miss 1/2 day of school, he doesn't need to go with "those other kids" (his half sister and step sisters), he doesn't want to go, my brother is being deployed and that's more important than seeing you (his dad), you're trying to "buy" him, and she's made getting to the airport a complete nightmare.
We're paying 100% of the transportation because it's different than a typical visit. Normally we split train fare between Iowa and Nebraska, and pick them up there. This time, we're flying them to Denver, spending the night and letting them know we're going to Disney (only SS knows right now) and then flying out EARLY Friday morning. The least she could do is get him to the airport/make it easy to MIL to get him there. But it's the only thing she can control at this point, so she's going to die on this hill.