We kept Isaiah tonight so his Mommy and Daddy could enjoy a nice evening out. We enjoyed our own nice evening out with a walk around the neighborhood. Clara was a very good babysitter. She made sure Isaiah had a "blanket" covering him.
She entertained him.
Unfortunately, she taught him some bad habits while in her care. Sorry 'bout that Micah and Lisa.
Tonight we took a little girl from the inner city to get all set for school and then out for dinner. She was just one of around 300 kids that were brought to up to the church. She was really quiet and it took a lot to get a word out of her, but she was very sweet.
I met a lady at church while we were waiting for the kids come. She has an almost three year old boy and he and Clara played while we waited. Once we got to Wal-Mart, we ran into her and she happened to have our little girl's sister, so we decided to do dinner together. Here's Erica, Clara and Maricela at Cici's Pizza.
Maricela perked up when her little sister showed up. That girl put down the pizza. She had 6 pieces and some pasta. Clara was so upset when they got on the bus to go back home. She cried most of the way home.
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Here's Clara before VBS last week. All of the kids brought stuffed animals to donate. The theme of VBS was God's Big Backyard. They learned all about serving friends, family, neighbors and strangers. On the last night of VBS, they named all of the animals and made tags to put around their necks. They're going to the fire department and hospital to be given to hurting and scared children. The kids also decorated canvas bags and put notes in them saying they prayed for their unknown friend. Those were handed out to all the kids that came tonight.
Clara performed her very first VBS striptease this evening. I'm helping at the registration table, so my busiest time is right before VBS starts. I also have to keep an eye on Clara since VBS hasn't started yet. Clara kept coming up to me asking me to pick her up, I'd tell her not right now and she'd wander off for a bit and then do it all over again.
Someone came up to tell me she had had an accident. Sure enough, I spotted her wandering around with wet shorts. I was going to wait just a few more minutes so I could change her when things calmed down a bit. Before I knew it, someone else was tapping me on the shoulder saying, "Umm, did you see Clara......". I kind of cut her off and told her "Yeah, I'm about to go change her", when I turn around just in time to see Clara standing there, shorts and panties around her ankles. Fun times I tell ya.
The fun didn't stop there, though. I had another outfit and panties to change her into, but she had another accident right after it was over. We had to borrow a pull-up to wear home. I'm pretty sure Clara's going to wear a pull-up to VBS tomorrow. Just a bit too much excitement to expect a girl to take the time to go potty I suppose.
I've started putting my blog into book form to have it printed, so I've slacked off a bit in posting new stuff. I'm having lots of fun working on one for 2007. I'm doing it through blurb.com. They have an option to just upload your blog straight from blogger, but it makes the photos pretty small and the page layouts are the same for every page. I've decided instead to go through post by post, uploading my pictures and copying and pasting the text, so it's a long process. The pages I've done look awesome, though.
I'll try to catch up on what we've been up to in the two weeks we've been back from Pecos. I've washed all three dogs, taken dogs to the vet for overdue vaccinations, gone to storytime, gone swimming, discovered we have grubworms, finished painting behind the refrigerator, gotten haircuts and generally done a pretty darn good job of getting stuff done around here.
Wednesday was movie day and we saw Alvin and the Chipmunks. She made it to the end and loved it. She stood up and danced every time a song came on. On Thursday, Daddy came to see Clara in her dance class and we went to Potatoe Patch for dinner afterwards. They throw rolls and muffins to you, so Clara quickly figured out how to get the bread guy's attention and loved catching her bread. I think we can add PP to Clara's fave restaraunt list.
Saturday night (I think), we did Chipotle and the fountains at Market Street with Glenn and Becky. We hadn't seen them since Clara and I got back, so Clara was super excited to see Leah again. Earlier in the day, we promised Clara ice cream if she stayed dry all day. She did and so after dinner she got her ice cream, got on her swim suit to play in the fountain, sat down to enjoy her long awaited treat and peed herself!
On Sunday, we went with Brandon and Erin, Micah and Lisa and Glenn and Becky to a park and grilled for dinner. The mosquitos were out in full force and Clara got a few good bites. She also fell and busted her lip on the playground.
Clara's friend Travis came over to play on Monday. His baby brother Justin had a doctor's appointment at Texas Children's, so he spent all afternoon with us. I decided to put him down for naptime at the foot of Clara's bed. When Clara walked in and saw a cool bed on the floor, she didn't want to sleep in her bed of course, so I made her one next to him. I decided to lay on the bed until they fell asleep.
Ok, I have no idea where little girls learn slumber party etiquette, but the girl would not go to sleep. She kept talking to him and giggling. Poor guy was curled up trying to ignore her. Even after I got on to her several times, she still just kept right on. She couldn't contain her excitement. She's going to be one of those girls. You know, the ones that stay up all night at a slumber party and won't let anyone else sleep? The one who gets out the bowl of warm water or wants to mark on the sleepy people's faces? Yeah, that's gonna be my child.
Please excuse Clara's short shorts. I need to pack some of her clothes away. They actually still fit in the waist, so I think I'm going to have to start buying her bermuda shorts or boy shorts.
Last week's movie was Arthur and the Invisibles. I hadn't even heard of it and didn't expect much, but it wasn't half bad. I rather enjoyed it and Clara did too. She made it all the way through.
We had Micah and Lisa over for homemade pizzas on Friday. Clara got to hold Isaiah (or Baby Zee-ah) for the first time and we just hung out for a few hours. We watched some Mr. Bean and played Hi Ho Cherry O. Earlier that day Clara got a surprise in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa. She got a huge box filled with lots of fun toys (hence the aforementioned game), pajamas and some candy. Grandma's are cool!
We got some stuff done around the house on Saturday and then that night went to a prayer dinner for baby Justin who will be having heart surgery very soon. We sang, prayed and enjoyed a dinner together. There was a huge cake on the table and I looked over one time and saw three little vultures eyeing the thing. I hurried over just in time to see them licking their fingers. All three had stuck their fingers in the icing. There were little finger holes all along the sides. It was too funny. It took every ounce of patience they had to wait for that cake to be cut.
And now for today. VBS started tonight and I volunteered to help out with it. I got to meet and talk to some new people and Clara absolutely loved "BS" and can't wait to go back. I'll have to make sure I get some good "BS" pictures this week.
Big John died Monday, June 23rd in Odessa. He was 85 years old. He had cancer and hadn't been feeling well the days before he died and Momma and Myrt Myrt told him if he wasn't better by Monday, they were taking him to the hospital. Well, he wasn't any better so they took him in.
When they got him into triage, it didn't look good, so all of the family that was nearby rushed to get to Odessa. I contemplated driving, but to prepare for an unexpected 9 hour drive with a two year old who was napping is a little daunting, so I decided I would leave first thing the next morning. He died only a couple of hours later. Clint, Dashielle and Mason made it over before he died. He had a massive heart attack and was comatose. To honor his wishes, he was taken off of life support as soon as they knew there was nothing they could do for him. Several other family members made it to the hospital minutes after he died.
That whole week, women from church (and a few other people) brought food over every night. We had homemade lasagna, homemade fried chicken and mashed potatoes, roast, and lots of other stuff. We had homemade cakes coming out our ears, several every day. They brought fresh fruit and drinks and paper plates and tin foil and paper towels and toilet paper and anything else they thought we could possibly need with family in town. It was astounding the outpouring of love that came from the church.
Because there was family that couldn't make it to Pecos until later in the week, we had Big John's funeral on Saturday. The viewing was on Friday evening at the funeral home. Earlier in the day, the flower shop called Myrt Myrt and asked her if we wanted all of the flowers delivered to the funeral home. When she told them yes, they said there were a lot of them and are we sure we want them all delivered.
When we got to the funeral home, there were, in fact a lot of flowers. The largest spray of flowers was from NAPA auto parts! Big John was a very good customer all these years. He was a diesel mechanic and still worked on stuff until very recently. He probably spent a pretty penny in their store. (The next week, there was a bill from NAPA in Big John's mailbox. Printed on the bottom of it was a message offering their condolences and saying they were going to miss his smile and bear hugs. I thought that was a very special thing to do.)
The next morning was the funeral and I was amazed at the number of people that were in attendance. The church was packed. My cousin is a state trooper in a town a few counties away and there were 8 or 9 uniformed officers that attended to show their respect. Cody, Daddy and Joe led songs and a few of my cousins, Daddy and Joe got up to say a few words. The service was led by the preacher in Pecos, Fred Dominguez.
It was a nice memorial service and there were lots of stories of fishing, hunting and fixin' cars with bailing wire and duct tape. And a memorial service for Big John would not be complete without mention of the bus, the lake and catfish charlie. Most everyone mentioned his strength and his fairness; he was well-respected for his hardwork and honesty when it came to business. He was laid to rest in a suit and several inquired as to why he wouldn't be wearing his trusty overalls. Momma said that Memaw would've come back from the dead and pinched their ears if they'd put him in those overalls. She's probably right. In fact, she probably threatened as much over the years.
At the graveside, the flag was presented to Myrt Myrt and all of the men in the family as well as a few others, closed the grave. After the service, lunch was served for all of the extended family at the fellowship hall at church. The ladies at church really went above and beyond that whole week.
Big John will be missed for sure, but we can't be too sad. He was in pain and weak and was quickly losing his independence, which is something he was fighting tooth and nail to keep. He didn't want to leave his farm and he didn't want to sit in some silly wheelchair either. Plus, Memaw's been waiting two and a half years for him. I'm so very happy for him.
Here are just a few pictures of Big John over the last couple of years. If I had a scanner and some old pictures, I would've included them, but this will have to do.
Big John and Clara~ March 2006
Big John, Clara, Clayton, Wyatt and Bryce~ September 2006
Big John, Clara and I~ 85th Birthday Celebration~ November 2007
We got up early on Saturday to make the 80 mile drive to Ft. Davis in time for the parade. We had just pulled into town and were about to find a place to park when Clara upchucks all over herself. I was driving the car and my mom rode with us, so she was kind enough to reach back and clean her up.
Here we are at the parade. She is way too cool to pose for pictures with her Mommy now.
She's got the "wave for candy" routine down pat. Did not like the group of Harleys one bit. They stopped right in front of us and all revved their engines. I couldn't hear her screaming bloody murder right in front of me. Tanya happened to look over and see sheer terror in her face, her mouth wide open.
As it turns out, we sat on the right side of the road. This firetruck soaked the other side of the street.
We headed over to the square around the courthouse for some greasy food. We had corn dogs, a tater twist and a funnel cake for lunch. Yummy!
There were booths selling crafts and jewelry and whatnot and we cruised through them real quick and headed over to the kiddie area. Clara rode the pony and Bryce tried his luck on the mechanical bull. There was also a re-enactment of a bank robbery, but there were too many people crowded around to see anything. I'm pretty sure Clara's not a fan of gunshots, too.
After that, we headed over to our hotel to check in. We had only been there about four hours at this point and I was under an umbrella for part of that time and sitting under a shade tree for another good chunk but still managed to get a pretty good sunburn on my back. Clara and I took a nap at the hotel and then joined everyone at my Uncle Jerry's and his friend/neighbor Buster's place.
They do a bar-b-que every year and go all out. This was the first time I've been, though. I don't know how many people were there total, but I'd guess 100-150. All of the meat was donated and there was a lot of it. They served sausage, dear, chicken, beef and ribs. The kids ran around all afternoon and Clara fell in the gravel several times. At sundown, the fireworks started and what a show it was. I only got the one picture of Lilly and Clara because I pulled out the video camera instead. I spent most of the time trying to console Clara. She especially didn't like the ones that crackled. She just about chewed a hole in her blanket. The video is pretty funny. Clara and Lilly are in their mom's laps, facing away from the fireworks, but averting their eyes trying to see and Wyatt just slept through the whole show on Bia's shoulder.
At one point, I had the video on Clara and I and all of the sudden I notice it's bright right in front of me and someone screamed. One had misfired and when I turned around, there were fircrackers on the ground not far in front of us. I captured it from a good angle on video. The video shows just the lower half of my face just as I'm letting out some really pathetic screams.
The entire show lasted about an hour! I've never seen that long of a fireworks show and the finale was awesome. Two or three minutes of huge, non-stop ones. I wish I had gotten it on camera. Clara eventually eased up and enjoyed watching the second half of the "wyatt-works." She kept saying "whoa" and naming the colors.
We got up the next morning and had breakfast in the old fashioned soda shop. I figured I'd get the big breakfast and just share 2 of my 3 pancakes with Clara. Well, they didn't mention on the menu that these particular pancakes were for someone the size of a leprechaun. Tim was going to share Linsey's pancakes, too, but as soon as the waitress brought her plate, she informed him that plans had changed.
Some of us went to church in Ft. Davis, while others (who shall remain nameless), went on back home. Us church-goers came home right after church. I spent the afternoon packing up to head home the next morning. Clara came into the room where I was packing and Tanya was on the computer, and she had throw up all down her dress and in her hand. I think she managed to catch it all. I was proud. Aunt Tanya wasn't as much proud as she was comepletely grossed out.
We left Pecos at 5:30 am. Clara didn't do quite as well on the drive home as she did the drive to Pecos. She was fairly whiney most of the way. It was a nice drive though. It was cloudy and overcast with light rain showers all the way to San Antonio. Usually that stretch is the worst part of the trip because of the blazing sun in your eyes, but I didn't even have to pull out my sunglasses.
Clara and I were in a clothing store earlier today and she was running through the racks of clothes, laughing and having a good 'ol time. I grabbed her and told her "Do not run through the racks of clothes."
Her response? "Why?"
Her first "why?". Wonderful. Now I actually have to come up with reasons besides "because I said so."
We got to Pecos on Tuesday, June 24th. Clara did so well on the drive. We left home at 5:30 am and got to Pecos around 2:30. That's the best time I've ever made. She did not whine or cry a single time. I put a pull up on her and she even managed to stay dry the whole way. I was very proud of her.
The last two weeks were spent mainly hanging out, but we did manage to leave the house on several ocassions. On Wednesday, we took the kids to go see the parade. It was rodeo week in Pecos and the parade is always on the first day of the rodeo.
Linsey came into town that morning and brought her 2 schnauzers and their four new puppies with her. The little ones loved the puppies of course. I think this was the first time Clara got to hold a puppy. Her favorite was the white one.
There were lots of trips to Wal-Mart over the last two weeks of course.
Family started coming into town by then and over the next few days we spent quite a bit of time over at Joe and Myrt Myrt's house. Clara calls her Mutt Mutt. Clara didn't like being messy at all at first. There's lots of dirt in Pecos and she did not want it on her. She kept coming up to me crying the first few days with her hands outstretched saying "Messy!" She eventually warmed up to it though and joined the others in their quest to see just how messy they could get. There was lots of little naked toddlers running around covered with mud and sand, but I'll spare you those pictures.
Myrt Myrt had a sandbox full of blue sand, an inflatable pool and lots of other fun stuff to play with. Not only that, but she had a metal tub filled with snacks. The kiddos like Myrt Myrt.
The viewing was on Friday and Big John's funeral was Saturday morning. I'll write a separate post for that though. Chris flew in Friday around noon and left Saturday afternoon to fly back. That little part of the story gets it's own post too.
Things got back to normal after the funeral was over and most of the family had left. It rained all day Monday and I thought I was going to go batty being cooped up inside with those three all day. Tuesday, Clara and I headed to Carlsbad to visit Nanny for a few hours. For the first time ever, she was really clingy and didn't want to even hug Nanny. It was weird. I guess there was just a little too much excitement for her the previous week. I also think she was a little unsure of Nanny's new walker. She did eventually warm up to her though and Nanny got some hugs and kisses. Here Margaret is helping Clara put on her shoes.
We got back to Pecos around 5:30 and found out that Bryce had a t-ball game at 7:00, so we grabbed some DQ and headed to the baseball field. Bryce did great. He hit the ball a couple of times and made a couple of runs. While we were there, a little 4 or 5 year old girl asked if Clara could play with her. She was so cute and led Clara around by the hand and they played with Clara's dolls the whole game. Here is a picture I accidentally caught of Bryce. I guess those coaches teach them everything about baseball.
Wednesday through Friday was more hanging out, eating DQ, going to Wal-Mart, etc. We went over to Myrt's Thursday night and us girls had a thank you note writing party while the kids got messy outside. We didn't do anything on the fourth because we were heading to Ft. Davis for their 4th of July celebration on Saturday. The announcer at the parade said, "Welcome to Ft. Davis, where we celebrate the 4th of July on Saturday no matter when the 4th is." (In case you were wondering why we celebrated the 4th on the 5th.) I have lots of pictures so I'll do a separate post for that.
Obviously I've been a bad blogger. Sorry 'bout that. My grandpa died on Monday, the 23rd, so I loaded Clara up and made the drive to Pecos the next day. We left Pecos at 5:30 this morning and got back home around 3:00. Since getting home, I've unloaded and unpacked most of the car, washed the car, scooped poop and watered the lawn. Not too shabby, huh? I know, you'd really be impressed if I wrote a longer post, but I think I'm losing momentum fast.
Just to whet your appetite, here's what's in store for the big post. We have a funeral, two parades, blue sand, pony rides, t-ball, teeny tiny pancakes, puppies, funnel cake, potty regression, fireworks and what trip is complete without puke?
Stay tuned.
