The Fourth

We got to Ft. Davis on Friday afternoon and went straight for the food. After a nutritious early dinner consisting of corn dogs, hot dogs and tater twists, we were ready to walk around the booths for a while. Clara got her face painted and then she and I grabbed a sno cone and rested under a tree while Bia continued to shop.



Bia's friend had brought her little train to the festival, so we got to take a ride on it. Clara smiled and waved at everyone we passed.

On Saturday morning, we got to ride in the train in the parade. Funny enough, she didn't wave as much during the parade. She was however very interested in throwing candy.

After the parade, we walked around the shops. Bia got all the grand kids something, and this butterfly hat is what Clara picked.

By this time, Clara was getting hot, hungry and cranky (and I was starting to). She pulled her dress up to cool herself off. I told her several times to put it down, and each time she elected not to put it down. I was in no mood to fight her over it, so I took a picture to humiliate her later on instead.

We decided to grab some lunch, but the food lines were soooooo long. There was no way I could stand in them for that long, so, you guessed it, I went and sat in the shade while someone else got food for me. It started thundering and we made it back to the hotel just as it started to pour. We all got a nap in before going over to Uncle Jerry's for dinner and fireworks.

As we waited for the fireworks to start, Clara got really upset and wanted to go home. There was no convincing her those fireworks weren't scary. To be fair, we were very close and they echoed off the mountain, so I think she'd be fine if it weren't for those two factors.

I took her back to the hotel so we could get packed up to leave the next morning at 6:00. The drive home was looong, 12 hours long. It started raining just as I was leaving the hotel, so I was driving through the mountains, in the dark and rain. The rain didn't stop until after I passed Ft. Stockton, so it was slow going for the first 2 hours.

Traffic started to get heavier once I passed Kerrville and then it came to a stop 70 miles out of Houston. I almost rear ended the car in front of me and almost got rear ended myself. We were either stopped or going 10 mph for 2 hours. I listened to the radio hoping to hear what the hold up was, but traffic was flowing nicely in Houston. We just got to a spot where all of a sudden I went from 10 mph to 70. I have no idea what caused the backup and I was extremely thankful that I wasn't driving the old car, which was a standard.

This week has been filled with trying to detox Clara. She's been a little terror, but each day is getting better. Today she woke up when Jessica dropped off Samantha. She came out of her room and had a major meltdown because she didn't get to say goodbye to Jessica. Then she threw a fit because I put Max outside, but she really wanted to pet him. AHHHHH! I need a vacation!