The Vacation Post

Clara and I hit the road for Pecos on Wednesday the 24th. I think I may have underestimated how draining this trip would be on me. On the drive there, Clara and I had trouble coordinating our urination schedules. She inevitably would have to go about 15 miles before a rest stop. I brought her portable potty and bags and was able to reach around and get her all set up, business taken care of and back in her seat without even getting out of my seat. Have I mentioned how much I love my van? (I went ahead and waited until the rest stop to potty.) I think I stopped 4 times for her to use her potty, and each was followed up by a stop for me.

We left at 6:00 am and got to Pecos around 4:00 and we were able to catch a quick rest before church. The next day I was completely drained and spent most of the day resting. That night Clara got to go to her very first West of the Pecos Rodeo. Here she is all decked out in her boots. Daddy got box seat tickets from a friend who wasn't going to be able to attend that night, so we were front and center. The rodeo clown tried to give Clara five, but she apparently isn't a fan of clowns. We almost got pelted with dirt by a bucking horse at one point. It flung dirt in the air and knocked a drink off the ledge of the box next to us.

We got eaten up by mosquitos and it was hot. Clara thoroughly enjoyed the food though. She had popcorn, cotton candy and dipping dots and cried and cried when I wouldn't buy her any more junk food. Brody and Clara were both tuckered out by the end.

We took it easy on Friday. Actually, I didn't even shower that day. I just rested on the couch the whole time. That night, Cody and Tanya came for the night. They were dropping off Bryce and Wyatt for the week and driving to Houston with Grayson. Cody had an appointment at a headache institute there.

They left bright and early on Saturday and we headed back up to the arena to watch Uncle Tim rope a little later. He let all the kids sit on his horse Lobo after he was done roping. Then we went and picked up a kiddie pool for the kids to cool off in.

And just for fun, here's a flashback to Clara's first time on Uncle Tim's horse. Is this Lobo, Linsey?

Sunday morning before church is when I had my little sick episode where I got dizzy and started blacking out. I sent Clara to class with Bia and was able to make it to church once I felt better. After church, we went with Myrt and her bunch to go swimming in Balmorhea. For those that don't know, Balmorhea is a state park that has (I believe) the world's largest spring fed swimming pool. The water is 67 degrees year round and the deep end is 20 feet, and crystal clear, with fish, turtles and stuff. I'm a sissy and I don't go in without water shoes on.

Wyatt screamed when they dipped him in and wouldn't go near the water. Clara enjoyed it, despite the cold, but she didn't last real long. It was overcast and raining in the mountains nearby. The temps would have been perfect otherwise, but when you're trying to convince yourself to stay in 67 degree water, 100+ temps help. You can see Clara's lips are starting to look a little blue in the picture below.

Monday morning we got up early because we had set up a session to get the grandkids pictures taken together in Wink. We were missing Grayson, but we decided to keep the appointment anyway. When we got to the park, they were mowing and the grass was wet, so the kids' feet were nasty. Oh well, we got some cute ones anyway.

I got to see Tim and Linsey's new house and we went to Kermit for some DQ and Alco. Bia had promised a toy to good little children who cooperated during picture time. We went back to Wink and I rested for a bit before heading back to Pecos. (Notice a trend here?)

Tuesday morning started out with thunderstorms early in the morning and it rained until 11:00. They got over 3 inches of rain. Once it let up we let the kids splash in the puddles and play in the sand box. It was a nice break from the heat.

Tuesday night we went over to Myrt's house for dinner and cake to celebrate Mason and Daddy's birthdays and Joe's retirement. We just enjoyed the nice evening and let the kids play outside and pee in the middle of the yard like dogs.

Cody and Tanya returned on Thursday, so we got to visit a little more and play with Grayson. I started getting packed up that night and Friday morning because we were heading to Ft. Davis for the weekend for the festivities. Cody and Tanya decided to go on home since they'd had such a long week.