Trip to Merkel for Homecoming

Marcus and I took off work on Friday to drive to Merkel (15 miles west of Abilene, Texas) for Homecoming. Marcus graduated 17 years ago, so it wasn't a reunion weekend for him, but a chance to see his new FB friends from high school and for Abby to see Grammy.

We got into town for a late lunch at Taco Bueno with Marcus' Mom, Grammy. We also got to see her office and meet her co-workers who follow Abby on the blog. It was so nice to meet everyone with our sweet little girl. She showed off with a little crawling and a lot of flying!

After lunch, we drove downtown to the homecoming parade where we met Bill and Wendy.

The parade was a town event, not a school event like I remember. There were lots of parents and city officials in the parade. Afterward, they held a pep rally downtown.

The parade was complete with horses, including one who left us an aromatic present!

After the parade, we went to Marcus' childhood home where Grammy had presents awaiting Abby. She even wrapped them to see how Abby will do at Christmas. She was super excited, but slow in opening and much more excited about the paper at first.

We then got into our school colors and went to dinner at the local restaurant- Skeets. They have awesome fried pickles and chicken fried steak. Darn that Weight Watchers didn't go to Merkel with me either!

I ordered Abby this cute dress in yellow with a purple pony from Ralph Lauren. They have a great Create your Own division and even put them in sale.

The stadium was how I experienced HS football- lots of parents in the stands, students under the bleachers buying blow pops and looking for their friends, and the community showing awesome support!

We parked in a field near the stadium in rows with many other cars. Since Abby was tired, we left in the third quarter and discovered the late comers had just pulled onto the field and not formed neat little rows. Marcus pulled us partially into the field and then had to walk out a path for us by my headlights to confirm there was a true way out and we wouldn't get stuck.

The weather for the game was perfect- I even had to put on a light jacket when the sun went down. Abby did a great job looking around at the people, taking in the noises and feeling the cool breeze.

And then, she was so tired. We just couldn't keep her out any longer. We got home about 9:30. It doesn't seem all that late, but Abby goes to bed about 7:00 so it was late for her.

We gave Abby a bottle to help her go to sleep. Her and I were sleeping together and Marcus was planning to sleep on the couch in the living room. Abby's tummy had other plans. She threw up her bottle, her dinner, another bottle and the little water left in her tummy during the night. It was awful. A sick baby is tough, but a sick baby in another person's house is even worse. We had picked all of the baby meds we have, but didn't bring Pedialyte. Nothing was open and the nearest open store or hospital was 20 minutes away. Abby tore through 2 pairs of pajamas, 2 shirts for Momma, 2 pairs of sheets, 4 towels, and 2 pillowcases!
Luckily, she woke up feeling fine and didn't throw up after about 1 AM. She slept on my chest or Marcus' the remainder of the night. She has kept everything down today, just eaten much less than normal. She slept for 2 hours on the car ride home and went to bed at 6:30 Saturday night.