The Worst Night Ever- aka Texas State Fair

We were excited to go to the Texas State Fair again this year.  We decided to go on a Thursday because they had a promotion where you could get in with a Cinemark movie ticket stub.  So, I went and picked up tickets for everyone at the dollar theater so we could get in for a buck instead of the normal $17 price for a ticket. That day it was raining but it was really the only day we could go so we figured we'd just bring umbrellas and hopefully not get too wet.  We decided to all ride the train down together so we didn't have to pay for parking.  Well, we pull up to the train station and it starts pouring down rain.  We make a run for it and by the time we get on the train, we're pretty wet.  An announcement came on saying that there had been some delays because of the rain so we wouldn't be leaving at the scheduled time.  Then, Tagg realized we didn't pay for parking so he braved the rain again to go pay for parking.  Turns out, they've changed the policy and you no longer have to pay to park.  Tagg came back drenched.  We sat on the train for a little while longer and finally we left.  We didn't get very far before the train stopped again. More delays because of the rain and we also found out that because of the crazy wind, there had been some debris on the track that was causing more delay.  Every 10 or 15 minutes the train would go for about a minute or 2 and then stop again. We finally made it to the stop that was causing all the problems and it wasn't just some debris. It was giant trees and branches that had been split in half basically laying all around.  It was crazy.  By the time we actually made it to the fair we had been on the train for 3 HOURS!  Oh and don't forget we were with a 4,3,2 and 1 year old and the train was completely packed the whole time.  We were running out of snacks and things to keep the kids entertained, but all things considered the kids were pretty good.

We were so excited to finally get to the fair and by then it had stopped raining.  We got to the ticket kiosk and they tell me that they won't accept our movie ticket stubs because that was an old promotion that they weren't running this year.  Seriously! I showed them the website where it said we could use them but the old ladies had no sympathy for us. She said it wasn't the official website for the fair and there was nothing they could do. We tried to explain the whole ordeal we had just been through and the ladies said, "oh, we know what you mean, we were sitting in this trailer when the storm came through." Oh yes, since that's totally the same as being stuck on a train for 3 hours with 4 rowdy kids.  I was so upset I just started crying.  Thursday happened to be the day you could get half price tickets if you brought a Coke with you.  Well, none of us had coke with us but Tagg was able to sweet talk the guy at the Coke stand to give us the vouchers anyway and then Ned and Gena paid for us to all get into the fair.  I felt so bad because I was the one that caused all the mess by thinking we could get in with the ticket stubs.  Anyway, we were finally at the fair and I thought things were going to start looking up.  It was almost 8:00 by this point.  Everyone was hungry and tired.  Luckily there weren't too many other people at the fair.  Unlucky for us though, because of the crazy storm, so many vendors had closed up shop for the night.  We were still able to eat some good fried food.  We had corn dogs,  fried snickers, a giant taco and a fried peanut butter, jelly, banana and bacon sandwich.

We made a quick stop to see the animals which was fun.

We decided to head home around 9:30 and we were hoping by this time the tracks had been cleared and we could get home quickly.  Yeah, not so much.  We had the same issues as we did on the way to the fair. Only this time it was WAY past the kids bedtimes and they were getting cranky.  Griff does not sleep unless he is in his crib so he screamed and cried pretty much the whole way home since he wouldn't fall asleep in my arms.  It was miserable. People slowly started leaving the train car we were in and I don't blame them because his crying was pretty loud.  About half way home, I started looking for my phone. It was no where to be found.  I had left it at the fair somewhere.  I pretty much cried the rest of the way home. It was the worst ending to the worst night ever.  After a 3 hour train ride home (oh and don't worry, Griff fell asleep for the last 10 mins), we finally got home around 12:30 in the morning. We loaded the kids in the car and headed home.  I was still so upset by the whole night.  From the back seat Beckett says, "Well, it sure was a fun night at the fair!"  From the mouth of babes. I just started laughing and crying at the same time.
My phone is password protected so I knew if someone found it they wouldn't be able to get in it to call someone so I sent a text from Tagg's phone saying to call his number if anyone found it.  The only hope I had is that there really wasn't anyone at the fair as we were leaving and I was hoping I could get there early in the morning before it opened to look for it.  I didn't sleep well that night and finally at about 6:30 in the morning Tagg got a call from one of the State Fair workers saying she found my phone!  What a relief!  So it was a horrible night, but it ended up having an okay ending since I was able to get my phone back.
I try and laugh about it now, but it still isn't that funny and I'm not sure I'm going to want to brave the fair again this year.