Weekend Recap

It was a busy weekend, but fun, as is typical. I brought Chinese home for dinner Friday to greet my returning family, back from a week in Virginia. Got good Daddy Time in before the kids’ bedtime. Hallie REALLY missed her Daddy, judging by the way she wouldn’t let me out of arm’s reach all evening. Her usual bedtime of 30 minutes or so stretched out past 90 minutes, as Hallie would get weepy every time I made a move to exit her bedroom. “I don’t want you to ever leave!” she kept repeating through sobs. She was obviously tired, but in no mood to be reasoned with.

Finally, I got a clever idea to hand her off to Mommy. When Kelly returned after two minutes, I was flabbergasted. “How did you do that?” I asked in amazement.

“I just told her that I wasn’t leaving,” she answered.”She was going to bed.” Kelly obviously has a better handle on the three-year-old mind than I do. She ought to: we’ve been married for six years.

I spent Saturday morning working with my Dad on our lawns. We rented an aerator in preparation for fall seeding. In a little over two hours, we had hauled that thing across both our yards, poking nice holes in the turf. It was hard work, though not as hard as I expected. We saved lots of money by doing it ourselves, too.

Kelly left to go to a workday at Hallie’s new preschool, the Children’s House of Raleigh. I spent most of the morning after the aerating entertaining the kids (snacks work wonders). Once Kelly returned and naptimes were initiated, I raced out of the house to drive to Virginia for my buddy Wade‘s 30th birthday surprise party. Though I didn’t make it for the surprise, it was a surprise for him to see me there.

As Wade was opening gifts, he noted how everyone standing around him made him feel like he should be laid out in a casket. Not missing a beat, his father said “well, see, that’s the other surprise…” I can see where Wade gets it. Two hours in a room full of genuine comedians made the drive worth it.

I cooked a nice pancake breakfast with the help of Hallie, our Noisy Chef. Then we snuck out for a quick walk to the playground of Durant Nature Park. Hallie and Travis swung in the swings, ran around (well, as much as Travis can run around) the playground, and had fun laughing with the other kids.

After lunch and naptime, I attempted to cut the grass. The 20-year-old Honda mower balked at starting, possibly due to a clogged carbureator. After many attempts at starting (my right arm is twice the size of my left now), I finally got it running.

A nice dinner followed. More play with the neighborhood kids, and then a smooth bedtime. A nice way to wrap up the weekend.