Last time my parents visited, it took Milly a little bit to warm up to them. I had Milly knock on the bathroom door (where my mom had just brushed her teeth) and the door opened with my mom peeking out from behind it. Milly looked at her for a beat then went on in and started jabbering at her. She was just as quick with my dad, who had been in bed still.
My mom and Milly played with blocks while my dad and I walked up to the store to get a few things for breakfast. We saw Milly and my mom out on the street on our way back. My mom put her down and Milly walked towards us, veered off to take her Pap’s hand and then walked him the other way, back down the street. My mom joined them while I helped Amanda with breakfast.
Unfortunately, my mom had a conference call she had to be on for several hours today. She hated to do it, but she had to be on it and was presenting something or other. We decided to put Milly down then, so that way when her Mum Mum was done she’d be all rested up and happy.
The rest of us, Dad, Amanda and I, watched a little TV then Amanda headed out to pick up a few things. My dad was about to take a shower, but then he asked if I wanted some help raking the yard. It was just starting to get to me and I was planning on doing it the next available weekend that I could, but since he offered I took him up on it.
There was a big burn pile from when Ben Lambeth had done the backyard, so I started burning that. I had to make sure to stay with it for a bit because it was mostly dry leaves and the flames could have been large enough to get near a tree whose branches had grown lower over time, if not properly managed. Anyway, it took us a little bit, but we got the whole front yard cleared up. For the side yard we just pushed the leaves through the gate and onto the pile. I was impressed, after it was all done, how small the pile of ash was. I think we managed the fire and kept it going pretty well.
We also ended up putting new pine straw in some of the beds in the front. The existing pine straw was all mixed with leaves and didn’t look very good, so I told my dad we could go ahead and take it away. Amanda, when she got home, pointed out that it wouldn’t be good for the plants. To that end, she took some time to get some pine straw from under one of the pine trees in the back to spread around. It looks much better now. She and I also pulled a bunch of weeds out from the bed with azaleas in it next to the patio. Amanda wants to turn that into a flower bed for Milly.
Once all that was done, my mom finished with work and Milly was awake and changed we all went to grab a bite to eat at Atlanta Bread. We were going to walk to Barnes & Noble, but my mom said something about stopping at a shoe store and ended up buying two new pairs of shoes for Milly. She got some pretty white sandals for Easter and some gaudy, sparkly light-up shoes that she wore out. Milly would just stand in place and stomp to watch them light up. They about give me an epileptic seizure when I see them in a dark room, but she’s thoroughly entertained by them.
My parents ate some cake that they’d brought to celebrate my and my dad’s birthday then headed on out. I was really glad they came and was happy that Milly enjoyed seeing them so much, since they don’t get to see her as much as Amanda’s parents do. That’s not a knock on anybody, it just is what it is. Amanda’s parents live a lot closer and my mom works in Rochester, New York, so it can be tough.
Not too long after my parents left, Reece, Stephanie and Jacob Johnson came over. It’s cool to see Milly interacting with other kids more, even if half the interaction was spinning in circles and pushing Jacob’s hand away so he couldn’t take a ball from her. They did actually play a bit more than that though. Milly even tried passing a ball to him, but kids their age aren’t the best at catching balls.
We watched a bit of basketball as dinner was getting ready. Butler and UConn will be in the Final Four.
After we put the kids down to sleep we played a game of Carcassonne and a game of Dominion. I actually won both. Reece ended up with negative points in an overall low-scoring game of Dominion, which I think is a first in this house.