Not too long ago I was thinking back to when I was a kid and how often we’d go to a cook out or a pig pickin’, usually with a bunch of people my dad worked with, or sometimes we’d throw them at our house. I really enjoyed those a lot, and I was wondering how often we’d get to take Milly to events like that.
We got to do that tonight. Port City Community Church had a picnic by the (retention) pond. It was a bring your own food type of deal, but they had a live band playing country/bluegrass music, booths for Dunkin Donut holes and ice cream sandwiches and drinks, all for free. It was just a nice night to get together with some people we knew and a lot of people we didn’t and hang out together.
We mostly hung out with the Warkentiens, the Masons and the Cains. Milly played with Eli and Callie, particularly Callie. The two of them ran back and forth in front of the stage from one side of the clearing to the edge of the woods for quite a while. Towards the end of the night a bunch of kids were running in circles around a row of hay (yes, hay, not straw) dancing to the music and laughing and having a great time. Eli was doing it from the time it started, but Milly joined in for a few songs as well. During the last song she took a little break to wedge herself between two bales and clap along. Then she got up and went around a few more times before beating her own path and going around her own row of hay for a few laps.
It was about 8:30, probably a little later, when we left. Milly was in an awesome mood, probably from being exhausted, and wanted me to sit in the back with her. She laughed the whole way home. The main thing we were doing started when I was still carrying her back to the car. I told her I wanted to rub cheeks and she said, “No no no!” So I said, “Yes yes yes!” and rubbed my cheek against hers, which she thought was hilarious. So we kept doing that.
She also asked me to carry her upside-down. She makes that request now and then. Something I’ll just turn her over and throw her knees over one of my shoulders, but a lot of times I’ll hold her completely upside-down and swing her left and right. She really enjoys that.
Today was Katy Davis’ birthday. We saw her and Chris and I talked to him about an idea I’ve got. He seemed really open and receptive to it.
Prior to all that, Amanda and Milly went downtown with Karen and some of her friends, who were in town for Riverfest. It officially started today, but I don’t think anything was really going on yet when they were here. They had lunch and I think hung out downtown for a while. Amanda brought Milly back around 3:00, put her down for a nap then went back out to Mayfaire with the Yo Yos. Karen bought Amanda a dress in exchange for Amanda buying her an ice coffee, which was all in all a very good deal for Amanda.
After we got home from our event tonight and put Milly down, Amanda and I watched Gone Baby Gone, which Amanda had watched with Nick and Amy when I went to Costa Rica a couple years ago. It had some pretty good surprises and moral dilemmas in it. I don’t know that I’d have chosen the course of action taken in the movie. After that we watched Terra Nova.
Before Amanda went to bed I told her that I had a song in my head from an episode of Veggie Tales that Milly has watched a few times lately. The episode is Pistachio: The Little Boy That Woodn’t. Amanda forbade me to put any of the songs in her head. There are two that keep popping up for me. One I can’t remember the words at all, which almost makes it worse. It’s a tune they use a few times in the episode though.
The second is from the Silly Songs with Larry segment, and it’s Where Have All the Staplers Gone. Here it is, just for you.
Zach Dotsey
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