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weekend recap: driving!

I’m currently importing 417 photos, and that’s only one of the three memory cards I was using this past weekend. In other words, I was busy. Busy is what I do best, though, so that’s not a complaint. There should be a TON of photos in this post but, as I said, they are currently downloading. So, I’ll make another post later with photos.

Friday night I visited with Daisy and Tim, their 4 children, and an entire host of extra adults and kids. I love Daisy’s house because it’s always filled with so much warmth and so many people. And, despite all of those people, everyone always seems to get along and every need is either catered to or whisked away but more interesting things.

Aside from Friday, it was my intent to stay local for the rest of the weekend. I just have a lot of stuff I need to get done, it’s nice to live in my own home from time to time, and people can certainly come visit me for a change. But, it didn’t quite work out that way. I stopped by my dad’s house late that night to pick up the camera I forgot there the weekend before. Then I drove all the way home.

My plans Saturday morning were failed due to an unannounced monsoon hitting Northern DFW. I called my Dad to find out if it was raining where he was and ended up driving out there instead. We did end up at Boomerangs, an indoor playground for kids, which was quite fun. I forcibly convinced the staff to let me go on the toys with Celeste, so she had a LOT of fun and I got a real work out. After that, I took Celeste back to my dad’s for a nap. Later that evening we went to my brother’s house for a bonfire. Kelly and Rory were there too, which was nice. We left around 9:30pm though. Celeste was just too hot near the fire and, really, just wanted to go to sleep. So I packed up our stuff and drove her all the way home.

Sunday morning’s plans were to go for a walk at Erwin park, then get some housework done, take a nap, and then go to the pool. Perhaps top it off with another walk in the evening and, if we’re feeling really good, some ice cream. But, since some friends from Beaumont were in town and Celeste had yet to meet their 3 year old daughter, instead we drove to Allen to visit them and had brunch with Bonnie and Justin. Celeste played with our friend’s daughter and B and J’s new puppies. She was good and ready for a nap by 12:30 though, so we headed home.

Celeste is napping now as I write this. Plans for the evening involving going to the pool and absolutely, without a doubt, not driving more than 15 minutes from my house for any reason.

I love busy weekends. And I love introducing Celeste to new people and new things. I just really need to find a way to do it without having to spend so much of our precious weekend time in the car. It almost seems like we’d both be better off not seeing anyone and just staying home with one another, even though I really value being able to spend time with friends and other parents. I’m hashing out a plan that will let me feel able to stay closer to home without feeling guilty for not seeing people and for not socializing Celeste more.

Vacation, Day VII

I decided to extend my vacation through until Sunday and, in that, include Celeste as much as I could for the last few days. We got up bright and early Friday morning, did our usual good morning, potty, breakfast routine. Then we got ourselves ready and piled into the car.

Celeste in sunglasses

Celeste in sunglasses

Our first stop was for coffee and a little bit of walking at the Shops at Legacy. Celeste was very good about waiting for me at street crossings and really liked peeking in all of the windows and pointing out all the things she liked.

Next, we headed to the Dallas World Aquarium. Celeste saw so many animals and birds. I’m not sure how much of it she absorbed because there is so much to look at. I know for sure that she remembers the Aligator, the sharks, the “pink birds” (flamingos), and the Jaguar, which she continued to taunt by saying “KITTY!!! EAT!!!!”. Celeste got a little cranky toward the end as it was past her nap time.

Celeste Ponders a Jaguar

Celeste Ponders a Jaguar

Next, we stopped for a quick lunch at Cafe Express. Toward the end of our meal, a girl approached us and asked me if I’d like our photo taken together. No… not my photo with the girl, my photo with Celeste. At least that’s what I assume she meant. Maybe she did mean herself? Maybe she was someone famous? At any rate, I declined her offer, but I really have no idea why.

In new, awkward, or undefined social situations I tend to get very nervous. This presents itself by keeping me from thinking clearly and causing me to say and do things I don’t mean because I think that’s what’s expected or wanted. In this case, I’m not entirely sure why, but I declined her offer because I thought it made me seem “new” at this or as though I didn’t have many opportunities. I guess I thought that she thought that I was one of those dads who only gets to see his kids every so often due to divorce/separation. Or maybe she thought I was married but that I rarely take care of the kid on my own.

Celeste and her Shells and Cheese

Celeste and her Shells and Cheese

In order to prevent her from thinking such things I declined her offer. But I should have taken it. I would have loved a photo of Celeste and I together and taking them myself with the old “hold out your own arm” trick is never as good as someone else doing it. I’m so silly sometimes. I do silly stuff like that a lot and then regret it later. I did this the night of Day VIII too, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Next we went home for a nap, then some quick shopping at Costco, and then off to Bonnie and Justin’s house to play with their new puppies, slam our hands on arcade machine buttons, and eat some very good steak (as well as handfuls of olives and edamame for Celeste).