4.5.15 - Dad, Jill, and Rocket's visit

Dad, Jill, and Rocket came in town to meet Clara last week. They got in on a Wednesday afternoon, and that evening they, Jack, Clara, and I all went out to Bandera for dinner. We got a nice round booth in the corner of the upper floor, where we could see everything. Rocket sat between Jill and Dad, and Clara slept in her car seat between Jack and me.

We had roasted artichokes and cheesy cornbread, potatoes with scallions and filet, and plenty of Diet Coke. One of the many nice things about being around Dad and Jill is the sudden abundance of Diet Coke everywhere, haha. Clara slept the whole time. Rocket got really into "shooting" the sugar bowl. Jack ate his food and a lot of our delicious leftovers. And Dad and Jill and I talked a lot. Later we were ordering dessert and the server let us know that they had apple walnut cobbler (not listed on the menu). When she said that Dad literally pushed back in his seat and put his hands to his cheeks in happy surprise. It was hilarious. Obviously we ordered one, which was delicious. We left the restaurant happy and full (in beautiful summer evening type weather, by the way).

The next morning I had a follow up job interview. Dad, Jill, and Rocket came over pretty early so they could watch Clara while I got ready (Jack had to work at 7am). Jill stayed with Clara and Dad drove me to and picked me up from the interview. We dissected the pros and cons of it on the way home, and that was satisfying.

Over the next two days, Dad, Jill, and Rocket hung out at our apartment, making lots of food and generally helping with Clara. Well, Rocket wasn't a huge help, but Dad and Jill were. Rocket mostly watched stuff on the Kindle and rough-housed with Jack when Jack was around. Like this:

On Friday afternoon while Jack was at work, we all took a trip to the park up the street. Rocket enjoyed the playground while Jill watched, Dad worked, and I mostly sat and fed Clara. It was nice to get out in the beautiful weather though.

On Friday night, Dad and Jill took Clara back to the hotel and watched her so Jack and I could have a dessert date night. We went to the Elephant Bar (literally next door to their hotel, convenient) and got the dessert platter and took our time. It was delicious and enjoyable. It's more important than ever, I think, to have so me focused one-on-one time with Jack when neither of us is on a laptop.

Of course the brownie is the best part,
but it's all pretty good.

Another highlight: throughout the trip Dad and Jill checked out a bunch of my scrapbooks. I think that's the most anyone besides me has looked at my scrapbooks, and I really enjoy sharing them.

There were also several times when Dad and Jill would watch Clara so I could take a nap, and that was a huge joy. I get pretty tired in early evening. On Saturday we all went to the hotel and I slept while Dad, Jill, Rocket, and Clara hung out near the hot tub (obviously Clara wasn't in the hot tub). I slept solid until Jack came to visit us all on his meal break and run around the hotel halls with Rocket. It was a good nap.

Overall it was a really nice visit, albeit too brief. Hopefully they will start visiting us in Sacramento more, now that Jefferson is always rented out. I know they really enjoyed seeing l'il Clara.