Happy Father's Day!

 I am getting behind on sharing our summer travels (partially because we have had an action-packed week, and partially because another grad school class has just begun).  That said, today is Father's Day, so the summer stories will have to wait another day.

Happy Father's Day to the amazing Father's in my life.

I cannot express my immense joy and humility that I not only was raised by an honest, hardworking, loving, honorable man who loved being my Daddy, and loves being a grandfather, but I also married an honest, hardworking, loving, honorable man who loves being a Daddy.

The icing on the cake is that my Father-in-law is an honest, hardworking, loving, honorable man who loves being a father and grandfather, and I have a brother, and two brothers-in-law who are honest, hardworking, loving, honorable men who love being Dads.

Yesterday, I also got to visit with my grandfather, the only living great-grandparent of my children, and... you guessed it, he is also an honest, hardwork, loving, honorable man who has loved his years as a father, grandfather, great-grandfather and great, great grandfather (one of my older cousins is a grandma).

I thank the Lord for the wonderful Fathers in my life.

These Boys

 These boys are pretty awesome

Especially Comical

 I follow a few comical parenting accounts on instagram -- mostly about the funny moments of motherhood, but there is one account I follow that is a fatherhood account.  Its called "noideadaddyblog" and it is funny.

This was an especially comical post made the other day.

Fatherhood

 I came upon this video last night and the children are a little older than ours are at the moment... but I just had to smile seeing this father do so many things that Hubby does every day for our six tiny humans.

Random Fun

Middle of last week, Hubby got the idea to invite the kids to have a sleepover in the family room while he slept on the couch.

Everyone was literally already in pajamas and just about headed to bed when he mentioned this idea... and the kids very joyfully grabbed their sleeping bags and blankets and (in the case of Lee Lee) every stuffed animal they could find and headed to the family room for a special slumber party living room camp out with Daddy.

They watched a movie and fell asleep and they all had a really fun time.

I declined my invitation to join them as I had to be available to Hunter in case he needed me in the middle of the night.

Also, as it turns out, Lee Lee wanted to climb up on the couch and sleep with Daddy.  Eventually Daddy brought her up to sleep with Mama, so it was good that I was in my own bed.

Remember when you could sleep on anything and wake up feeling great?

Ah, youth.

Yesterday's Pictures

Here are the Father's Day pictures that did not load yesterday...

Things My Father Has Taught Me

** I have some great pictures of my dad and my hubby... and but they are not cooperating with my blog right now... I will hope to add some pictures soon, but for today, I just have words without pictures at the moment.

Things my Daddy has taught me:

• How to drive a car
• How to drive a boat
• How to plan ahead
• How to be on time
• How to dress nicely for different events -- dressing nicely brings dignity to the occasion
• How to calculate the miles per hour a car travels cross country
• How to throw a softball (or any ball)
• How to host a dinner party
• How to play tennis
• How to water ski
• How to snow ski
• How to speak in public -- slowly, clearly, and loudly
• How to study for a test -- if you do it well, studying is the hardest part and taking the test is the easy part
  
• How to rehearse for a play or speaking event
• How to do my best
• How to navigate an airport
• How to name the states between Michigan and Colorado and Michigan and Florida
• How to prepare for the future
• How to save and invest
• How to dance
• How to take a gentleman's arm when offered
  
• How to stay calm and make a plan
• How to weigh pros and cons in a big decision
• How to care for a pool
• How to hunt for worms
• How to fish
• How to sail
• How to swim
• How to ride a bike
• How to get the mail
• How to remember what someone says in great detail and recount their words verbatim
• How to shake hands
• Respect for the elderly
• Kindness
• Joy
• Faith
• Strength of Character
• How to take care of ill children
• What to do to treat a soft tissue injury... and most other injuries and illnesses requiring at-home care
  
• How to play croquet
• How to play shuffleboard
• How to rake leaves and trimmings
• Pride in our ancestry
• Grit
• How to push a wheelbarrow
• That everything has a place and there is a place for everything
  
• How to listen to what someone has to say, consider what they've said, and then make up my own mind
  

So many of these lessons, I have not learned well despite his being such a wonderful teacher.  But I am so grateful for everything he has taught me and I am so grateful that he is still here to continue to teach me.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

I miss you.

...

And Happy Father's Day to my own wonderful Husband.  I am so grateful for each and every child we are raising together and I am so thankful for a man who loves our children so much.  You are truly our children's hero, and I would not have it another way.

Photos from Chelan Part 3

Photos from Lake Chelan Sunday and Monday

Sunday being Father's Day, we all rented jet skis and headed to the beach in the morning.  Everyone had at least a little ride on the jet skis even my mom and dad and Addallee.

Then, Jake and Ryan and Trent had to head out Sunday afternoon.  Hubby and Howard played mini golf while the girls worked on an arts and crafts project.

Monday morning, our crew hung around the house while Grammie and Papa backed up and our crew recovered from the many days of activities.  Grammie and Papa headed out Monday afternoon and left early Tuesday morning.