Some Favorite Fathers

One of my favorite Father's Day traditions is inviting a large group of people to do something on Saturday so that my Dad can pay for everything. This year, we went to Sizzler.

 

Jason got a double dose of Father's (Satur)Day with breakfast at Cracker Barrel and lunch at Sizzler. He also learned how fun it is to have your kids post their favorite pictures of you on Instagram as a special Father's Day surprise. He didn't even know this picture existed. But we all know now!

Family Fun in the Summer Sun

Here's a catch-up post with some pictures I keep meaning to put up....

Dahlia loves playing catch with Jason. And vice versa.

 Brycie had a birthday!

Carly is a Kindergarten graduate!

Ethan is a self-proclaimed "bad cat." Is there any other kind?

Dahlia introduced her cousin to the joys of jumping on the trampoline with a sprinkler underneath.

Theo ate spaghetti and loved it.

We were dog-sitting for a week (add that to the list of phrases I never thought I'd say) and Rooney and Chester insisted on sleeping on the same couch at night. The people couch - not either of the two dog beds that were so generously provided for their sleeping pleasure. I think they both wanted to make sure the other one wasn't sneaking around eating bacon (Rooney's favorite) or hot dog buns (Chester's preferred snack) during the night.

Mick made the cutest cake for his cousin Val's birthday. 

And finally, another "oldie but goodie" that I just had to post somewhere. Mick, Dahlia, and their cousin, Caprie. I love seeing old pics of the kids that were taken before my time.

Sunday Dinner

Many things about this picture make me cringe.

1) That the tator tots aren't more evenly spaced.

2) That my piece (hold the tots) is not square.

3) That I've known Jason for 4 years and I just barely learned he and the kids love tator tot casserole. No peas, no onions, no green beans - just ground beef, cream of mushroom, and cheese.

But I'm glad they liked it. And, not surprisingly, Rooney did too.

Wheeler Farm

I keep a list in my phone of fun things to do when we have a free Saturday. It rarely gets used. But this weekend we had a Saturday afternoon where we could do something from The List. We were watching Jason's two year-old niece for the afternoon, so we decided to take her to Wheeler Farm. (Which is something I've wanted to do with the kids, but they thought they might be too old for, so we compromised and took a two year-old with us.) Which turned out to be a pretty good solution.

Val is right at the age where she likes to play, "What does the cow say?" It was pretty funny watching her try to match up the "oink oink" she thought the pigs should be making with the grunts the pigs were actually making. She kept everyone at the farm very entertained. Most of the afternoon went like this:

Mickey: "Val, what does the sheep say?"

Val, looking at Mickey, the sheep, and them back to Mickey, "Baaaaah. Say baaaaaah, sheep."

Wild applause. Repeat. We should have charged admission, because she was pretty cute.

We ended the adventure with "the big kids" taking a turn to milk Abby the cow. Mick wasn't sure about it, but Dahlia decided she wants to have a farm when she grows up, complete with chickens, a red barn, a tire swing, and cows that sleep in so she doesn't have to get up too early to milk them. 

She was very clear that she wanted a farm with lazy cows. It's good to have dreams. 

World's Cutest Bowlers

So maybe I'm a tiny bit biased. But are these not the cutest bowlers you've ever seen?

Dahlia's "last day of school" bright pink hair. She went swimming a couple of days after this picture was taken, and already the chlorine has taken its toll on the color. She's ok with that because she wanted it to be "more red" than it was.

 

Ethan only wanted to bowl with the blue ball, which happened to be 15 pounds. Thank goodness for bumpers and those dinosaur ramps.

Happy Birthday Kerry!!!

Jason's Dad would be celebrating his 60th birthday today. We miss him and his kind heart. Also, what I wouldn't give to get my hands on Kaylene's camping sweater. 

And don't you just LOVE this pic of the kids? So Mickey. So Dahlia. So Mickey.

I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore

Enjoyed a quick trip to Wendover to see REO Speedwagon perform. They're not as young as they used to be, but the front man still sounds great. And the bass player was the only one I was honestly afraid might not make it through the end of the show. It was a really fun concert, some great people watching, and kicked off an entertaining night of everyone saying who they would or would not like to see live. Jason surprised everyone by being pretty interested in seeing Phil Collins sometime. Noted.

So... I worked in insurance and risk management for well over a decade. I know, better than anyone, what a huge liability issue it is to have an empty swimming pool under renovation and have some idiot climb down into it. But there was no sign saying "don't get in the pool" and the padlock on the gate was suspiciously left open. It's almost like they wanted me to get in the pool, which I did, for about 2 seconds before I was chased out by an unhappy hotel employee who didn't appreciate my sense of humor. But I got the picture - and thoroughly embarrassed my husband, my dad, my sister and maybe even my brother, although to a lesser extent. I have no regrets.

Good thing Mickey doesn't know about the silly thing I did at the hotel, or he might not have sent us this cute Mother's Day artwork the next day. I had a great weekend. But you really can't take me anywhere. Especially Wendover.