Father's Day Weekend!

Father's Day!

We took a few pictures outside before church, and Dave was sure that he and the kids needed to incorporate the armadillo somehow.  (If you've known us for any length of time, you've probably heard that this armadillo has been a major small source of contention in our marriage.)  Isaac was also sure he needed to have his Texas flag in the picture.  :)

After I took this picture, I realized Emma wore this same outfit last Father's Day.  The pants are capris on her now, but comparing these two pictures shows me what a little girl she is now!  

last year--Father's Day 2013
(Emma also had a black eye from a fall!)

 I love this picture Dave and Isaac reading on the couch while I finished making dinner after church.  I think Isaac would be content to read non-stop.  I got home from Bible study the other night at nearly 10pm, and these two were still awake reading Laura Ingalls Wilder! 

Father's Day tradition at our house…ginger beer!  Isaac acted like he liked it, but I think it was only because he knows it's Dave's favorite.  (This is Dave's long-standing favorite all the way back to his Taylor days, where he discovered Vernor's ginger beer.)

My Father's Day gift to Dave was an afternoon to do whatever he'd like….of course, he chose to read.  :)  I baked the whole afternoon, and then we FaceTimed with Papa & Nana!  It is always great to see their faces and hear their voices, even if it's over a screen.  We are so excited that our kids are getting to visit them for a week next month!  

We swam and had dinner at my parent's house that evening.  My cousin, Nate, came too.  Isaac had a blast wrestling and swimming with both Nate and Dave.

My parents bought this new inflatable slide for the pool.  

Isaac and I tried to go down side-by-side….unsuccessful!  :)

I love how Emma is about to sail into my dad's arms while Isaac is hanging on his back.

Dave tried jumping over the entire slide!

a water war!

The water shooter that Nate is shooting over his shoulder was just $1 at the Dollar Tree and has been the BEST water toy this summer!

What's Father's Day without desserts?!?  

I made rum cream pie from A Homemade Life & Snicker Doodle Cupcakes.

(This rum cream pie was the BEST thing I think I've ever made…I already can't wait to make it again.)

My favorite thing was watching my dad savor the last few bites of pie right from the pie plate.  It made all the hours of baking worth it!  

We ended the night by eating popcorn by the pool.  Sometimes, it takes Emma a little while to warm up to people that she doesn't see very often.  But, by the end of the night she was happy to sit in Nate's lap and feed him popcorn.  I think he ended up being fed much more than he wanted to eat. :)

 A few other pictures from Father's Day weekend...

Biking on Friday night!  Our absolute favorite thing about our new house is its proximity to the Arcadia Trail System.  Now that Isaac can ride so well on his own, we have been biking nearly every day.  Dave and I keep saying that Isaac's ability to ride a bike is a total game-changer for our family!  It is so fun to bike together.  Emma sits in the back of the carrier and loves looking for dogs while we ride.  She also turns around and says "hi" to me at least every other minute. :)

And, on Friday night, we celebrated our eleventh wedding anniversary!  Our actual anniversary was the following day, June 14.

My parents kept Isaac and Emma for the evening so that we could go out.  We had a gift card that we used at Bonefish Grille, and then we walked over to Central Market for gelato.  A perfect night!

So thankful for this man God has given me!

This last year has been heartbreaking, challenging, and thrilling. We lost four grandparents. We moved to a new home, & Dave started a new job.   Together, we have experienced God's faithfulness and presence, and we can't wait to see what He has for us in year 12.