~Father's Day~

On Friday, we spent the evening with my dad to give him his Father's Day gift and watch a movie with him since he was going to be out of town on Father's Day. The kids helped pick out some treats and a shirt for him! I am so grateful for the wonderful dad that he has always been! He has always been so much fun and has taught me so much. I am a lot like my mom, but I feel like I'm even more like my dad. I've got his cheesy sense of humor, his love for Halloween and playing dress up any chance we get, his love for throwing parties as he always took charge of ours growing up, his love of donuts and other pastries more than candy, his always being up to doing anything and have an adventure, and his love and appreciation of music - rock in particular! Whenever I was about to be in trouble for something, my trick to get out of it was I'd start asking him questions about music, and we'd sit and talk about it forever and he'd forget he was mad at me! Him and I can talk forever together about anything! I love it! He is such a fun grandpa now to my kids, and they absolutely love him. Happy Father's Day, Dad! I love you!!!

Father's Day morning, the kids and I got up before Mike was awake to make him pancakes! The kids helped make them, and did a great job!

Breakfast all ready to bring up to Mike! The kids wanted to make the pancakes into Father's Day related shapes. All we came up with was a star (not a very good one) and a tie, which ended up looking like.....something else?

After breakfast, Mike came downstairs to some fun surprises on the table!

Mike said he didn't want us to get him anything because he already bought himself a couple of new pairs of shoes, but little did he know we had already bought everything two months ago! We got him a couple of BBQ trays.....no more using my cookie sheets and cake pans to bring in the meat! :)

And a harmonica! Ashton had gotten a toy harmonica in New Mexico, and Mike had so much fun playing around on it I thought I'd get him a real one! He's almost got the harmonica part from "Piano Man" down.....I can't wait for him to be my own Billy Joel!!

Church was great, it's always fun to see the kids sing "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home." My kids were funny though, they both complained that they were tired of singing the same song every year! Too bad there are no other Father's Day songs in primary, so they'll have to get used to it! Anyway, I came home early to get dinner ready so everyone could eat right when they got home so we could head out for some fun! Mike and I have been realizing lately that we haven't been very outdoorsy, like ever, in our marriage. It's really starting to show in our kids. Brayden refuses to eat anything outside because of bugs, so no picnics for her, and Ashton is even starting to be afraid of bugs. We thought we'd better start exposing them to more outside, and plan on doing lots of nature walks, hikes, and maybe even.....CAMPING this summer! Yes, I hate camping, but I'm desperate to make my kids less wimpy when it comes to the outdoors, so I'm willing to sacrifice myself for them! Plus, I've never actually camped not in the rain and mud, so I might actually like camping in Utah (as long as there's showers and real restrooms of course)! We shall see! Anyway, so yesterday we decided to head up Big Cottonwood Canyon to do a mini hike to a waterfall! It was so fun and beautiful up there! It's so close, I can't believe it's taken us so long to get out there! I can't wait to go back and explore more! So gorgeous!!!

The waterfall felt so nice misting on us in the 90+ degree heat! The kids even tried drinking from it!

After Cottonwood Canyon we took the kids to ride their scooters at Murray Park. It was a lot of fun! We loved seeing these big beautiful butterflies everywhere! The kids were fascinated!

After walking around and riding scooters, the kids had fun playing on the playground!

We had an amazing Father's Day! I can't say enough how grateful I am to have Mike as the father of my kids. He is an amazing dad, and helps to balance me out as a parent. He stays calm and patient when I'm not, and I think it works vice versa as well. We are a great team! The kids are always so excited when he comes home from work, and even after a long, hard day he is always ready to give them attention and play with them. They are so lucky to have such a wonderful, devoted dad and they love and adore him so much! I love you, Mike! Thank you for all that you do!!!