Father's Day 2014

Last Saturday, the weather was beautiful, so we decided to take the kid's to Grant's Farm for a little Father's Day fun. We had talked about going to the City Museum, but it sounds like our kids are still a bit young to enjoy that place.

Samuel petted a camel.

Both kids had their first taste of a snow cone.

All four of us rode the carousel. Samuel chose the blue dragon to ride.

Eva Kate wasn't sure about all the goats.  Samuel really had fun though. He said that feeding the goats was the most fun part of his day. Last summer, he was a little hesitant of them.

James wanted to go out for barbeque at Pappy's for lunch, so I didn't pack a lot of food for the kids - knowing that they both eat something off the menu at Pappy's. Well, it was 1:30 when we got to Pappy's and there was a line out the door that almost reached the street. Onto plan B - a different BBQ restaurant called Bogart's. Still safe with the kid's food supply that I had packed. There was a line out the door when we got there too.  We're both getting frustrated at this point. Onto plan C - head to South Grand where we have our pick of a number of ethic restaurants - none of which are ever packed full. However, I begin to wonder about what the kids might eat there. James decided to go to The King and I, which serves Thai food.  I really began to wonder what the kids might eat.  I can just imagine trying to convince Samuel that Pad Thai is a delicious thing to eat. Thankfully, they had a kid's menu. Samuel ate a crab rangoon with peanut sauce and a chicken nugget or two. Whew.

Eva Kate also tried a chicken nugget, but I think most of it ended up on the floor. She ate some of the food that I'd packed.

I had the papaya salad, which was very good and just spicy enough for me. I didn't get a photo of what James ordered, but he had panang curry. Yummy, but it's usually too spicy for me.

After our lunch, James wanted to go to the Russell Stover store for ice cream. They serve Blue Bell ice cream - which is the best ice cream we've ever had beside homemade. None of the local grocery stores carry it here, and we miss it.  It is a wonderful treat to be able to get it from a local candy store!

Eva Kate loves ice cream. Samuel, not so much. He loves cookies though - and that's what I ordered for him. (These pics are from March, just in case you're wondering why we're all in different clothes.)

 Eva Kate handing her Daddy his card on Father's Day morning.

 We gave James a new briefcase to take to work. This is what happened to his old one. James glued the handle down and gave it to Samuel. He stuffed it full of Lily's toys.

Father's Day 2012

Six months ago, I had begun to wonder if James and I would ever be able to celebrate Father's Day. We'd had such an awful time trying to adopt, and we didn't know if we'd ever become parents. We are so thankful that we were able to celebrate James' first Father's Day this year.

I had unique Father's Day cards made at Shutterfly for James, our dads, and James' grandfather. All four cards were different, and they had photos of the recipient with Samuel. I love the way the turned out! I wish I had gotten a photo of all four cards, but we were in a hurry to get the other cards in the mail after we finally got them on Wednesday last week. I waited a week and half for these to come in, and I will not be using Shutterfly for these kind of cards again. CVS stores will make these, and I will use them next time. These cards don't cost any more than what you'd spend on them at Hallmark, and I like them so much better.

My parents wanted to give us something this year for our first Mother's and Father's Days. They gave me a pink hydrangea and they gave James two books - James Dobson's Bringing up Boys and Bedtime Blessings by John Trent. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

 James is definately the better cook between the two of us, and it was time he had his own apron.  I local store called Instant Imprints did the embroidery, and I am pleased with the way it turned out.

 I also got him tickets to the Cardinal's game yesterday. The game was fun, but our seats were in the sun. We got up after the 5th inning and stood in the shade in the "standing room only section." Samuel made it through the first nine innings, and we went home and watched the rest of the game in the air conditioning.  The Cards lost in the 14th inning.

I wanted to give James something that had Samuel's name engraved on it, but he never wear jewelry other his wedding ring. I found an Etsy shop where you can get personalized sterling silver guitar picks.  Check it out: Tomi's Treasures. James has a guitar that he plays from time to time. He said this was his biggest surprise. He took it to work today to show everyone.