Father's Day Weekend

I got the best present this Father's Day when my Dad was able to come visit for the weekend! We are so lucky that our parent's travel which has afforded us many visits while we have lived far away. He was able to drive up Friday from Florida in between 2 weeks of work. As soon we told Braelyn he was coming for a visit she began to pray each night and morning that he would know how to find our house and could travel safely to see us. I definitely got a little tired of telling her which day it was and trying to explain how many more days would pass until he got here and they were bouncing off the walls waiting on Friday. There were lots of hugs once he got here but he made the mistake of saying Munga so the first hour Berkley kept asking him "Where Munga?" I think she must believe they are a package deal. He brought the girls a bubble machine so we pumped up the air mattress and let the girls bounce around and get the bubbles until Berkley took a nose dive off the edge and bumped her head, then we decided we better put them on the floor. Braelyn was so excited to have Papa stay in her room with her and insisted he do everything for her, read her story, help her with her pajamas, he had to do it all. After he read her story she snuck over and climbed onto his air mattress so each night we had to carry her back into her bed.

We took him to Splash, our waterpark, the next day. It was a very hot and crowded day, so I was thrilled to have someone else to help chase the girls around. Braelyn loved showing him all the new swimming things she has learned and jumped to him over and over again. Berkley didn't want him to take her into the water but as soon as he would get too far away she would insist that I followed him and stayed close. He was tireless in playing with them and I worried we were going to wear him totally out. After we swam we showed him the bridge where we feed the turtles then headed home for naps and cooling off. Braelyn told him she would take a nap so he read her some stories but as soon as he would quiet down she would yell, "Wake up!" He definitely didn't get any rest. He treated us to dinner that night and we even stopped at the park, where we could barely stand the heat if we stayed in the shade. That night the men had to fix a huge hole I had put in our garage ceiling when I stepped through the drywall. I was so glad someone was there to help Kevin because that meant I didn't have too! It was so hot I think they had both lost 20 lbs from sweating so much by the time they were finished, but they were able to get it finished. It just wouldn't be a visit from Dad if we didn't have a project we needed help with.


Sunday was a busy day as usual, but we were able to give both Dads their gifts before church. We did the more sentimental route this year and I took Braelyn to a pottery shop where she picked a piece for each of them and we painted them together. She was excited to show them what she had made. At church Braelyn sang the Father's Day song with the primary and I can't get over how much I love seeing her up there. After the meeting she told the song leader she was nervous to go up there but when she her she helped her to not be afraid. When she came back to the bench she hugged Daddy then loudly exclaimed, "I love you Papa!" We did a big southern dinner that afternoon, as chicken fried steak in Kevin's favorite, and before we knew it was time for Papa to leave. Braelyn gave him a guilt trip and said "It is Father's Day, dad's shouldn't leave, they should stay with their families always." Ohhh, nothing like a child to pull at your heart strings. It was such a wonderful weekend, it is amazing how great just being with your family can do for your psyche, it does so much too pep us up. I love having someone else around who thinks my kids are as neat as I do and takes so much joy from being with them. And it never hurts to have someone else to hear, "Watch me, look here, play this..." I wish the visit could last longer, and the downside is that they always have to leave, but now the countdown is on until we go home for our long vacation. Thank you so much for visiting Dad, you are welcome anytime you get the chance, thank you for your love and support, I couldn't ask for a better father!