About Dan's Hair. Or Lack Thereof.

Because I'm so behind on my blog I forget about some of our little day to day funny things that happen.  However, this photo triggered a memory.

My hair dresser who passed away (Stephanie) taught me how to cut Dan's hair.  I've been doing it ever since, so probably around 5 years.  We often cut it at night, in poor lighting, always in the garage.  Often, I'm tired and in a hurry to get to other things.

So one night Dan went out and set everything up as he does, and I went out, anxious to get back to what I was doing and picked up the clippers and took a few sweeps up the back of his head and noticed that a lot of hair was coming off.  I started to say, "Boy, your hair has really grown since the last time we cut it."  I got out,

"Boy, your hair has really...

Uh-Oh." 

And then I started laughing hysterically.

Because I realized I forgot to put the guard on the clippers!  Dan looked at me with wide eyes, put his hand to his head and said, "What did you do?!?"  I was laughing so hard I couldn't talk, tears were rolling down my cheeks, it was SO funny.

I just love to laugh like that. 

Of course there was nothing to do but finish the job.  It was so funny.  Fortunately, Dan actually ended up liking it and cuts it like that himself now and it gives him a longer time between hair cuts!  And really, his hair (what is left) was so short it wasn't that big of a difference anyway.  But it was great for a laugh.

Father's Day 2013

 

Dan is a great Dad to our kids.  He invests a lot of himself into his children and prioritizes time with his family and I'm very grateful for that.  It's nice to have a day where we can show our appreciation to him for all that he does for our family on a day to day basis.  Being a good Dad isn't easy, and our family is really fortunate to have a wonderful father in Dan.

Dan's day started off with a very simple breakfast in bed.  He always has a banana with 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter on it for breakfast as he runs out the door each morning.  We added a piece of toast with Mom's homemade apple butter and greeted him in bed.



The kids love to do this and it feels like a special, sweet part of the day.  Dan enjoyed his breakfast and then we headed out for church.  After church we changed and went to Camas Meadows for lunch and a bit of putting.



It's such a beautiful golf course, I love to come here.  It's so peaceful, it feels like a mini vacation.  I love that it's so close to where we live.



We headed out to the putting practice green for a little family competition.



The next two photos are such examples of our life.  They make me laugh and feel tired all at the same time.  Pretty much how I feel a lot around here. :)

Dan gave the children a talk about golf etiquette and how to behave on a golf course. So as Dan is trying to help Kitti learn how to put, look who is in the back left acting like an animal.



And as I'm taking the next photo, I'm saying, "Andrew!  Stop it!" 

Oh my word. 

We are such a circus.

 

He did not take a divet out of the green and was actually being funny.  Except that it wasn't funny at the time.   However, I have learned to laugh at my life (at least in retrospect) or I would go crazy.

 

Andrew did settle in and tried to putt.  He is not a big fan of golf.  On a side note, I think he accidentally put on Matthew's pants that day because they are looking awfully long.  Wouldn't be the first time. :)

 

I was teaching the kids how to squat down and "read the green."   Andrew took it to a whole new level and did this

every.

time.

 

The "Daddy's Girl" in me loves this photo.

 

Being on the golf course reminds me of my Dad so it was nice to be there on Father's Day and in a small way feel closer to him.  So it just feels like such a happy place for me.  Being there with my own kids and teaching them how to golf was really special and fun.  I hope for this to be a game that we can enjoy as a family.  I wish so much my Dad could have been here with us.  He would have delighted in this day.  And he would have LOVED that I beat Dan in our putting competition.  :) 

One of the things that still puts a lump in my throat is the "Dad" section of Father's Day cards when I go to buy Dan's card each year.  For some reason that doesn't get easier.  But I still reflect on my own Dad on this day and give thanks for him.  His lessons and love live on and I can still feel grateful for that on this day and every day of the year.  And most of the time, I can do that with a smile now.  

 

My little Bugaboo.

After we golfed we headed home and got into play clothes to go explore a park that Dan wanted to check out.



The lake was not the cleanest...lots of algae.

 

I wasn't sure that I'd want to come back and let the kids swim in it, but a little wading never hurts (bath to follow!)

 

Dan's Father's Day request was a steak.  So a grilled steak, twice baked potatoes, a margarita and a simple salad made for a quick but nice dinner.

The kids washed the lake off, and then it was time for gifts!

 

Matthew made this great art piece at school for Dan.  I just have to pause here and share a word about Matthew's PJs.  He loves footie jammies.  Matthew has never liked change.  Transitions were always miserable with him as an infant and a toddler.  Altering his daily routine left us all regretting it for the rest of the day.  And so it comes as no surprise that he prefers footie PJs...just like he wore all the time as a baby, toddler, small child.  Except it gets harder to find them the bigger he gets!  I found these on the Land's end website after winter for a steal, and it was the only pattern left.  And I think they are SO ugly.  And I think nearly every picture we have of Matthew in this PJs he is wearing them! They are the first to go on as soon as they are clean and even in the middle of summer, the fleece PJs are on! 

 

Kaitlin's silky pony PJs that she's wearing were hand me downs from Claire, and she LOVES them. 

I think gifts might be one of Kaitlin's love languages.  She is forever wrapping things that she makes, finds, or picks from outside and gives them to people.  She was very proud of her card for Daddy.

 

Andrew and his sweet card too.

 

Dan received some simple gifts...I gave him some CS Lewis books to fill in more of his collection and a new dress shirt....

 

He has lost so much weight his clothes just hang on him, so I've been slowly buying new shirts for him.  He has a lot of very nice dress pants that just were ridiculous on him and we recently took them into Nordstrom where they were purchased to check about alterations and they altered all 8 pairs of them for free!!  It would have been very expensive to replace them all, and so we were thrilled.  I'm so happy that he has been committed to becoming healthier.  He looks great and is working hard to make good choices and I'm very proud of him.

It was a really fun day celebrating and showing gratitude for Dan and all he contributes to our family.  I love holidays and having an opportunity to pause from our day to day life and make fun memories as a family.

Easter Traditions

(I can't believe that it is June 1 and I'm posting about EASTER!)

It is our tradition to dye eggs the day before Easter, after the Easter Egg hunt.  On this particular day, my mom was heading to New Orleans with some friends and so I drove them to the airport prior to decorating eggs.  I have to include their photo because they are so cute and funny together.  I have to say, I enjoy hanging out with them too!

 

Patti is in the middle ~ she is a teacher and was part of Mom's original grief group. Gail is on the far right and she works with Mom.  She was invited to join the grief group (they still meet on mondays for dinner) after the first year was over and they continued to meet on their own.

Their personalities are really fun and Dan said they remind him of a group of teenage girls they are just always laughing, telling stories and having fun.  You wouldn't believe some of the adventures they have traveling!  They are all widowed and I am so glad that my mom has friends like these that she enjoys.  She doesn't sit at home feeling lonely.  Though she misses Dad, she is out traveling and having fun and I am really proud of her.  

While the kids were waiting for me to get things ready they played outside with a hammer, nails, wood and yes, I do believe a saw (gasp).  I've come a long way from my early over-protective days of parenting.




And I included a comprehensive safety talk which was comprised of me opening the back door and calling out, "Be Careful!"

After all, things can be sewn back in place, right?



They had a BALL.

Matthew is a builder at heart.  He has been building since he had the motor skills to do it.  It is his passion and clearly where we need to find opportunities for him to explore.  On this day, he built this little stand for his mini figures.....



My little engineer....



Then it was time to decorate eggs!



I love to get in on the fun too.

We did 12 last year and it simply wasn't enough.  So we did 18 this year!  Andrew and Dan love to eat them, so they are gone in no time.



Matthew and his bunny egg that he created with a wax crayon.



We've lost many an egg to Andrew's little hands during this tradition.  But I'm proud to say this year he didn't break a single one!  In fact, I think it was me who broke one!



I love this picture of Kitti.  Crafting is SERIOUS business!  The kids were all so self sufficient this year! And the Bug LOVED this.



Her little hands were covered in dye (who needs to use a spoon when you have hands?!) and I was glad I had little white gloves ready for Easter Sunday.



Long after the boys finished, Kaitlin sat at the table quietly embellishing the eggs.  She loves to craft and was busy for quite a while.  After all, if a little is good, more is better! 



Examining her next empty canvas.



Tada!

Our next tradition are Resurrection rolls.  I love how this brings the resurrection story to life for the kids.  A marshmallow dipped in butter, sugar/cinnamon is wrapped inside of a crescent roll.  (Just as Jesus' body was prepared with spices and placed in a tomb). 





The wrapping part can be a little hard.



Some looked more like squashed balls, but it's all about the process.



The most important part is getting the sides sealed so marshmallow doesn't ooze all over.

After they are baked, and bitten into ~ the marshmallow is gone!!

He is risen!

Meanwhile, Dan made an A-M-A-Z-I-N-G stuffed cabbage.



It was sooooo good.  This was right before it went on the grill.  It has chicken italian sausage, bacon, cheese, sauted red onion and homemade BBQ sauce.



That night, as I was getting ready for Easter.  Matthew folded some cute little origami bunny napkins.  We tried to do it with the cloth ones, but couldn't get it to work.  He did manage it with these.

 

He is an origami master of sorts.  :)  It's fun to include the kids with the holiday preparations.  They went to bed VERY excited for Easter the next day!

Doughnuts with Dad

I just realized that this is the third post in a row that Kaitlin is wearing this dress.  Clearly it's a favorite!

There are a few very significant days in the pre-school calendar that conjure a lot of excitement and enthusiasm.  Donuts with Dad is definitely one of them.  The kids are SO proud to have their Dad (or grandpa, or uncle) to join them for Donuts at school.  For 6 years we have been a part of this sweet tradition at Circle of Friends, and this is our last time.

 

I went to school to take some photos of Daddy and his girl.

 

Per tradition, they were hard at work making ties for one another.



The finished product & matching smiles!



Dan did a great job taking photos of the kids' performance.



I just love this age.



They ended their morning together with a sweet treat.



Dan loves these traditions as well.
It's bittersweet as they come and go this year knowing that they will be our last time to experience them.