My man and I got to share June 16 this year, as we celebrated him being an incredible father to our children and me turning 32 years old. Since we have just a few other things going on in our life right now, we had both decided our day would be low-key (which, in reality, most of our holidays are). I had intended to sneak out early Sunday morning to get donuts, but when I got up at 6 am, Brett was already gone. Darn it. He arrived back at home around 7:30, explaining that he'd had to go into round (I was under the impression that he had the day completely off) and had picked up some donuts on the way home. Well, at least my good intentions were there, right??
I had managed to get him Father's Day cards from myself and the kiddos. Kaiser had worked on his the day before. I sat him down at the kitchen table with some markers and told him he could write his own message to Daddy. A few minutes later, I returned and read this:
Daddy is thrilled to know that they are on a first-name basis. :)
Not long after opening cards, we had to skidaddle to make it to church at 9:00. We opted for the earlier service this week so that Daddy could go play golf at noon with two of his best buddies from work. It would be their last round together for a long, long time, and it being his day and all, I figured he deserved it. Before we walked out the door, I wrangled Daddy and our minis for an official Father's Day pic.
Loves of my life.
I'd planned to take the kids to Anderson Playground to run off some energy after church, but it was a rainy morning, so we just came back home instead. While trying to brainstorm how to kill some time, I suggested that we make a "Welcome Home" sign to leave for the sweet family who is moving into our house this Thursday. Kaiser and Porter were surprisingly excited about this project. We got out some poster board, big markers, crayons, and stickers, and they worked on it for quite a while. I thought it turned out nice.
Hopefully the Mocks think so, too!
After finishing up the sign, I put in An American Tail for the boys to watch while I made them some lunch. Then we had a pretty standard rest of the afternoon, with reading and naptime. Kaiser and Porter both knew that they had a special evening ahead of them; it was a Miss Megan night! Brett had made us dinner reservations at Tamari, our favorite sushi place, to celebrate my birthday/Father's Day/our 8th anniversary (which went unacknowledged here on the blog, but was last Monday). He had even taken it upon himself to contact our babysitter to arrange for her to come over. We were so sad knowing that this was our last time to see Miss Megan. She is the absolute best. We would pack her up and take her with us if we could! I keep telling Megan that I'm going to research job opportunities (she's a dental hygienist) in the Oklahoma City area; at the very least, I want her to come on a family vacation with us someday!
She has loved our babies so well these past three years.
Off for some Mommy/Daddy time!
Now, I probably shouldn't have been surprised -- seeing as my husband is so good at surprises -- but I was totally caught off guard when we arrived at Tamari to find that our dinner reservation was not just for two, but for six! We were joined by our bests, the Edwardses and the Hosmers (who, I later learned, had been parked at the top of our street, waiting for us to leave the house so that they could drop off Harlow with Miss Megan, too!). I was especially shocked to see Meaghan and Mark, as I was under the impression that they were still on a family trip to Disney World. (They'd literally gotten home half an hour beforehand.) Needless to say, I was ecstatic. I can never, ever get enough time with these ladies (and their husbands are pretty great, too). They are so dear to me.
Happy Birthday Girl.
We spent the next two and a half hours talking and drinking and laughing and feeding our faces with crazy delicious sushi. Though I'm fairly certain all of us were stuffed, we couldn't turn down dessert. Remember how Brett left the house early that morning to "round"? Well, he'd actually driven to Oakmont Bakery, where he'd picked up this beauty. (And, as it turns out, the donuts -- I had thought mine seemed a little fancier than normal!)
Chocolate and caramel and chocolate and pecans and chocolate.
Our waitress offered to plate it for us, and when she returned, there were even candles accompanying it.
4 candles x 8 years/candle
Making a wish.
We left the serving in the hands of the Master Chocolatier.
Y'all, that cake really pretty awesome. Oakmont Bakery never disappoints! We were taking our time enjoying dessert, when suddenly we realized that the restaurant was pretty dead. It was almost 10:00, and they were nearing closing. Before we called it a night, we asked one of the waitresses to snap a picture of our party.
Love. These. Fools.
I really couldn't have asked for better friends to help me celebrate turning 32. It was a bittersweet night; I'm finally realizing just how big huge a piece of my heart I'll be leaving behind with them when we leave Pittsburgh. (For the record, when I got home that night, I did my first -- and probably not my last -- "ugly cry". I blame Kacia and the birthday card she wrote for completely wrecking me...)
And, of course, I couldn't ask for a more amazing husband, who went above and beyond to coordinate this special birthday surprise. Brett loves me and serves me so well. I don't deserve him -- no way, no how -- but somehow our merciful God saw fit to give him to me. It is an honor to walk alongside him, love him, and raise three beautiful children with him.
Happy Father's Day, Baby. I love you forever and ever and ever.
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