Father’s Day Top 4

This week had a little of everything. An anniversary, a birthday, Father’s Day and even a good ol’ fashioned sod laying party.

This week is always epic for my family. First comes my parents’ anniversary (6/12), then my dad’s birthday (6/14) followed immediately by Father’s Day (6/16). So much celebrating!

#4 – Dinner at Red Lobster

Many of you know I have an unhealthy love for cheddar bay biscuits. This must shine through somehow when I fill out surveys because a while ago I filled out an online questionnaire from a Red Lobster receipt. Then guess what happened? They emailed me a free $50 gift card and asked me to try out one of their new meals and give my opinion. Well, yes I will! Thank you very much! I brought my dad and Brayden along for some wonderful company.

#3 – Mom and Dad’s Anniversary and Brayden’s Bedroom Reveal

Wednesday was my parents’ 31st wedding anniversary. I admire their commitment to each other and genuinely hope to have that some day. To celebrate, we had a family dinner at the house. It was also a very special day because Brayden had not been to my parents’ new house since they moved in, as recounted in the post “Big Moves and Birthday Grooves”. My parents had his room all ready and filled to the brim with new toys, including a really cool, huge pirate play ship I bought special for his room at their house. Brayden loved his new room at Nana and Papa’s and couldn’t stop kissing and hugging them. It was absolutely precious.

#2 – Dad’s Sod-Laying Birthday Party

My dad’s birthday was Friday but we all got to together on Saturday to give him the best gift a man can get—manual labor. My brother, Ryan, his girlfriend, Abby, Shawn and I teamed up with my mom and dad on Saturday morning to lay more than 2,300 sq. ft. of sod, make paver walls around trees and plant flowers. The pictures below show the process and the result.

Later that evening we all returned to the house to surprise my dad with his real birthday gift, a fire pit for his new backyard. My brother took his fire making responsibilities pretty seriously so  we had to sit around the tree for a bit until the fire chilled out (no pun intended).

#1 – Father’s Day

I owe so much to my father. More than I could ever write in a blog post. He is a wonderful dad, an amazing Papa to my son and a great man all around.

We celebrated Father’s Day the same way we spent Mother’s Day, with Shawn’s family. But this time a couple good friends joined us too, Mark and Stephanie. We enjoyed a delicious meal, plenty to drink, dancing and lots of laughs all while golden oldies played in the background. My dad’s Father’s Day gift was a real fishing set for Brayden so they can go out on their first angling adventure. It was an absolutely perfect evening.

I hope your week was a fabulous one too. But the night’s not over for me. The moment I click “Publish” on this post, I get to enjoy the season premiere of “True Blood”. Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any better, it does!