Fathers Day Weekend

Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Mother's Day weekend, when all of a sudden it was time to celebrate our main man and all-around favorite dad, Jonathan, for Father's Day. 

Coincidentally, Whitney came into town to visit, so the weekend was set up perfectly to be one we remembered. She took the older three kids to the new Cars 3 movie Friday afternoon, and made s'mores cookies to take with them to the theater. Lizzie got to try one and she was in heaven with all that ooey-gooey marshmallow and chocolatey goodness!

Later that night Zach had an evening baseball game, which is always fun. We had to stare directly into the setting sun for about the first half hour, but the second half was perfect and we happily cheered this little guy on. He is a great first baseman.

Saturday morning we treated Whitney to one of our family favorites-- the Colorado Renaissance Festival in Larkspur, CO. It's one of Jon's summer favorites too, so it was perfect that it coincided with Father's Day. Huzzah! 

The kids were ecstatic and had been debating on 1) what they would pick to eat for lunch, and 2) what they would spend their allowance money on to buy. They discussed the various options with each other for weeks! 

Lucy and Leah even dressed up in princess/maiden costumes, and we HAD to get our picture with this cute unicorn named "Carrot" just inside the entrance. 

Jon challenged the kiddos to some knife throwing, and ironically, they both hit the target and Jon didn't! Knife throwing is actually really, really difficult! Who knew?

The pirate ship, which is Zach's favorite souvenir shop. He bought an eye patch, treasure chest with gold coins, and pirate musket with his hard-earned summer job allowance. He made off with some serious booty. Maybe we're paying these kids too much!

It was so fun being there with Whitney, and the people watching is BAR NONE!

Leah and Lizzie (who was brave enough to go by herself) rode the cute butterfly carousel in the children's section. You can't quite see Lizzie sitting there next to Leah, but she was SO proud of herself and sat up so straight and tall on the "big kid ride."

We also petted the little goats, and there was the most adorable baby goat who kept getting loose in a gap in the fencing-- and I literally would have stuck him in my purse and taken him home to be our pet if Jon had let me. I guess this means I need some goats on our farm!

Finally it was time for lunch! Zach picked the turkey leg, of course.

Lucy got her delicious "Steak on a Stake." (And pay special attention to her beautiful princess crown which is what she bought with her allowance).

Leah got a sausage, and Jon and I split some fish n' chips. We'd decided we'd better try the fried ice cream too, for good measure. It was a feast fit for a king!!! (Ha ha, see what I did there??)

We spent some more time looking around at all of the games and vendors, and then hurried home. Our next door neighbors the Barbers (Savannah's family) is moving to Boulder, CO due to a new job. We offered to have a big going away party at our house that Saturday night. We also invited the Hess family (who moved into the neighborhood a few months ago), so we had 8 kids and 6 adults at our backyard barbecue!

Zach is once again outnumbered by all the girls. Collin (who is 2) was his lone companion against 6 girls. He needs a little brother if anyone would volunteer one!

Jon did all of the barbecuing, and did a fabulous job with the grill. He also got all the coals ready for the kids to roast s'mores in our new fire pit. This is our new go-to since there was NO smoke (woohoo!) and the heat from the coals roasted them perfectly.

The kids, and who am I kidding?-- the adults too had a great time roasting marshmallows and it was so fun to out our "new" backyard to use!

The Barbers had purchased some fireworks, so we lined up all the kids on the sidewalk for an epic firework show. We will sure miss having them as neighbors! It's been so nice to have such a nice family to depend on in a pinch, and my kids have loved playing with Savannah and being able just to walk next door for an instant playmate.

There was a super CRAZY firework in the bunch that literally EXPLODED and showered everyone with hot (but otherwise harmless) sparks so we had to get up and run onto the driveway. The kids thought it was hysterical.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to celebrate this hottie-- the DAD of the hour! Whitney helped me make croissant french toast with strawberries and vanilla sauce for brekkie. Yum.

Lizzie's nursery teacher sent me this picture of her during singing time at church. She is being "Adam" while they sing "Follow the Prophet." As soon as we get to church, Lizzie makes a bee-line for the nursery room, and LOVES it. Too cute!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, JON! He is the BEST daddy in the whole world, and you know that because his kids just absolutely adore him.  They are so happy when he gets home from work-- especially Zach lately. You can tell he just idolizes his dad. He takes them all on one-on-one dates, provides so many fun experiences and vacations and opportunities, works hard enough for 2 people so that I can stay home, and sets an amazing example with his church service. He is totally irreplaceable in our family and we sure LOVE him! Hope his weekend of fun made him feel as special as he is!