Oh yes wait a minute Mr. Postman ....

Downside: I bought Aunt Stephanie's birthday card three weeks ago (Seriously!) and I STILL forgot to get it in the mail in time. (Seriously! See what I get for being prepared? Never again.)

Upside: Because of my lateness Aunt Steph will be receiving a super special birthday bonus in the mail. Wanna see? Okay - but shhhh it's a secret!

Because a boring package just isn't worth sending ...


Ohhh weird - what happened to the address? SO "The Ring". I hope that box doesn't get a mysterious call telling it that it only has 7 days to live.










It's very difficult to write on cardboard boxes.


What?! I censored it didn't I!?

What does the exciting yet mysterious box contain? A hint:


HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT STEPHANIE!!! Your goodies should be arriving shortly.

**Edit - Yes I realize I put the wrong last name on the package. Just trying to see who is paying attention out there and keep you on your toes! You're welcome!**

Father's Day 2009 - Part 2

Now where were we ... ah yes, our arrival at Mima and Pop Pop's.

Mima bought Pop Pop a really nice deck lounge chair for his Father's Day gift. Here is Pop Pop showing Jack the relaxation ropes.


Jack loves playing in the fountain on the deck.

He especially loves getting his hands soaking wet then shaking them all over you and your perfectly straightened hair. Fun!

Jack also loves playing with his balsa wood airplane.


As do Gramps and Uncle Paul!



After airplane time Jack recruited a crowd for puzzle time. Wait is this Father's Day or Jack's Day? (Trick question. Every day is Jack's Day)




Then it was present time. I presented our dads with my oh-so-cute-blueman-group-free cookies. Gran presented Mike with his gift ...


What's in that big blue bag? Gin! And I'm not talkin' about the card game.

Look at how it comes with a little baby bottle of citron! Like a daddy bottle and a baby bottle. How fitting!

All the men got scratch off lotto cards.



Gramps was the big winner - $17 on ONE card! All expense paid vacation here we come - Pizmo Beach and all the clams we can eat!

Up next - food - glorious food! Dinner was a-MAZING. Beyond amazing. Super double amazing times infinity. And Mima made just about everything from scratch except for the chicken which came from the Peruvian chicken joint in Fairfax. Wanna see?

There was this mint green colored stuff called "Watergate Salad" which I was a bit too intimidated to try (um - it was MINT GREEN!) but everyone else loved it.


Caesar salad (tasted JUST like the one from Outback Steakhouse).


Cheddar cheese biscuits (I could have eaten 5 of these things. And by "could have" I mean "did")


Plaintains (also from the Peruvian chicken joint. Have you had Peruvian chicken? It's SO my new obsession)


Here is my dinner plate in it's entirety (minus 4 biscuits)


Mmmm mmmm MMMM! My compliments to the chef.

The chef shuns the paparazzi.


In addition to Father's Day we were also celebrating a belated birthday for Gramps. You know what that means. CAKE!


I'm eating cake left-overs as I type this - jealous much?

After cake there was a bit more relaxing..

And then Jack (who missed his nap that day) started getting all nutso-crazy so we hit the road and headed home.

Here is Jack approximately 15 minutes into the trip.


Definitely a sign of a successful par-TAY.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Father's Day 2009

Happy Father's Day to all you amazing fathers out there. My life has been blessed with the presence of four of the most amazing dads in the universe - Mike G, Gramps, Pop Pop, and Mike C. I hope you all had a wonderful day today!

Jack and I started off the day by making breakfast in bed for Jack's Daddy. We also made him a special card. Here is Jack hard at work ..


And our super special gourmet breakfast..


Do you see what we did there? No? Here is a close up.

That's right - we wrote "We heart u" in buttered toast!!! How cute are we?

After delivering breakfast in bed to MGif, Jack and I finished up our very special presents for Pop Pop and Gramps..

Yes - those would be made-from-scratch decorated sugar cookies. And the "vase" is actually a pencil holder. The pencil holder was Jack's idea. He decorated it personally. And yes - there were two of them. We did not make them share.

SO cute, right? They would not have been so cute had I included the "Pièce de résistance" that was supposed to be the centerpiece of the cookie bouquet.

Since our Dads are not members of "Blue Man Group" (if Blue Man Group were aliens) I decided to leave those cookies out. Seriously what was I thinking? I was SO displeased with how those turned out that I was forced to eat guy-on-the-left's head. PS: He's about 2 minutes from losing his arms as well.

So then it was off to Mima and PopPop's for a Gifford/Cronin/Duda Father's day celebration! Jack bought a new shirt for the occasion.


Awwww -so sweet, right? Any idea how many shots I have to take to get that one "Awwww" shot?


That is just a sample. There are about 25 more just like those.

Up next ... Mima and Pop Pop's house ...

I've got the whole world in my hands ...

The other morning while I was rushing around getting ready for work Jack approached me and told me there was something he HAD to give me. We were running a bit late ... I still had some hair straightening to do ... but it sounded important. So I stopped, and asked him what it was he HAD to give me. And this is what it was ..



He placed his globe beach ball (which came with a VERY cool book he received for his birthday) in my hands and said "This is for you. Because you are the most BEAUTIFUL woman in the world."

Sigh.

Want to sigh some more? Yes? Then I'll tell you where Jack gets that from. His Daddy. His Daddy tells me I'm beautiful all the time. He even told me I was beautiful when I looked like this:


And I believe he meant it. That was no small feat I'm sure. Seriously tho - where is my neck?


Y'all (I tend to go southern when I get emotional), my heart is so very full and happy. My guys give me more love in one day then many people get in an entire lifetime. I am so very fufilled.

Happy Father's Day to the most amazing husband and father anyone could ever dream of having. JGif and I love you so much, Mike! Thank you for devoting your life to loving and taking care of us. You truly have given me the world. I hope not a day goes by that you don't know how much you are loved and appreciated.