Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! 

I asked Marky if he wouldn't mind having my Dad over for dinner on Father's Day.

 I have to ask, because my poor husband will be the one cooking, on his special day.

 Of course Marky said yes, because he's wonderful and we decided to have our neighbors and my sister and family over also to celebrate. 

Then my sister-in-law came over too, at the last minute, and we couldn't have been happier!

 It was the perfect, fun group!

 We had so much fun, relaxing, laughing, eating, drinking, playing, it was awesome! 

Thank you to all the wonderful dads I know,

who are strong and sweet, hard-working, selfless, loving and kind.

 I know some amazing dads and I am lucky to have them in my life! 

So here's to you; thanks for enriching my life and making me happier everyday!

Dad Paulus (my Dad) and Karsten.

Dad Giglio (Tony) and Jen. 

Dad Jones (Jeremiah) and Jessica.                                                               Dad Yori (Marky) and Me!  

Dad Ruiz (Mike), sitting to the far right in white; 

everyone enjoying another amazing meal by Mark.

The kids, playing . . . 

From left to right - Jaden, Karsten, Ella, Gracie and Taylor.

The Yori siblings, the older ones, Mark and Jessie.

My Dad and his two girls, my sister and I.

Two of the three Ruiz girls, Ava and Megs.

Karsten and his Dad!

Grandpa Steve and his grand kids . . .

From left to right, Charlie, Karsten, Ava and Ella.

After dinner, the Giglio's invited us over to swim.

 It really was the perfect end to the perfect day and dinner!

 I hope the dads had as nice of time as I did!

Highland High School! HHS!

y Dad is so great with my kids, he is the best Grandpa ever! He had this fab idea to take Karsten to a high school football game, he chose the high school Karsten will eventually go to; Highland High. Thank goodness Karsten has a Grandpa who will teach him about football and stuff. He sure isn't learning it at home!

When Karsten came home, this is how I found him: tatted up! When I asked who did this to him, he said a girl! A girl! Mama is so not ready for this! :)

Grandparents Day at CRRE

arsten's school had a lunch for grandparents/parents. We were all invited to join them for recess, then stay to have lunch with the kiddos. We had a lot of fun! My dad was able to make it and so were Mark's mom and stepfather. Karsten was so happy and excited to have them there!

Here are my dad and Ava in Karsten's class before recess.


Jen and Taylor, our fab neighbors. We are so lucky, Taylor is in the same class as Karsten; it's the best having this fantastic family share Kindergarten with us.


Grandma Blackhair and Papa (Karsten made up Grandma's name. For awhile, he was identifying people by the color of their hair!)


Dad and Ava


Mama and Karsten


It was a great day - thanks for sharing your lunch with us, Karsten! And thank you grandma and grandpas for coming! Karsten was over the moon that you came! He's so lucky to have such wonderful g-parents in his life!

Family Photos with Daddy

y Dad wanted to get some pics with Meggy and I and the munchkins. I found Trevor through a friend of mine. Trev was awesome with kids, even though the morning of our pictures, it was the HOTTEST, MOST HUMID day of the year! Holy crap! We were all sweating like pigs! We had a lot of fun though and I was super happy with the pictures! And I got to keep all of them! I never get that! :) Yeah!

Dude Ranch

My dad's family had a huge family reunion in Tucson at the White Stallion Ranch. We had so much fun! There was unlimited horseback riding, food and drinks! They had a heated pool, a playground, arcade games, and a petting zoo. Each family had their own cabin. We had a great relaxing weekend. But Marky and I were so sore after riding! Karsten was old enough to ride a big horse (5 years old is the minimum age) - he looked so small on that big horse; but he was in love! His horse's name was Bronco - Bronco only had one eye and was slower than a snail, but Karsten was hooked! They gave Karsten a crop (a little stick) to get Bronco to move and every time he did, Bronco would trot and Karsten would yelp with joy. It was wonderful! My heart was bursting with pride for my little guy! Little Ella was too small for riding but there was so much other stuff to do, she didn't even mind. What a fantastic weekend!