Father's Day...

For my Boo-Boo and my Lan-Lan…Love Daddy!

It’s not often that I contribute much more than some proofreading for this “blog” thing…I do enjoy my wife keeping everyone up to date, and I think it’s a great method of communicating what’s happening in our lives, primarily our two princesses! I will make exceptions, on occasion, and contribute actual literary dialogue to the blog! Father’s Day is one of those occasions. Since this will someday be bound for our girls into hardback form, I want them to know how much Father’s Day means to me.

Daddy and his two princesses

I cannot thank or appreciate my wonderful wife enough. Each year she comes up with the most creative, thoughtful ideas. This isn’t an easy task, as when she asks me what I’d like for Father’s Day, I have the standard two requests…1. A picture of the girls for my Father’s Day Book (Erin started this with Ashton on my first Father’s Day. 2. Watch the final round of the U.S. Open golf tourney. Pretty simple, but from a “present” standpoint, that’s all I really want.

Once again, this year, my girls outdid themselves! It started with me sleeping in until 9:30 Sunday morning. This rarity happens maybe a couple of times a year, so I cherish being able to sleep past 8 o’clock. When I woke up, the girls were getting dressed and Ashton was having her hair done. Ashton gets so excited about these days…she absolutely LOVES to give presents. She’s so thoughtful and excited to see other people receive the gifts she’s gotten, so she rushed me to the living room where my presents were waiting.

I opened a shoe box sized gift first. In the box were several items: cologne, cuff links, coasters with the girls’ pictures, and a hammer. The cologne was new cologne that I had tried at a store one day and really liked, I needed some more, so Erin knew exactly what to get. I love cuff links…they provide a classy touch to my business attire, and also a reminder of my girls…this is the second pair that I’ve gotten as a gift from them. Erin and I have been talking about needing coasters in our living room…much nicer than using a napkin all the time, so coasters with the girls’ pictures was a great idea.

The cuff links Ashton picked out by herself

The coasters...Ashton Raley chose the pictures to go in these

Now, to the hammer…

Erin was taking Ashton to do Father’s Day shopping when Ashton proclaimed “Mommy, we need to go to Home Depot and get Daddy a gift certificate, he needs a new hammer. His has paint on it, and it’s wooden…he might get a splinter!” Erin said it was everything she could do to keep a straight face at this point. Erin knows I have about five hammers in varying sizes and shapes, all perfectly useful. However, how could she deny this sweet little girl from such a thoughtful gift? So, they went to Home Depot, but instead of a gift card, Erin had Ashton actually pick out the hammer she thought I should have. Ashton picked out a nice 16 oz (standard size) hammer, all metal construction (no splinters!), with a blue (my favorite color) shock absorbing handle!!!! She was so proud of herself; I wish everyone could have seen her face! I’ll cherish that hammer forever…it makes me so proud that she puts so much thought into her gifts. She actually thought about not only what, but why I needed that gift.

"The Hammer" chosen by Ashton...perfect for her Daddy!

Finally, I opened up a beautiful picture frame. In the frame on the left is a picture of Ashton and me holding hands, on the right, Landry and me holding hands, and in the middle a nice poem about a Daddy’s hand and taking care of his girls. Erin worked so hard on this, so hard, in fact, she had a meltdown or two. As she’s already blogged, our home computer took a crash a week ago, so she was constructing this present on a new computer that doesn’t quite do things like the old one. She was up until 2:00 am on Saturday night trying to get this present finished. As many of you know, she’s a perfectionist, and she wasn’t going to have that gift anything less than perfect.

The frame...a not so perfect picture of it...sorry it's the best I could get!

Now, you would think, “what a wonderful Father’s Day”, but it didn’t end there! As soon as I was finished opening my gifts, Ashton made a beeline for her playroom and put on her “cook’s apron” and proceeded to make me breakfast. I’ll tell you, that was the best Eggo Waffle I’ve ever eaten! She was so proud to actually take it out of the freezer, put it in the toaster, and get it out (with a big ol’ oven mitt!). She even served it along with a glass of orange juice to me at the table!

I had to mow the lawn, but as soon as I got done, out of the shower, and Landry woke up from her nap my ladies took me to Baker Brothers for lunch. I love their grilled chicken sandwich called the “North Beach”…the closest one is a few miles down the road, so we don’t go very often, so this was yet another special Father’s Day treat!

We got home and I got to watch the U.S. Open. What a wonderful golf tournament this year, and at one point I had Ashton snuggled up to me on the left and Landry on the right. Now that’s a great way to watch golf!

Now, for the big finale. Erin and Ashton grilled steak and sweet potatoes outside! I think this is Erin’s third attempt at the grill, and she is officially three for three! Once again, Ashton was all about serving me the dinner, and once again she did a perfect job!!!

I am so honored to have a wife that puts the amount of love and time that she does into this day. It’s a gift enough for me to be the Daddy of those two girls, and the Husband of this wonderful woman…I appreciate and am humbled that she thinks I deserve more!

I hope that all the fathers that may be reading this had a wonderful day and that your time with your family is as special to you as mine is to me.