Celebrating the Best of the Best!

Happy Father's Day to my dear husband, as well as my dad and father-in-law, and all the dads we know!

My boys have it so good when it comes to their dad. For as much as I am crazy and frantic and stressed and just a total nut, he is calm and relaxed and slow-moving and happy and fun. (For the record, Gavin moves at a turtle's pace, and the only reason I can find for his complete lack of urgency is a direct DNA transfer from his dad. He is SO slow.) Dylan will invent a game with the boys and sit there and play it for a long time. He draws deep joy from this, and that is not lost on our boys. His diaper changing abilities far surpass mine, and he's not afraid of the noise and chaos created by our family, which normally sends me running for the hills. When Dylan leaves on a trip, Gavin asks every day when Daddy will be home. If Dylan didn't travel and work all the time, I might have it too easy. His presence is what keeps our family grounded and functioning, and he provides a never ending fountain of love. And patience. Lots and lots of patience. We love you and couldn't do life without you, D!

Other than thinking about houses and going to work, here's what we've been up to this week...

Gavin says, "Looking at houses is fun when your best-friend-cousin is there."

Watercolors...a new favorite!

Got a haircut and then put the DumDum in his ear.

I tried to get a photo of the fresh cuts but totally failed.

Luckily, they'll always smile big for me while in the shopping cart!

When Dylan can join us for swim lessons, Gavin always gets a huge kick out of waving to him in the air during his cannonball at the end of class. His left foot looks like a hand...haha, so weird.

Popsicle pool party with cousins! The guys collaborated on swimming while Kristin and I took a class at Orange Theory.

Just a boy in his basket.

Until big brother wants in on the fun...

On Saturday, Dylan took off on a golfing adventure with his pals in Prescott. I had no idea they were flying a small plane there...something that makes me very nervous. I only found out about it after they landed back in Scottsdale and popped a tire. I'm glad D got out with his friends, and the boys and I managed to stay busy and stay cool around here. I am even more grateful that I found out they were safe on the ground before I even knew they had taken an airplane.

When the heat gets oppressive, it's almost a relief to have an excuse to stay inside, watch TV and do crafts. The boys and I took off all morning and went on a few stops, but we made it back in time to let the heat of the day pass us by while we stayed comfortable within the confines of our house.

Our full-afternoon ice cream making party turned into a milkshake party when we jumped the gun on starting the machine before the mixture was cooled enough. We gave it four tries throughout the day, and G was so patient and so excited that I finally just poured the liquid ice cream in a cup and told him to go for it.

Uh, why aren't you freezing?

The bulk of our Saturday afternoon was spent on the stool at the counter. Gavin is obsessed with factories and machines and how things are made, so I thought making ice cream would be a fitting activity, especially on this insanely hot weekend.

The other part of Saturday afternoon was spent painting and coloring Father's Day crafts. Graham is such an artist.

We finally had success the next morning, and ice cream was enjoyed by all post-Father's Day breakfast.

Making videos for Father's Day shout-outs!

We made Dylan a breakfast burrito and presented him with paintings and drawings and gifts this morning. It's been a great day around here, and there's more fun to be had. I might be MIA while we're off on our summer adventures in the coming weeks, but rest assured no news is good news! Except for the fact that I signed up to stay in a hotel room with just myself and my two boys for the first three days while Dylan finishes up a trip for work. I'm sure I was having a mental lapse when I thought that would be a good idea because right now, as I'm prepping for the trip, I'm starting to think that it sounds more like the opposite of a vacation. I'm sure the boys will have fun, and for that it's more than worth it. Once Dylan joins the gang, we will have the time of our lives!