Father's Day Weekend

Yes, I love an excuse to celebrate. Especially if it involves pretty card stock paper, a reason to use glitter or ribbons, and fancy glassware. This weekend was not one of those types of celebrations.

Instead, it involved steak, a charcoal BBQ grill, the beach, ESPN, and lots of kid time. All of which was just great with me.

We kicked off Father's Day weekend on Thursday night with a date night. Boy, did we need a date night. With two small children who require expensive babysitting fees, and busy work/family schedules, it's hard to carve out an evening for just the two of us. But when we do, I remember why every marriage conference and counselor we've ever been to says it's VITAL to have date nights.

I love Brian. And I love our lives that we've created together. Our little offspring running around the house every day wanting to be "sandwich hugged" by us when they see us embracing in the kitchen. I love it.

But I also love just being alone one-on-one, away from the house, away from our everyday life, sitting across the table from each other, with nothing but good conversation and a laughter to fill the space between us. We reconnect. We share thoughts and recent stories that we've forgotten to tell the other one.

And on this particular night, we sat outside as the warm breeze offered the perfect environment to enjoy a couple glasses of wine, some amazing food, and the calming sounds of a steel drum band.

It was a lovely evening and a great week to say "thank you" to my hubby who does so much for our family.

Early Saturday morning, we packed up and crossed off another "Father's Day Weekend Must-Do"... go to the beach! The skies were a bit overcast, so the beach wasn't too crowded and it wasn't too hot. Just lots of waves for Payton & Avery to boogie board on, and lots of sea life available for the kids to collect and investigate.

Parker played with this empty dish detergent bottle almost the entire time. Go figure.

Lots of coquinas and sand fleas for the kids to collect. And good drip castle building for Parker.

Sweet Daddy time.

Then on Sunday afternoon, we all gave Brian our Father's Day cards and crafts (one of which was a crown made by Payton).

The boys were so proud to shower him in their handmade love. These are the moments that just melt my heart as a Mom. They wanted to do nothing more than show their Daddy how much he means to them.

After a few afternoon showered passed, we headed to our local pool where they just recently installed a water slide. The boys absolutely love it and will go down it 50 times in a row. And eventually, they convinced good ol Dad to go down it as well!

He's such a good sport!

We finished up the weekend by grilling out steaks and corn and enjoying a great family meal together. I do believe Brian felt very loved.

He's such an incredible father to our two boys. I thank God for giving me a man who is teaching them to respect women, to be fearless and not be afraid to make mistakes, and most importantly, to love God. Happy Father's Day Brian! We love you so much.

Last-Minute Father's Day Ideas {Free Printables}

Okay hubby... if you're reading this post, please hit the "close" button and then delete it. I would hate to ruin your cute Father's Day surprises from the kiddos.

Now that that's out of the way...

I thought I'd share some super easy, super cute Father's Day printables with you in case you're still looking for a last-minute gift for your Man.

Here's one that I printed off for Payton to give to Brian.

I love it because he could use his own words and his own thoughts to express why he loves his Dad so much.

 

You can print it off here.

Another one that I love is this adorable pennant banner.

How fun would it be to hang this the night before and surprise your hubs in the morning?

You can download it here.

If you don't feel like making anything, but have enough kiddos to do this pose, how cute would it be to frame this picture for your husband's office?

And if you'd rather not shell out $6 or more at Hallmark, you can download these awesomely designed cards from TomKat Studios for free!

Here is the link to the cards.

And if you wanted to dress up your Father's Day brunch table, how about this adorable sign you could print off and frame?

Just click here to download the 8x10 image and many other matching Father's Day decorations.

Okay, that should get you well on your way for some fun Father's Day projects.

Hope everyone has fun celebrating their special Men on Father's Day!

Father's Day Weekend

As you know, I like to turn special occasions into a big reason to celebrate. Especially when it's a holiday like Father's Day.
I have a wonderful father and super special father-in-law too. I am blessed in both areas. They are kind, generous, loving and so incredible with our kids. I love them dearly!

I also have one of the most amazing husband's in the world who is a spectacular father to our two children. I often look at him when he's with them and just say a silent prayer thanking God for giving him to me. He teaches them about life, God's love, generosity, standing up for themselves, how to be a gentleman, respecting others, and he always makes sure they compliment me. As I said, I am so blessed to "do life" with him.

So, I wanted to make Father's Day a great celebration weekend in recognition of all that he does for us. We started Saturday morning bright and early by heading out to the beach. We got there by 8:45 a.m. and the beach was nearly empty. It was so beautiful and quiet. There was a cool breeze in the air and the kids were ready to play!

The boys heading down the boardwalk to the beach.

 Payton had so much fun "walking on water" - really there is a huge rock structure that sits just below the water line when the tide is high.

Parker just loves playing in the sand:

 Look how happy he is!

 We ate lunch at the ocean-side restaurant where we were and then headed out. On the way home, Parker fell asleep (ocean air will do that to anyone!) so we stopped at a new meat market to pick up some steaks for Father's Day. The place was packed, which is always a good sign!

Brian got a little cat-nap in Saturday afternoon while I cleaned up from the beach and then we both got ready for a special date I had planned.

Our sitter arrived and we headed out to one of Brian's favorite Irish pubs where he got to enjoy a pint:

 And a Scotch egg. Never heard of a Scotch egg? Well, it's a deviled egg, wrapped in sausage and then deep fried. Oh boy, was he in heaven!

 

 After the pub, we did a little shopping and then headed to my little surprise.

I booked Brian a professional barber shop shave at "The Art of Shaving."

The barber has been doing this for over 30 years, but the store itself is new to Tampa. They only had 1 appointment available on Saturday, so I guess it's doing quite well.

First, they started off with a hot oil massage:

 

 Then a steam towel:

And then the straight-edge razor shave:

I think the barber was getting annoyed with me taking pictures, so I stopped there, but the whole experience took 30 minutes. It was quite intense.

Needless to say, I couldn't stop touching Brian's face the rest of the night! It was SO smooth and smelled so good!

Sunday morning started out pretty typical with church. Then we opened presents and Brian read through all of Payton's cards (there were 4 of them if you were wondering).

(Do you think someone was licking the beaters from the chocolate cake I was making???)

 Intently reading the cards together:

 

 Payton made Brian a paper tie. And of course got him the cliche pair of socks (at least Brian looks really excited about them).

 And while we were at the store, Payton spotted these beauties and insisted that he HAD to buy them for Daddy. "He will LOVE them!" And he did! :)

 We had some low-key family time in the afternoon playing in the yard:

 And then we had two very special families over for dinner that evening. Brian is really close with the husbands and I am really close with the wives and the kids all get along great. It was the perfect Father's Day BBQ!

 

 Remember those steaks we got at the meat market? YUM! Brian cooked them to perfection!!

 We ate until we couldn't move. Laughed until we cried (literally!) and treasured every moment with our dear friends.

Brian said overall, it was a great Father's Day weekend, so that makes me very happy.

We love you Brian - you are the best father we could ever ask for!