Daddy's Day 2013

This past Father's Day we did something a little different.  My step-dad, Rick, had duty crew that night for the fire company, so we couldn't go out to dinner that night.  Instead we decided to head to WV for the day and spend some time at the Hollywood Casino and Race Track in Charles Town.  It was the kids' first trip to the race track, so they had a blast watching the horses race and "placing bets" (John let Jacob pick a few random numbers and we placed bets on those horses.  I think we may have actually won back a few dollars.  lol)

 

 The first race went off without a hitch ... or so we thought. This little guy knocked his jockey right off as soon as he left the gate and then just aimlessly ran around the track. haha

   

 After watching a few of the races it was time to head inside for our brunch buffet! OMG was the food wonderful. I love it there! It's a little pricey, but so worth it.

   

 We bet on a few more races before leaving, and I think we won a few more bucks back! I'm not a huge horse racing fan, but it was kind of fun to actually get back a little bit of our money. I think the dads in our lives enjoyed themselves ... I know the women and children did. :) Plus it was a fun and different way to spend our Father's Day this year. Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there, but most of all to my step-dad, my father-in-law and last, but certainly not least, my husband and father of my two precious babies. :)

   

 And, just for fun, I'm adding in these photos .. I did this picture at the end of May for a fun Father's Day card this year and all the dads in our lives LOVED it! Here it is:

   

 And, here's the fabulous Father's Day card I made! :)

 

A Gift for Daddy

For me, Valentine's Day and Mother's/Father's Day are the two holidays throughout the year that I feel like a  non-store bought gift (meaning, one that has a lot of thought and effort put into it) are most appropriate.  I feel like for these holidays I'd much rather receive something that came from the heart, then the mall.  Soooo,   with some inspiration from a few friends and pinterest, the kids and I came up with the following "Best Dad" painting.  I put quite a bit of work into and the kids had fun placing their handprints on it, and the best part of all ... daddy loved it!!

Supplies:

1 canvas (this one was 16"x20")
sponge brushes
cobalt blue paint (for the background)
gray paint (for the letters)
royal blue (for the little hand prints)
letter stencils (cause I'm just not good enough at freehand painting letters!)

I ended up putting 5 coats of the cobalt blue on before I did anything else.  It took me a few days to get that part done (and then I screwed up the letters, and had to start over, which is why he didn't get it until today).  The next part was stenciling on the letters, which again took a bit of time because I had to do a letter and then let it dry (about an hour or so per letter).  After the letters were all finished, then came the handprints.  If I hadn't been so paranoid about getting paint all over my furniture I'd have snapped a picture of Henry, for sure.  This was his first real art project, and he just didn't know how to react to all the paint on his hands.  He ended up pretty much needing a full bath when we were done.  His handprints are on the right, and Jacob's were on the left.  Jacob did his like a pro.  He lives for these types of art projects!  I can't wait until we're moved somewhere with a yard, so we can get outside and do a lot more painting projects!

Here's the finished product! (Please excuse the quality of the picture.  It's a cell phone picture with bad lighting and instagram touch-up.  lol)

Our plan was to make this for daddy, so he could hang it on the wall in his office at work.  I hope he actually does!!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful daddies out there!  Today I'm lucky enough to have two dads.  One who will forever look out for me and my kids from Heaven, and the other who is a permanent fixture in our everyday lives.  Thank you for all you've both done for me ... God truly blessed me to get not one dad, but TWO!

The other amazing father in my life is my sweet husband.  He's always there for the kids and myself.  He's our rock and the anchor of our family.  Without him in our lives, we just wouldn't be complete.  We love you, babe!!

John with a brand new Jacob.

First Father's Day ~ 2008

John with a one week old Henry.

I hope you're able to spend the day with the Daddy in your life! <3