Father's Day 2015

This year we had an extra special Father's Day.  Doug's dad (affectionately known by the boys as, "PopPop") came to town for a visit.  He and Nana met us all at church for the 11am service and then came home with us for lunch.  Prior to church the boys and I got things cleaned up and the lunch set up.  We also made cards for Douglas (we had made PopPop's card and craft gift the day before).  

This was PopPop's first time meeting Jansen.  He got his hands on him at church (as did Nana), but then also got some loves at home.  They were fast friends.

Nana got some great snuggle time too.  My boys always love being held by Nana!

PopPop came with gifts and the first one went to Jansen.  He got a very special family piece.  A cute little froggy that says a nighttime prayer ("Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep").  The frog is 18 years old and the original batteries still work to play the sweet prayer in a child's voice.  It'll be interesting to see how long the battery lasts!  Jansen checked out the frog as much as a 4 month old can. =)  Penn was more interested in it and took him up to his room to listen to him say the prayer before naptime.

Penn opened his gift which was some really fun Lego-shaped molds for ice cubes, candy-making, Play-doh play or even baking!  We will have fun with these for sure!  Penn was psyched about them and carried them around that afternoon until we stuck them in the freezer to see how the ice cubes would turn out later.

Tavin got another brain-teasing game.  We all had fun passing it around in the afternoon trying to figure it out.  Hopefully we are all a bit smarter for it.  =)  Tavin is excited to take it on some upcoming long roadtrips.  It'll definitely keep him occupied!

Koen was thrilled with his gift.  He got a beautiful drawing book on how to sketch birds and a large pack of artist's pencils.  He dove right in to the drawing with PopPop a little while later in the afternoon.

First though, PopPop had brought a special activity to work on with Tavin.  He introduced him to stamp collecting!  PopPop pays close attention to what the boys are interested in and he's noticed Tav's appetite for history.  Stamp collecting can be an interesting and fun way to dig into history.  Tav and PopPop spread out at the dining room table and dove into this new activity.  Tavin caught on quickly and loved using the magnifying glass to take a closer look at the stamps and he also enjoyed searching for them in the catalog in order to help PopPop label them on his stock pages.  Really special moment for Tavin and PopPop connecting and bonding over thish great hands-on activity.  Good job, PopPop!

Jansen didn't have much of a midday nap, so he tired quickly, but not before some great bonding time with Nana.  They shared some tummy time.  How cute!!

When PopPop finished educating Tav about stamp collecting, he moved on to teaching Koen about sketching birds.  PopPop has an aptitude for art and he was the perfect person to help Koen go through the step-by-step process the new book outlines (Doug and I are NOT the artsy type).  He exhibited so much patience and grace as he led Koen through the steps and they together drew a warbler.  Koen loved the attention from PopPop and I could tell he was also so proud of his end result.  Again, good job, PopPop.  Thanks for these great quiet, independent activities the boys can enjoy.

PopPop also read with the boys (seriously, it was a full-on PopPop afternoon, so great!).  The boys love it when he reads to them.  He has one of those great story-telling voices, not to mention they love an excuse to cuddle up and hear a good book.

Nana and PopPop, thank you so much for making the drive to be with us on Father's Day.  We loved our afternoon with you.  You'll have to come back soon and see the boys' progress with their new activities and of course they are all always growing and changing.  =)  PopPop, we were especially thankful to be with you on Father's Day. 

After Nana and PopPop left, the boys enjoyed some down time and then we all piled into the van and headed to the Troxells for a cookout, backyard fun and of course, S'mores.  Happy Father's Day to Nate and Doug meant getting all 6 boys together.  Just in case they don't realize they have their hands full, we thought this fun night would remind them.  Ha!  It was a great visit and it's super fun to see how familiar the boys are with each other now that we get to see each other so often.  Alex and Andy adore Koen and Tavin (especially Koen, kids just love the oldest!).  Megan was prepared with a water balloon activity.  Here are a few shots of some of that fun (albeit short-lived...6 boys can go through water balloons pretty fast!).

Koen was bummed that the little guys were letting the balloons break so easily, so Megan offered to toss with him.  Good sport risking getting wet!

Nate and Megan just recently put up an amazing tree swing.  The boys LOVED it!

We shared a simple, but delicious (mostly because of Megan's amazing potato and vegetable salad) dinner outside.  I loved that we were out in the backyard all evening.  It had been a hot, sunny day, but there were storms North of us that brought in a breeze and it was just perfection.  Here are the dads we were honoring (we gave them their own little table away from the kids!).

Jansen was laying on a blanket during part of the meal and when he was crying, Koen rushed over to him.  Then every other boy peeled away from the table to come to his aid as well.  That's a lot of doting brothers and friends (note that Koen is trying to push Tav away, he just hates being copied!).

After dinner, Jansen got a turn on the swing while the guys were getting the fire started and the S'mores set up.  Koen was our photographer.  

I wasn't sure how that would turn out, so I took a few selfies.  Gotta say I like these snuggly closeups a bit better (but thanks for trying, Koen!).

Penn eventually noticed I was swinging with Jansen and came up to join.  It was a blast!  He loved it.  Koen again captured it for me.

 

After S'mores, it was time to head home.  It had been a long day for all of us, but especially for Jansen who had completely skipped this evening catnap (and somehow stayed awake the whole way home too).  The boys love being at the Troxells and didn't want to leave.  On the way home even Penn was asking when we were going to go back.  Thanks so much, Nate and Megan.  We love our special celebrations with you.  Happy Father's Day to Doug and Nate.  You guys are in the thick of it with these little guys, but you both do such an amazing job loving and leading your kids.  Looking forward to living alongside of you for years to come and watching our boys grow in to men.