We started out the day right :) waking Nate up with bacon and eggs in bed! The tradition continues :). Along with the tradition of showering him with gifts chosen specifically by each kid. Last year we did the whole, everyone picked out a different shirt for him, along with their gift, and I really loved that Nate had a whole bunch of new shirts for the year (he RARELY gets new clothes, so this was a good way to stock his wardrobe). We did it again this year. It always cheers me up to see my kids shop for their Dad. It's so cute to watch the wheels in their heads turn. This year was no different. We always give them to him youngest to oldest. On the way to the store, I decided to kind of prep everyone (I wasn't feeling well, and I wanted them to try to have an idea in mind of what they wanted to get.... instead of the usual, walking the aisles of the store mindlessly trying to find "THE perfect gift"), I asked everyone to think of things Nate needs, or wants, or uses. Someone shouted out "a wallet!" and immediately Erika latched on to that idea. It was ADORABLE!! She probably said, "I going get Dad a wahwet" about a hundred times before we made our way over to the wallets. It was hilarious. She was set on it! And she did find him a very nice wallet that he will hopefully get some good use from. She carried it through the rest of the store, and talked about it nonstop. She was so excited to give it to him! She helped a little to pick out her shirt, but for some reason, she and Charity traded at the last minute... I'm not sure what that was all about. But she gave him a nice button-up plaid shirt.
Noah on the other hand was not as prepared with an idea. We did end up walking a few aisles for him and Bradley, with me spouting out random ideas to spark some interest. We came to the car care aisle and he JUMPED on the idea of air fresheners for the car... SOLD! And that was that :). He settled on a plain green t-shirt as well. I have to admit, I don't think Noah was really into the Father's Day spirit, so that was a bummer.
Luke was funny, he realized that he usually likes to get Dad a watch (which he only has done for ONE Father's day, but I think for Christmas a few times too, but USUALLY Luke makes me take him through the toy aisles and he picks out some toy with more of himself in mind), but Nate doesn't need a new watch, so he had to start cranking the wheels in his head to come up with something different. I tried so hard to avoid the toy section, but of course, he got a glimpse of the BIG orange balls, and he just couldn't resist! "I'm gonna get Dad this ball!" He's so funny. I like it though, it's Luke. He also found Nate a really nice shirt (Luke's the most particular about the shirt shopping) that he dressed the ball in when he presented them to him :). He kept giggling about it.... funny little boy.
Bradley had a hard time and really wanted to get Nate something he could use. He struggled a lot, but then found a cool water bottle that you can drink from, but also has a little trigger to spray a mist. He thought that would be perfect for Dad's walks with Buddy in the morning. How smart is he!? I thought it was really a well thought out gift. He found a cool Basketball shirt as well. I love that my kids think about Nate's likes and dislikes when they are picking things out for him. It shows me that they really are thinking about him. Says a lot about them, I think.
Kelly started out planning a soap carving idea (she usually does something homemade), but then found a cute snack gift basket idea on pinterest and decided to capitalize on that one :). She picked out all of Nate's favorite snacks (mostly spicy ones) and filled a basket with them. She painstakingly wrapped her gift all on her own as well, and made it look very fancy! She's so thoughtful. She found a really funny shirt this year, with the obnoxious orange from YouTube on it. It has in big orange letters the word "ANNOYING" as well, which at first didn't seem appropriate, but then when you hear Kelly explain that "sometimes when Dad teases us, it's ANNOYING!" It makes all the sense in the world :). And it gave Nate a good laugh on Sunday morning. She was so cute about her shirt ;).
Charity knew exactly what she wanted and had her list all written out. She got a notebook, some mechanical pencils, and some orange Tic Tacs :). The perfect gift from Charity. She knows that we are always needing a place to write down our thoughts or doodle a drawing. And everyone knows that Nate loves Tic Tacs :). She found a cool shirt that says, "Your workout is my warm up" Very cool :).
We also found a few pairs of socks to give Nate from Wormie :). Although as we were giving them to him, I'd wished we'd gotten a tie instead. Ya gotta have a nice tie for Father's Day Sunday! I'll have to remember that next year.
I think Nate as pleased with his morning :). He is such a sweet Dad and gives them such good feedback and loves when they shower him with gifts. It's fun to watch. The morning then carried on as usual. With the regular Sunday craziness, but I was SO thankful that he was here!!! It's our last Sunday with him home in the mornings, so it was a big deal.
The kids sang to him in Sacrament meeting- love that! Noah even got up there for the first time! It was so fun to be able to watch them (I missed mine on Mother's Day, so I decided to just soak it all in on Dad's day :) ), they're so cute!! We really do have the cutest kids! They picked strange songs this year.... not sure why, trying to be too creative if you ask me, "Choose the Right", "DADDY wants me for a Sunbeam"- what's up with that?, and the usual "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home". I am still weirded out by the song choices, but whatever. It's just too fun to watch :)
After church, we stuffed our faces with some lunch, then headed up to Grandpa Hatch's house for a little visit. Brent and Sarah came and we were able to do our Kiss song for the Dads. That's always so much fun! I love traditions. Erika totally got into it! She was so cute talking about it in the car afterward. She has been learning that song in Nursery lately and it was just adorable to hear her sing it on her own, and talk about throwing the candy. Kids are just so fun. There were no injuries this year, YES!
Then we headed on up to Lynn's for the family meeting and to wish Grandpa Russ a Happy Father's day. I LOVED what they did for the lesson, we all just went around and said something special about our Dads. Pretty cool. Let's see if I can remember what everyone said. Luke was feeling nauseous so he passed, Bradley said he likes it when "he plays with me". Charity said, "He's a good artist". Kelly shared her experience this morning when she wanted to learn how to draw something and Nate sat down and helped her with it, because he's "good at drawing". Noah passed because of shyness, and Erika said, "I love my Daddy" with a big smile on her face :) That's right folks, she said, "I"!!! It's not going to be long before the "me" is history. And it will be missed, I can tell ya that :). I said something about how my Dad is a good listener and how I have memories of him just listening to me ramble on about my dates when I would come home, and he would still be awake. I loved those times. Nate talked about how his Dad was such a good worker. He mentioned the trouble we've been having with the guy that "fixes" our house, and how horrible he is at it, and compared that to how his Dad was. His Dad was very good at customer service. I can totally see that. He totally went the extra mile. Nate's Dad is an amazing man. He really has done such a great job as a Dad. You can just feel all the love, knowledge, work ethic, and attention he has given his kids. And I know Nate is on the road to being just as amazing as his Dad. It's so nice to know that I chose a man who is worthy of his calling as a Father. Someone who embraces that role, and magnifies it in his life. Nate really knows what it takes and puts forth all the effort, time, love, sacrifice that he needs to to be an important person in our kids' lives. It's awesome to watch, and I love having him on my team! He's definitely a star player.
Especially when it comes to cleaning up throw up :). Lukey got sick at Lynn's and threw up. Nate just quietly hosed it all down off the driveway and took care of it all without a word. I was relieved, and very thankful. He just never ceases to amaze me. Not too many Dads would do that, especially on Father's Day. He's just incredible.
We drove home, had a little more food we called dinner (even though it was 9:30 at night), got the kids in bed, watched a few minutes of Shark Tank, and then Nate was off to work!!
I think it was a good day :) Hopefully some of the fun compensated for all of the not so fun that Nate had to put up with today. He deserves a day to feel special.
No comments:
Post a Comment