In honor of Father's Day may I just take a moment to point out how handsome my husband looks in the 2nd picture in my last post? And I think if you looked up "Proud Dad" in the dictionary, that picture would be next to it.

Today was awesome. I gave up on my quest to buy Andy the Best Father's Day Gift Ever and just gave him beer. He was happy and I could relax and focus on the fun of the day. Mostly, eating. We threw a big barbeque for all the Dads in the family, my dad, Andy's dad, and of course, Andy. I didn't do a lick of cooking unless you count pouring a big can of baked beans into a pot and stirring them. Oh, and I boiled water for iced tea, poured it over the tea bags and the forgot about it for about half an hour. I really can't be trusted to cook and socialize at the same time because I get started talking and forget about anything I may be responsible for cooking. Andy manned the grill and my mother in law had already prepared a cake and potato salad so I didn't have to worry about a thing. Niice.
The kids were so well behaved. They even put on an impromptu concert for for the adults and they each sang songs and danced. Until Ace pulled out his diva attitude, threw his guitar and stomped off because his sister interrupted his solo of "Bad to the Bone".
I suppose the weekend is over but it doesn't matter for us this week. Andy is on vacation and Hayley and Ace are done with school so we are just going to sit back and unwind. Because that's what DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince have taught me that Summertime is all about.
Oh, and with Grandpa Alvin in town, some fishing has been done. Ace is quick to point out that HE caught the biggest fish.

In case you've wondered why I have not chronicled Ace's rise to fame as the 4th Jonas Brother, it is because he broke the computer (because that's how rockers roll, baby).
I'm currently typing one handed while furiously jiggling the power cord to try to charge the battery. I can't even pat my head and rub my stomach so this is quite a stretch.
Summer is slowly creeping in around the edges here in New England. But today it is nowhere to be found. In fact, the entire week is predicted to be rainy and cold. This doesn't jive well with my plans to start our beach bumming and poolside days.
Hayley still has a week left of school but despite the uncooperative weather and school, my brain has already switched over to Summertime Mode. I crave ice cream every afternoon around 3 and have found myself wanting to head in the direction of the beach when I am supposed to be dropping Hayley off at school. I have resisted the impulse thus far and we are enjoying the last days of first grade. Friday is the highly anticipated First Grade Hat Parade and that will surely be a highlight of this rainy week.
Ace finishes his school year this Thursday. Today was his last Lunch Bunch group while Julia, Lucy, and I met Grandpa at our new breakfast spot for pancakes, sausage, and Julia's people watching session. She loves going places where she can sit and observe people. If you add a blueberry pancake shaped like a mouse, all the better.
This weekend is the party for the end of T-ball and next week our first summer visitors will arrive. Andy's Dad, Mom, and sister will be here for a few weeks. We are all excited to have family visit and are especially looking forward to going fishing with Grandpa R.
So many transitions, endings, and beginnings.
Lucy is cruising around these days with the help of whatever furniture she can reach or improvise a walker out of. We gave her the Sesame Street walker that Julia used but Lucy prefers a laundry basket because it moves faster. She found a bite of doughnut on the floor yesterday and as soon as I made eye contact and she realized I planned to take it from her, she started crawling at top speed towards her laundry basket, pulled up on it, set the treasured doughnut morsel in front of her and hauled diaper butt down the hallway. Pbbfting and laughing at me the whole time. I laughed about it for the rest of the afternoon (but I still didn't let her eat the doughnut.)