Father's Day Weekend 2012

Happy Father's Day to all fathers out there! Another awesome weekend was had by all up here in St. Paul! Friday was very low key - we ate leftovers for dinner and played with Olivia until her bedtime. On Saturday morning, Duane smoked some ribs - which has turned into his annual Father's Day tradition. Olivia had to be outside with him and couldn't be bothered with coming inside for breakfast. So, breakfast was brought out to her.

While Duane and Liv watched the smoker, I ran to Target for our weekly restock of groceries. Olivia has recently noticed Elmo which is odd because she's never watched Sesame Street. Well, I couldn't let her go on without some new Elmo books so I stocked up on some while at Target. Gotta love their $1 bin for other random things!

It was raining so she was allowed to watch some Pokoyo on my iPad

We invited our friends, the Bowe's, over for the Father's Day Feast. Everyone loved Duane's meal and Duane declared his ribs as the best he's ever eaten - ever. That's quite a statement!

Thankfully, after lunch, the sun came back out and it was hot! Olivia was a party pooper and napped the rest of the afternoon but we all hung out outside. For whatever reason, Duane came up with the idea of making a 'redneck slip-n-slide' with a ridiculously large tarp we have in our garage. Evelyn and Duane were equally excited to participate but Jason and Vivian were a little more hesitant. Sarah and I were the judges for the slides...

Evelyn slipping and sliding

Sarah and Vivian

Duane having so much fun!

After our fun afternoon with friends, we had even more fun coming - a date night!!! Olivia and her babysitter, Catie, had a great night and we were told later that Olivia didn't even notice we had left. We had a nice dinner at a new restaurant in Woodbury and then saw "Rock of Ages." Even though Liv wasn't with us, we noticed that we still inhaled our dinner, feeling like we had to finish quick so we were ready for her.... That's part of it, right?!

This morning Duane got his Father's Day gifts (a beer glass, Tommy Bahama shirt and artwork made by Liv) and we packed up and headed to White Bear Lake! Olivia did so well again today and it was great until we left....

Soon after we anchored, a man and his dogs parked beside us. Olivia LOVED watching his dogs play in the water 

Walking in the water with Daddy

Showing her sand and how to dig in it with her hands

She dug right in and had no trouble getting it everywhere!

After removing her diaper and letting her go with her bikini bottom, we got out her floaty to see if she'd sit in it. She LOVED it and how it allowed her to kick her legs and get around.

We all hung around in the water and before we knew it, it was lunch time. Olivia was really into the music!

After lunch, we saw a mom and her little girl walking near our boat in the shallows. We met them and while her little girl was much more willing to share, Liv embarrassed us by screaming, "mine" at certain toys. Figuring it was time for us to call it a day, we packed up and tried to head back. Engine trouble kept us from ending the day as perfectly as it started but we made it back before the rain moved in on us. Liv stayed awake until we were pulling out of the parking lot and then she quickly fell asleep.

Rain kept us indoors most of the afternoon so we made popcorn and watched a little TV.

Before dinner, Duane kept Olivia busy with finding "flowers for mommy." She was so excited when she brought them to me. I put them in a vase and placed that vase on the dinner table and she kept pointing at them and smiling through dinner.

Happy Father's Day, Duane - Olivia is such a lucky little girl! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, too! :)