Father's Day

Father's Day started early this year when Danny just wouldn't wait to get his present. :) We've been looking at upgrading our smoker for a while now, and smoking (meat) is all the rage at the lab where Danny works, so when the smoker Danny wanted went on sale we decided to go for it. He was one happy camper!! 

It gets harder every year to think of a fun gift for Papa for Father's Day. Danny had a stroke of genius this year and ordered him specialty pumpkin seeds for a pumpkin patch! The kids and I decided there needed to be signs for said pumpkin patch, though. So I painted these signs! I'm rather proud of them, actually. :) 

Because Sundays are such a crazy day for Danny, we decided to have our big Father's Day meal on Saturday. We also decided we should give the smoker it's big debut! On the menu was smoked pork sandwiches, macaroni salad, watermelon, and pina coladas! We invited Papa, Grandma, and Forrest to join us for dinner, and it was delicious!! Definitely befitting our two awesome fathers. :)

Even though Danny technically got the smoker for his gift, we couldn't have Father's Day without a present for our Daddy. The kids and I went to our local specialty kitchen store and got some fun stuff: Traeger Apricot BBQ Sauce, Blues Hog Smokey BBQ Sauce, Traeger Salmon Seasoning, and the kid's favorite...Butt Rub. :) It was decided that the Blues Hog is hands down, by far, the best BBQ sauce ever! And Danny was happy to have some fun stuff to try with his smoker.

Joey was sleeping, but here's Danny with the oldest three kids. I love this picture. I love it when my sweetheart's eyes look so blue amidst the chocolate brown eyes of our children. :)

Papa loved his pumpkin patch, and we are all so excited to see how it turns out! I dream of beautiful exotic pumpkins for our Halloween photo shoot this year! :) We love our Papa, and we are so grateful for all he does for us.

Even though we did our big meal on Saturday, we couldn't let actual Father's Day go by without celebrating. Dad didn't have as many meetings in the morning, so the older kids and I cooked a big breakfast for our Daddy while he cuddled on the cough with Joseph. Pretty good gig for him, I think! 

After church, we had a simple dinner at home and then headed over to Grandma and Papa's for dessert. This year I made a Strawberry Marscapone Layer Cake...and it turned out perfect! It looked beautiful and it tasted even better!! I think I'm getting better at this whole cake thing. :)

We enjoyed cake and visiting with the Call family, celebrating all the Dads in our life. Then we came home, read scriptures, and called it a day. We are so grateful for Danny and the father he is in our family. He leads us in righteousness, and is an example in all things to each of us. One day really isn't enough to celebrate his pure awesomeness. But we try. :)

We love you, Daddy! Happy Father's Day!!