We attempted to attend a Tennessee Smokies ballgame last week to celebrate Father’s Day with Granddaddy. We got to the field between storms and the game never got started. We waited a while for another storm to pass before we made our way out to the car. While we waited we were delighted by a visit from Slugger and Diamond, the mascots. So far Emily has been excited to meet large furry mascots, with parent in tow. She was delighted to meet these two!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about appreciating what we have while we still have it and the lessons we learn only through experience. So this Father’s Day, instead of finding a card with someone else’s words in it I’m writing my own.

If you haven’t guessed already, the little girl sitting on the table is me at an age between my girls’ current ages. What my dad thought of me at that point I will never know. The hopes and dreams he had for me are not thoughts that he chose to share with me when he had the memory of them. But, my knowing what he thought doesn’t really matter. What matters is that I’m grateful for the time that he has spent with me. If that time was letting me sit on the table at Mom’s birthday party or sitting in my car as I ran errands with he and my girls – I’m grateful for the time. My fondest memories are times that I spent with my family!

This Father’s Day, I want to wish my dad a Happy Fathers Day and thank him for the time that he chose to invest in our family. It was a wise and valuable investment.

Just some other photos from our camping trip. Elena and Emily enjoyed playing with the stroller and giving rides. Emily is now big enough to climb in the stroller by herself. Julia had been riding for quite a while as an activity while Emily took her afternoon nap. I wasn’t lucky enough to have both girls nap at the same time.

Kenny let Emily ‘pretend’ drive while they were waiting for me to get Julia ready for the pool. Emily was as thrilled as punch to be behind the wheel. Who knows how many buttons she ‘adjusted’ for Kenny. Emily warmed up to Kenny a lot on this trip, normally she is somewhat cautious. Emily was trying to call the Smith boys by the right names too. It was really cute even when she didn’t get them all right. I appreciated the boys playing with Emily and not minding being called by the wrong name.

While we were camping we went to a talk about possums on Saturday morning. The talk had some interesting things in it, but it sure didn’t capture the excitement of two-year-olds. Emily picked dandelions, worked on sharing toys with Elena, visited with the other people at the talk, and was thrilled to leave the talk early.

After the talk, we said hello to some horses. The horses weren’t inclined to visit, but seeing them up close was fun. Julia was OK with someone else holding her in the close vicinity of her mother. That didn’t happen much on the trip. Somehow she lost one sock.

Last weekend we took the girls camping. It is wise to do things for the first time (with Julia) with friends, so we went in a rather large group. Emily slept on the air mattress with us and Julia was in the travel bassinet next to us. I found out how small our air mattress and tent have gotten with the growth of our family. Despite how cozy we were, both girls slept well.

Julia and Emily played in the pool with Elena on Saturday afternoon. It was a great way to cool off. The pool had music playing and the girls enjoyed dancing to the music. There was a good amount of splashing and even a few moments of sticking faces in the water. This was Julia’s first trip to a pool and she loved it. She loved being held by Mommy, being able to kick her feet, and slap the water with her hands.

Julia is not very smiley. She is reserved with other people and away from the house. But when in the mood she sure can giggle, grin, and laugh if she wants to. Don’t take my word, we have proof!