Father's Day 2020

We're that type of family who goes all out for first birthdays. Which is exactly why, a couple of days after Beck's birthday (which had up to that point been uncelebrated), I decided to whip up a cake from a box and announced that we would be having Beck's impromptu birthday party in an hour. Okay, so I'm a bit of a failure at first birthdays (and many other birthdays) but I did add a pudding packet and a cup of sour cream to the cake mix in order to make an extraordinarily good cake mix cake, complete with coconut pecan frosting.

Most of my babies have been overwhelmed by cake. They haven't understood how to go about eating it. Beck is his mother's baby and dove right in.

A few facts about 1-year old Beck:

He just learned how to go down the stairs. This picture doesn't help illustrate that because you can't tell if he is going up or down. So you'll have to believe me--he's going down.

He's teething. And when he's teething, he bites.

He's a fantastic sleeper but during wake time, he is very attached to me. Though I know it's only a matter of time until he goes the way of the other kids and turns on me. Traitors, all of them.

The summer escapades continue. The girls went to gymnastics camp this week. I forgot to take pictures, but here they are after camp one day, still in their leotards.

Also there has been a lot of jumping on the trampoline with nice older neighbor girls who insist they like playing with little kids. I was not that kid myself so it's hard for me to believe, but they are so genuinely nice. Love it.

And there is a man in our neighborhood with the largest dog I've ever seen. We call him the Bear Dog. And every time this neighbor and dog are out for their morning or evening walk and my kids happen to notice, they scream "BEAR DOG! BEAR DOG!" and run outside to greet them. And the man always waits, and the dog immediately lies down and lets the kids say hi. Sometimes multiple times a day. They are really nice.

Here's my attempt to capture the moment through a screened window while also holding the aforementioned super-attached, super-teething baby.

By the way, that cranky baby I keep mentioning is now on my lap. So this is about to go "lightening round" style. 

Harris found a millipede this week (for sure a millipede and not a centipede--I looked it up) and it was our pet for a couple of days. My kids really want a pet. 

And yesterday, I captured this sweet moment of Dan and Harris mowing the lawn.

And today is Father's Day. We are so lucky to have fathers. I'm especially grateful for Heavenly Father, my own father Doug Beck and my husband, Dan the Man Jolley.

About a month ago, I came across a box of pictures I didn't know we owned. There were tons of pictures from Dan's childhood. So this morning, I woke up early and taped them to all of the walls in our living room area. It was enjoyable because there are some real gems. Like the following:

Dan was half delighted and half horrified at what I had done. He's a good sport though.

For our Sacrament meeting today, the girls gave talks I had helped them prepare about the role of men in our lives. They also sang the children's song "Daddy's Homecoming" complete with hand actions.

For dinner we are having knock off Cafe Rio and Dan's favorite dessert. I don't know what its true name is, but it has the layers of pudding and cream cheese with a crust made from pecans. Not my favorite but I guess it's not my day.

Happy Father's Day, Dan! We love you. Yes even Harris, who doesn't look loving in these photos. And even Beck, who was taking a nap.

The End.