Dad's Day

What a great start to a wonderful day.....we drove to Lisa's in the afternoon and this was waiting for us on the patio as we arrived....a glass of ginger/cinnamon/lemon/orange homemade iced tea in a pretty wine glass, unbelievably refreshing and a healthy tray of fresh veggies.   Nice start, huh!?  I always look forward to dinner at my daughter's, she is a really great cook, and she is as skinny as a rail.  Most of the time she doesn't eat what she cooks...how do you NOT eat what you cook.  Never did understand that girl and her eating habits, but she's healthy, so what can I say. 

Sam was prepared with mosquito spray....we have an abundance of mosquitos this summer due to all the rain.  You don't go outside without protection against those little, flying, blood sucking, annoying insects.

Picture time...Sam made me get in the picture, claiming I am never in any pictures, true, but that's OK with me.  As the wrinkles deepen and the grey gets greyer you tend NOT to want your picture taken.  Gary always has a nice smile, love that man.  And Lisa always looks good. 

Sam & Lisa are such a great couple.  We could not have asked for a better son-in-law than Sam.  He is the best, great husband, great father, and now the Head Coach for gymnastics at NIU.  Whaa Whoo!!

Lisa is so proud of her strawberry patch, it's rather small, and I do believe this is only the 2nd berry produced....but like anything, it takes time to grow.

And speaking of growing, these lilies are wonderful.  They were planted a couple of years ago and now they are sensational.  I can't grow lilies, the bunnies tend to dig up the bulbs and chew on them for a moment....grrrr!!!

Lisa's spirea bush was in full bloom.  I think this one is particularly beautiful, because of it's deep magenta color.

Brie's favorite color is orange...I definitely needed to take her portrait in front of the orange lilies.  The colors were so vivid I needed to soften the tones a bit.  I can't believe our youngest granddaughter is off to college in a couple of months.  She leaves in the morning for orientation at Iowa State. 



We usually take Toby with us if we plan on spending the day at Lisa's.  They don't have a fenced yard, but Toby is really good about staying right in the immediate area.  Now know this, Lisa & Sam have 4 cats, yes 4.  She was raised in a dog home, not sure what happened along the way, why she converted from a dog lover to a cat lover is still a mystery to me.  And our son Lane, same home, also a cat owner.  Go figure...

This is Sunny.  Sunny loves to be outside, and not necessarily with Toby, but when Toby is there, and Sunny is outside, Toby thinks Sunny is there to play.  Sunny is a deceitful little cat, she lays down and pretends she wants to be friends, then as Toby approaches, attack.  Poor Toby, all he wants to do is play.  I am still a dog lover, no cats in our house. 

As the dogs and cats played Sam enjoyed the afternoon, relaxing in his hammock, a Father's Day gift from last year.  (ugly toenails, but I think most men have ugly toenails, don't they??)

After Sam rested for awhile, Brie & Ryan (boyfriend for over a year, really nice, like him a lot) decided it was their turn in the hammock.  These two are perfect for each other, they both love to read.  Brie reads, and reads and reads...she got a Kindle for Christmas and loves it. 

After a meal of grilled veggies, brats, oriental cole slaw we topped off the day with Sam's peanut butter, chocolate chip, bacon, (yes, I said bacon) cookies.  We are not sure if he didn't mix the batter well enough or Lisa baked them too long, but they were a wee bit hard to chew.  Interesting flavor, a little chocolate, a little peanut buttery, a little bacony.  The brats were flavored, 1 very spicy, 1 cheesy, and 1 pineapple flavor.   I had the pineapple brat, again, interesting flavor, I liked it. 

 "My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." -- Clarence Budington Kelland

A great Father's Day!  Until next time........