2nd Annual Ramey Lake Weekend and Father's Day

I think all the years before now we just had pregnancy, babies, toddlers, and non-ideal circumstances for boats and water.  But now, look at these cousins loving their boat ride.  I'm so glad they have each other.

 

See how perfectly Al and I spaced our kids?  We're geniuses.  I'm excited that Ange and Shannon are  just as smart. :)

Next year at this time we'll have an 11-month-old and a 6-month-old.  I could cry with excitement.

Evening boat rides are the best kind, made more special with a cuddly 3-yr-old.

We took it slow and watched the sunset.

I just love the way Lola looks at Alayna here. :)

They're ready for our morning boat ride with their awesome morning hair.

We also enjoyed a walk to the neighborhood park and a jaunt down to the lake's edge where we skipped rocks just like last year.  We fished in the rain, and the cousins walkie-talkied all over the place.

We also celebrated Father's Day with Papa.  The man who woke us every morning with singing, cello playing, or the harmonica, and brought us to the dining room while it was still dark out, with Bibles before breakfast.  The man who taught me how to throw a ball, pull weeds, ski down a mountain, fish in a river, dust and sweep properly, drive fast, sing with my sisters, can salsa, get excited about a Sunday school lesson, do extra math lessons, build barns and raise chickens...Whoa my.

He taught us a lot.  And if I were still home, I know that if I woke up early enough, I could sit at the kitchen table with him and talk about his Sunday school lesson, or he'd pull me into an awesome project.  We'd surely expand the garden.
What an awesome Father.  Love you, Dad!

So, it was a fun, full weekend.  I think I can speak for the rest of the family when I say we left just feeling full and blessed.  I just love my family.

We continued the sweet weekend back at home celebrating the awesome father of our family.

I feel bad posting pictures of Nathan in his robe, but I guess I'm still doing it.  His sister made that for him when he was in high school or something.
Anyway, there were more fun pictures of him holding his gifts, which were decorated granola bar and butter boxes.  The girls just go through the recycling to wrap gifts.  Kate wrapped up paper, so Daddy could use it to write music on it. :)

The girls filled out a questionnaire about their dad.  They all think his job is building things with wood.  Kate says he builds pictures frames.  Ha!  Lola thinks he weights 1, 2, 3, 5.

And just like last year, Claire worked forever on these piñatas.  More things from the recycling.  Afterward, we sat and picked up confetti before the rain came. :)

I'm so blessed to have married a man who happens to be so good at loving and raising our daughters.  We're a house full of emotional people and Nathan takes a deep breath and talks calmly, or he just laughs at us. Either way, his rational, engineer brain combined with his compassion for crying girls is just perfect. :)
Happy Father's Day, Nathaniel.