Happy Birthday, Doug!

Today is my sweetheart's birthday.  I'm so very glad he was born.  My life would not have been the same without him.  I'm thankful to have such a wonderful husband.

 Since Doug had to work today, we decided to celebrate his birthday a day early.  Yesterday we packed a picnic and headed out to Bridgeport.

The weather was absolutely perfect, mid-70's and a lovely breeze.  I was sure we would have the park to ourselves but I should have known better.  There was no parking in the normal lot and so we drove across the bridge and came across an even better spot.  We had chicken salad, pasta salad, smoked turkey wraps,and of course, cake!
                                       
Doug wanted a watch winder for his birthday.  He presently has an order in for one of the Bremont U-2 watches and thought it would be handy to have a winder for it and his other watch.    The kids had a lot of fun playing in the grass, chasing butterflies, and climbing trees. 

Jacob was all about the cake.  I finally had to move it because I was worried he was going to upset his stomach.  It didn't upset his tummy but by moving the cake, I certainly upset him.  He threw a fit!

It was nice to get to spend the day with Doug and the little ones.

One Year

Today marks one year since Doug retired from the Air Force.  A whole year....a lot has happened in 12 months time.  We moved to a new home, Doug has had two new jobs, Grandma moved in with us, and the kids have sprouted.  We've completely, thoroughly enjoyed having Doug home with us each and every night. It's amazing how quickly you forget what it's like to spend months at a time without a husband or Daddy in the house.  I like this way much better.  I've asked him if he misses it.  I mean, look at how beautiful this is.... 

Honestly though, I think we keep him too busy to even think about it.  Here's to many more years at home with us every evening.

What is a Dad?

I recently came across this poem:
Everything Dad
A little girl needs her daddy
To love her with manly charm,
To soothe her when she’s hurt,
And keep her safe from harm.

A girl needs her dad
To show her a man who’s good,
To help her make right choices,
As only a father could.

A woman needs her father
Just to be aware,
He’ll always be there for her
To sustain her and to care.

You are all these things, Dad.
I hope that you can see
How much I treasure you;
You mean everything to me.
~By Joanna Fuchs

At the end, I realized they had forgotten one line.  It should read something like this:  A girl needs a father to help make her dreams come true even when Mother Nature refuses to cooperate with you.  The girls have been dying to have enough leaves fall from our tree to make a leaf pile big enough to jump in.  Jacob and I went to the antique fair in Sacramento this morning.  When I got home, this is what I found:

What lucky little girls to have a daddy who is willing to do whatever it takes to get them their leaf pile.  You can just see the joy on their faces.

The U-2

I came across this video on Facebook tonight, posted by my friend Trish. I thought it was really great and worth sharing. Most of you know that Doug just retired from the Air Force as a U-2 pilot. I thought you might like to experience some of what he experienced. I'm so tremendously proud of Doug and all that he accomplished. I'm extremely happy though that he's retired and at home with us every night but I am missing those rides in the chase cars! Thanks to Trish for finding the video (and thanks to her husband Todd who loaned James May his helmet!)