Fathers Day

I love celebrating Chase on Father's Day. He really is the best Father I've ever known in my life and deserves to know it. The kids always get excited to plan with me too. We made him his favorite German Pancakes for breakfast with whipped cream and strawberries. 

We enjoyed it out on our new deck (that still isn't quite finished).

Brielle was excited to make him mini Baked Alaska's. She learned how to make these at Activity Days and it was something none of us had ever had before. I loved seeing her in the kitchen and it made me realize I need to be better at spending more time in the kitchen with her.

The first batch of meringue we made did not turn out. We had just enough eggs to try one more time and luckily the next one turned out perfect. It was rich and delicious!

Chase decided to invite his family over for a Father's Day BBQ. It was our first party on the deck (even though our awning is not built yet and it still needs some finishing touches). 

Its nice that Devan was able to swing by on duty to see his family.

 Fun Fact: I am pretty much the only one that takes pictures in Chase's family. I think they are used to me ordering them around by now for pictures but I try hard to capture the candid moments too! I had to get on of Chuck and his boys together on Fathers Day.

Our family is smitten with baby Stratton and this was Bryan's first Father's Day with his little guy.

I love our backyard and seeing the kids run and play.

Jeff Chase is basically Chase's brother from another mother. His family is family to us. We were happy to have him and his kids join us.

I think one of my favorite parts of the day was seeing Brielle sit down with Stratton and play with him. She usually isn't big on babies but I know she loves her cousins. Since my kids don't have anymore younger brothers or sisters its always fun to see them interact with the newest babies in the family.

The play farm was Brielle's when she was one. I still have a play area in our basement with some favorite toys from when my kids were little. It was a hit with Stratton. It gave me flashbacks to when Brielle was tiny and I can't believe how fast time goes! She is growing up before my eyes faster than I would like.