Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Father's Day 2012

The Schneiders love an excuse to celebrate a member of our foursome! Josie had big plans for Father's Day that started about the day after Mother's Day: "Oh, I know what Daddy wants to do on Father's Day! He wants to take us to the pool with the mushroom!"  Other ideas included getting Daddy new pair of Toms (since his other fave shoes turned his pink with the suds at the carwash) and buying Daddy a CD of his (read: Josie's) favorite new band: The Okee Dokee Brothers (that is a heckuva good Children's CD for those of you who like folksy kids stuff that doesn't necessarily sound like kids music).  Luckily, we were able to make all of Louie's (read: Josie's) Father's Day wishes come true. Add to that the fact that we let him sleep in until a whopping 9:30am and well, our Father's Day was pretty close to perfect.  

The gifts came wrapped in this lovely Christmas paper that seemed perfect for the occasion according to a certain 4 3/4 year old. 


 Bea was extremely interested in unwrapping (not surprisingly because ripping paper is one of her favorite activities at the moment):

Big hugs from a joyous Josie upon being told that the best thing about Father's Day was being the dad to his two girls:

Louie's card - hand-selected by Josie (actually one of those free cards that come in the mail that Josie found in our art closet and insisted was the perfect Father's Day card):

Lovingly signed by Josie and Beatrice:

We spent much of the morning while Louie was sleeping in working on this masterpiece that Josie dubbed "Toad on a Lily Pad" (science lesson to follow another time, but it's the thought that counts, right?):

Come rain, shine or pop-up showers, we were going to take Daddy to the "mushroom pool" on Father's Day. We all sat at the window watching the rain come down in our swimsuits, but alas the clouds parted and we headed to the pool! (After a trip to UDF for ice cream to kill the rest of the 30-minutes-post-thunder rule that the lifeguards reminded us of on our first attempt through the gates.)


This really is the perfect pool for non-swimmers and will probably be the site for Josie's 5th birthday in August! (Save the Date: looks like it will be on Sunday August 4th this year!) It was a little trippy to take almost-five year old Josie here when the last time we were there was her SECOND birthday party. Crazy! 
 

Here's a quick little video of the scene:



Threat of rain or no, it was a beautiful day at the pool. Both girls love the water and, dare I say, Louie actually got some time to relax!

Lou is still all of the things that made him great last Father's Day! Even when the times get tough (and boy was that the case more times than I care to count) Lou maintains his tireless, unending commitment to our family. We are SO grateful that every second of his day that isn't spent in his office is spent with us! Truly, I love that our girls are growing up in a house where they know they are always the top priority. 

And, while I'm on the topic of Dads, let me just say that I don't think it is a coincidence that I landed such a wonderful husband. I think there really is something to the connection between growing up in a house with the same kind of Dad that Louie is. Those of you who are lucky enough to know my Daddy-O know that I hit the Father Jackpot with that one growing up. To this day, my dad is still an endless source of strength. As I've said, we've been to the depths of the ocean and the depths of the Phish Pit together (and some pretty deep mud in Coventry but that's another story entirely) and through it all, he has always had the humor, wisdom and perspective to get me through the best and worst of times. Thanks Daddy-O!  (Remember: One Show At A Time.)

Here's one of my favorite pictures of my Dad and me together on our first diving trip together in Hawaii. I think you will all agree that "Hang Loose" is kinda his middle name. (Oh Dad - sounds like a great idea for a tattoo...just saying. Sorry Mom!)