Terrifically Thomas: Daddy Braddy's Day...

(...and BigBob and Papaw's too)

Unless you have been living under a rock or on a hiatus from life, you are aware that this past Sunday (June 16th) was Father's Day 2013. What you may not be aware of (but should be...in my humble opinion) is that the Toots man hit the jackpot in this department; he sure has some amazing male figures in his life to look up to, each with amazing qualities and characteristics of his own. We're all about growth and life's experiences up here in the land of terrific Thomases, so I must conjure up a little flashback of a first father's day for the two youngest Thomas males (B and our child...duh) for your viewing pleasure...

Jack with his Daddy Braddy and Papaw

Jack sure looks different! The other 2? Well, they haven't changed much.

NOW, let's flash forward back here to the present. As you may have read in my most recent post prior to this, Father's Day weekend is always the time when we get together for Redneck weekend. It also happens to be Dan's (Papaw's birthday), so to celebrate with Papaw, we do so in conjunction with Redneck weekend and his birthday. As I mentioned that post, we got him Whiskey Stones for Father's Day that came in a wooden box engraved, "Only the COOLEST dads get promoted to Papaws", along with his initials. Whiskey Stones are non-porous cube-cut stones that when placed in the freezer, can keep drinks cool for hours without absorbing any liquid or diluting drinks with water. They're REALLLLLY cool...hence the crafty saying I had put on there :)

Since we spent Friday and Saturday with the Thomas side of the family, we headed over to my parents' house on Sunday for lunch and celebrating Jack's Poppy a.k.a. "BigBob" (my Dad) and B as well. We had yummy ribs, corn on the cob, Mom's homemade baked beans (A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. to say the least!), pasta salad, and apple pie and swam as we love to do! Family pool days just happen to be a Banker tradition and favorite activity and we do it as much as possible. Sundays are pretty much non-negotiable in that arena and Beth and Kody have even joined in on those each week! Anyway, I digress. Since I knew that we'd be focused on Redneck weekend and Dan's birthday on Friday and Saturday and my Dad on Sunday, Jack and I gave Daddy Braddy his stuff on Thursday night so we could have a private celebration, focused solely on him. We got him 2 pairs of seersucker shorts, a brand new pair of Ralph Lauren swim trunks, a tie with the official UK plaid on it, a chrome UK license plate frame (B's been talking about getting one since he got his new truck), a UK grilling spatula, and a Canvas of Jack in his Colts football getup from his 6 month pics to go with the sports theme B has going in his new office.

B's loot - Father's Day 2013

this is the pic we had put on a canvas for Daddy to hang in his office. He has autographed and framed UK pics, posters, and memorabilia as well as Colts and Cubs stuff hanging in there too.

B says he had a GREAT day and was happy to have an early celebration with just us 3 on Thursday. Like I said, on Sunday, we had a nice time at the pool and eating lunch, but we also had a blast shooting B's new BB gun...yes, my husband is 12. He now has a BB gun, of which he brought for some target practice on Sunday. I have to admit, it looks exactly like a real gun and it is incredibly fun shooting it...we practiced on Thursday when he bought it. Brad would hate for me to publicly admit this, but I don't doubt that he'd confirm that I'm also one HELL of a shot. Him? Not so much. Seriously. I literally kick his bootay in this department. And yes, toot-toooooooot goes my horn! Dad and Cathryn even got in on the action and Cathryn is also much better than Brad. We all took turns shooting at one of Mom's metal flamingos she has in her garden near the pool. I hit it 3 out of 3 attempts, Cathryn 2 out of 3, and Bob 1 out of 3. Brad? 1 out of 6. HA!

Oh you may be wondering what did we get Bob/ Poppy? My dad is getting a bit [ahem] "up there" in the years, but he won't admit it and most definitely does not dress like the average bear of his age. While his number may sound old to him, I assure you he is not by any definition or sense of the term. While we may tease him about his age, we know you are only as old as you feel and he certainly does not act it, look it, or dress it and I like to keep it that way. I got him a funky fedora from my favorite vintage store...he looks so hip and retro in it, and these funky, green, alligator skin looking Sperrys. They. are. AWESOME. And right up his alley! I love giving gifts and I especially love giving gifts that represent the style and personality of the person of which you're gifting. We also love playing games together as a family so we gave him a new set of "Phase 10" cards and the game "Fibber". If you haven't heard of it, look it up...SO FUN!

That night, our little fam of 3 ventured home and continued celebrating OUR patriarch. He picked to grill out fish that evening and we did just that while playing with the Toots man. It was a perfect day and a perfect weekend. Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there and an extra special wish to the men in my life, especially, my lovey man, Mr. Braddy Beawr :)

Now, here's a salute to the father's in my life. You men are sensational role models for my son and I'm so thankful for your role in my life, but most importantly his. He certainly has AMAZING examples set before him and for that, I am most grateful.