Happy Wednesday, friends! I wanted to share some of our fun from Father's Day weekend today. We were split between two states but we all had a big time!
So backing up a little. For Christmas, the boys made me little coupons that said things like "This coupon is good for one hug" or "This coupon is good for one weekend by yourself." As much as I love a hug, I also love a weekend to myself! So they all decided that Father's Day weekend would be a great one to give me a free weekend. They would head to Alexandria, Louisiana to see Craig's parents on Friday afternoon and would come back on Monday. And I would get all that time to do WHATEVER I WANTED.
I had so many ideas for what I could do during all this free time, y'all. In the beginning, I was anxious to knock out some projects, enjoy not having to clean up everyone's junk all weekend and just do absolutely nothing if I wanted. But earlier in the week, I'd decided I wanted to do something even more fun. I was going to drive to Texarkana to see my parents and surprise them for Father's Day! I LOVE surprises. I love being surprised and doing the surprising. I knew my dad would think it was a great surprise too. (Spoiler Alert: He did. 😉)
But before I could do any of that, I had to get the boys packed and ready to go.
We started with haircuts. They really needed haircuts.
Looking so sharp!
I'll continue to sing the praises of packing cubes. I've been using these for at least a year or so now and I'm just so thankful they exist! They make packing so much easier! I use separate colors for each kid and for this quick trip, they didn't need much. Boys have it so easy. #sounfair
(Psssst: The blue cubes are currently on a little price drop right now!)
After the boys left on Friday, I worked and worked and worked on Etsy orders so that I could get as much done as possible before I left the next day. I finished up around 7:00, went downstairs and jumped into my cozy bed for a night of Netflix. I watched the new Jen Aniston/Adam Sandler movie (silly but funny) and re-watched some old favorites. The best part? I didn't have to break up any arguments, cook anyone dinner, tell the boys to go upstairs/brush their teeth/go to bed... It was nice. :)
I slept until 9 on Saturday and was packed and ready to go by 11:30. Craig's mom sent me a bunch of pictures of the boys heading out on the lake that morning. Craig's parents' house backs up to this lake (complete with alligators!) and they love to go fishing.
Matthew thought he was way too old for this Spiderman life jacket though. He made sure to tell me about it. 😂
The fact that they get in this tiny little boat on a lake with alligators makes me a little crazy but I always do my best to shake it off and not freak out.
Matthew caught a tiny fish!
I can only imagine how mad my super competitive Mason was when he saw Matthew's fish!
Back in Texas, I pulled up to my parents' house around 2:00 feeling so excited! The front door was locked so I knocked and when my dad opened it, his face was priceless!! I had been telling my parents all week how excited I was to have the whole weekend at the house by myself and they were genuinely happy for me and that I was getting some very rare free time. Little did they know it was a big ole fat lie!
My mom was at the mall when I arrived so I went ahead and gave my dad his Father's Day gift while we waited for her. I talked about this in my Amazon Haul post from yesterday but this chair was a huge hit! It comes in several great colors and is so comfortable!!
My mom got home a little while later and she was just as surprised to see me as my dad. Surprises are the best!!
My parents had tickets to see a movie at the Perot Theater in downtown Texarkana that night so my dad got on the phone and grabbed a ticket for me too.
And when I say a movie, I mean a screening of The Legend of Boggy Creek. The Legend of Boggy Creek is a true story about all the bigfoot sightings that were happening in Fouke, Arkansas (very close to Texarkana) since the 50s. The movie was shot in 1972 and was the very first movie the director (a local) had ever made. AND IT WAS AWFUL. Just awful. It's one of those movies that's so bad, that it's funny. As in, at one point I was laughing so hard (at a part that was supposed to be scary and dramatic) that I was crying. The crowd showed up because it's part of our local history and was a fun outing...not because the movie was amazing. I was literally counting down the minutes until it was over. You can google the Fouke Monster though. The stories are actually pretty intriguing.
But getting to go back to the Perot, where I used to have all my dance recitals as a little girl, was really fun. It was a lot smaller than I remembered!
After the awful movie, we ate dinner at Zapatas, a Mexican place nearby, and I even ran into one of my old friends from school! I love going back home!
The next day, we woke up and headed to my grandfather's church where I got to surprise him as well! He had no idea I was coming and did a double take when he saw me sitting there in his church. It was such a fun little 24-hour trip. After lunch, I headed back home to check on my dog and enjoy the next 24 hours of alone time.
Meanwhile, the boys were having all kinds of fun. Craig's brother and his family were in town so the boys got to hang out with their cousins, Scarlet and Sailor, who they just love love love.
Craig's other brother, Ricky, took the whole gang out to dinner for Father's Day.
They did a little night fishing...
...and fishing in the rain.
Yay for Mason finally catching one!
Paw Paw opened his Father's Day gift to find an Elvis gnome waiting on him! I saw this gnome in Hobby Lobby MONTHS ago with my mom and knew I had to get it for him for Father's Day. Craig's dad is a big Elvis Presley fan and I knew he'd think it was funny. It's literally been sitting in our bedroom in a sack for at least 6 months. 😂
Here Paw Paw is trying to curl his lip, Elvis-style. ;)
It now lives here.
The boys got home Monday evening and it went from quiet serenity to messy chaos in 2 seconds flat. 🤦♀️ Back to reality!!
I really love this post! What a great weekend for all of you.
ReplyDeleteHow cool that you were able to surprise your parents!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great weekend for all of you! I so understand the part about not having to cook dinner and put your child to bed thing...my favorite part of a free weekend. Glad you were able to enjoy all parts of the weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou can tell the boys were having the time of their life!
ReplyDeleteYou made a lot of people very happy in just a short weekend visit! And got some down time for yourself too- the best. Great post!
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