father's day

These kids LOVE their Daddy!

We had a very good Father's Day here in the Heinrich household.  Daddy is so super special to these kids (and to me, too) that we went all out celebrating how much we love him!  The kiddos had fun creating this picture for Dad ... they loved having me write on their feet (well, I guess Allie did!).  I think the picture turned out really cute!  My goal was to display it in a different way ... what I mean is that I printed several other photos for Billy's office at work, and I framed them.  I didn't want to add another framed picture ... so I decided to transfer the image to wood.  I went to The Home Depot, and I bought a piece of scrap wood that would fit an 8 1/2 x 11 picture ... then I cut the wood, stained it, and transferred the picture to the wood.  I think it turned out great!  It's very rustic, which I love, and it's an adorable way to display a photo sans a frame.  I love how the wood grain shows through!

The back view.

Colton and the kids made several crafts that week at the Kids Club at the gym and at Sabbath School.  Daddy really got spoiled!

I even interviewed the kids about Daddy.  They had some silly and some true answers!  My favorite answers from Colton are that Daddy weighs 106 pounds (yikes!), and I love all of the "plays with me, tickles me, and kisses" answers ... that means Colton knows how much his Daddy loves him!  My favorite Khloe answers are that Daddy loves to watch Jeopardy (which is totally true), and I love that when asked how tall he was her first answer was "this big!" (as she reached high up into the sky ... and finally settled on 50 feet 3 inches as her number guess) ... and when asked how much he weighs she said, "He's BIG!" So cute!

Their interview about Daddy!

It's kind of a tradition around here to decorate an ice cream cake from Bruster's for Father's Day.  This is our third year now, and they absolutely LOVE doing it! I think they really like to eat all of the sprinkles and M&M's while they decorate, but we'll pretend it's the love of making something for Daddy! It's always a masterpiece, that's for sure!

Colton decorating the cake!

Khloe adding a million sprinkles!

All done!

They had so much fun!

Finished product!  Doesn't it look tasty ... to a 2 and 4 year old!

Daddy loved it!  Mint chocolate chip!

On Father's Day, we let Daddy sleep in late ... we went to get some breakfast and to pack up his gifts. Billy had been wanting some Beats by Dre (headphones) for a long time.  I knew exactly which ones he was hoping for ... so we surprised him BIG TIME with those for Father's Day.  He had no idea!  While he was still in bed, we brought him a card and the photo gifts we had put together for him.  He thought that was all he was getting (and he was happy with those things).  

Surprising Daddy with a gift and a card in bed!

Colton is reading the card to Daddy ... who is looking very surprised and enthusiastic about everything!

A very happy Daddy with his three babies.

Then he came out to the kitchen to this surprise! And he was floored that we had bought him his headphones ... exactly the ones he told us about almost a year ago ... what a fun surprise!

Breakfast of his favorite things: Mountain Dew, OJ, green grapes, cherries, jelly donuts, Burger King hash browns, some things to read, and ... a VERY special surprise gift!

Billy with his new headphones ... Beats by Dre Studio Wireless (in red)!

We LOVE you, Daddy (Billy)! Those kids are so blessed to have a Dad who loves to play, wrestle, tickle, hug, kiss, and snuggle with them ... they will always know that their Daddy loves them more than anything in this world, and I couldn't be happier to be raising them with you! God sure has blessed all of us!

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I am reminded regularly that I have a great Dad, too!  I have always had a really special relationship with my Dad ... I guess it stems from us being so much alike.  I cherish the moments when I would wake up early on Sabbath, and he would show me photo slides of his childhood ... or when would go on LONG Sabbath walks with the dogs, sit up late chatting when I was in high school, and go on special Father-Daughter days ... like motorcycle rides to motorcycle races or Sabbath afternoon adventures to museums.  I am lucky that he instilled his love for history in me ... I like that we share that common bond.  He was involved in my Pathfinders, was my biggest supporter at all of my basketball games, watched every drama/choir/band performance (even repeatedly at different churches), was my chauffeur (drove me all around town to keep me hanging out with my friends or attending school activities before I got my own car--and he NEVER complained about it), and always let me know just how proud of me he was ... I didn't fully understand it at the time, but now that I'm a parent ... I get it.  He gave everything to me ... and I'm not talking things.  He is a very special Dad, and I am pretty lucky! He taught me a lot.

A few Dad-isms by Richard Reynolds:

1) ME: "I'm hungry." DAD: "It's nice to meet you, Hungry.  I'm Dad!"

2) ME: "It's really humid outside." DAD: "That's what the animals say ... there's a lot of humans out!"

3) "Taking a trip? Next FALL!" (When I would physically trip on something.)

4) "We're not air-conditioning the neighborhood!" (In other words, shut the front door!)

5) "In or out!" (Shut the front door!)

6) "I'm not sleeping ... I'm just resting my eyes."

7) "I don't know, can you?" (In an effort to get us to say, "May I please ...")

8) "The 'I don't know' guy is back!"

9) "That's the way the cookie crumbles."

10) "That's the way the ball bounces."

11) "You make a better door than a window!"

12) "Turn it off!" (Referring to my over active ability to cry about nothing.)

13) "Hey is for horses!"

14) "Eat it!  It will grow hair on your chest!" (P.S.--not a convincing argument to get a girl to eat her vegetables!)

15) "I love you one, two, three, four ... I love you, MORE!" (probably my most favorite between me and my dad)

I love YOU more, Dad!