Fake Father's Day

Just as we host Mommapalooza every year, Ryan's Mom and Allen host a huge Father's Day bash every year. They've been kind to include my parents in the festivities as well, since our family is so tiny and we no longer have extended family gatherings.

This year, there were a number of family members who had a conflict ON Father's Day, so we had our "Fake Father's Day," as I named it, this past Saturday night.

And we had a special guest this year!

WHAAAATTT????? Is that Phoebe????? Yes, yes, yes!

Phoebe's people had an appointment that evening, and Phoebe needed a place to go! So why not a picnic? Isn't that like a dog's playground?? And my goodness was she ever a hit among the kids. {Most of them. A couple were not big dog fans.}

I think my dad liked her...

This was my favorite picture of the evening. For these two to have the relationship they do is quite a priceless thing to me.

These two were the chief lovers of Miss Phoebe.

The three brothers manning the grills. {And a job well done, I might add. FABULOUS pork chops, and according to Ryan, burgers as well!}

It actually rained for the first part of the evening, so for the dinner portion of the evening, everyone divided between the garage and the big covered porch. We shared a table with my parents.

The official family photo:

I think I have mentioned this before, but Ryan's mom's side of the family has long been friends with my parents - way before the days of Shafferland. Those friendships run so deep that my parents fit right in and it's such fun for them {and me!} to enjoy the blessing of huge family gatherings. I loved watching everyone interacting and telling stories and laughing all evening long!

I was also especially thankful that God blessed the evening with a reprieve from the rain. It rained all day, and the forecast didn't look hopeful until well into the night, but during dinner, the rain just let up and the sun even came out for a while. It was so much nicer to let the kids roam free, and when it came time to clean up and return all the tables and chairs, it was so nice to not have to do so in the rain!

Fake Father's Day was a success!