Remember Father's Day?

No, I didn't forget about Father's Day...and yes, we did celebrate it! I thought I'd give you a little peek at it today.

Father's Day was kind of different this year. If you've been reading here for a while, you may or may not remember that this is the one event every year that's a HUGE bash for Ryan's side of the family. Allen and Nita have always hosted it at their beautiful cabin, and they invited all of Allen's side and all of Nita's side and then anyone else who needed a place to go (like my parents) were included too!

This was Nita's biggest hosting event of the year, and while it utterly exhausted her, she loved it. (Here is a peek at last year's party, which ended up being the last big event she hosted.)

Allen told us at Mother's Day that he still planned to host it this year, as usual, and I have to say, he did a fantastic job in pulling it together. I know that Ryan's two sisters (who have both really been wonderful about spending tons of time with their dad and helping fill the loneliness for him) helped a lot too, but I was really impressed with how hard he worked to make it normal for himself and everyone else. 

Normally I'm a bit of a shutterbug at this event, but I tried to keep it low key this year. I know everyone is trying to find their new place in Nita's absence, and I didn't want to seem like I was imposing on the hostessing/memory making. But I did manage to sneak a few just for the scrapbook! I'll share a few with you!

Unfortunately, my parents weren't able to join us this year. Dad was sick earlier in the month with a really bad cold, and then Mom caught it. She really was too sick to come, and even though Dad could have, he didn't want to risk picking up any new germ variations and bringing them home to her, so he chose to stay with her. We stopped at their house before going to the cabin so we could at least see Dad on Father's Day and drop off his gift!

Then we went to the cabin!

Allen had gotten pink roses in Nita's memory and had them in a vase on the food table, along with her picture. A very sweet tribute. 

It was a bit of a grilling party out there. (And all of it tasted SO good.)

Ryan has a lot of cousins, but this one doesn't usually get to come to this particular get-together. I was so happy she was there this year!

Had to get my annual photo with Ryan...

...and one of him with his dear Grandpa. 

Grandpa hates pictures, but he humors me. And sometimes he just hams up the picture entirely. Case in point:

(That's Nita's sister and Grandpa's brother there in the picture with him.)

And Allen with his kids:

We thought it ended up being a really wonderful day! 

Happy Father's Day (again)!