Dad Dynasty

Here's another picture with Madison and those duck people.  This was kind of a big deal at the church this morning - lots of fun acting like guys from Duck Dynasty.  Not exactly though - we weren't really impersonating them, but instead dressing like them - guys in camouflage with long beards.  We cracked a lot of jokes upstairs in the main sanctuary and got the crowd laughing.  We even posed for a snap with Pastor Franklin after the service:

It was a good start to the day, although we're a bit tired.  Next, we're off to Ye-Ye and Nana's house for the big Father's Day celebration.  And, it was also a celebration for Madison.

The family gathered at the house, starting things off right with a big meal cooked out on the back deck, hot dogs and hamburgers, corn on the cob and all kinds of other good foods.  Soon after that, though, it was time for some games!

Nana and Ye-Ye set up some games with water balloons, and yep, there was one with shaving cream involved.  It was a relay race, one where we took turns having the girls make us a beard of shaving cream.  By the time the whole thing was done, everyone had a shaving cream beard!

We did a lot of badminton after that.  This is a game we used to play a whole lot growing up, and on the weekend of Madison's seventh birthday, she was starting to get the hang of it... a little.  At least the family around her knew to stay out of her way when the birdie came falling down in her general direction.  She'd be swatting all over - next lesson will be being mindful of others and how much it doesn't feel good to get hit by a racket!

After the games came the cake and the presents.  As it is Father's Day, we had presents for the dads, as well as presents for Madison.  Hard to believe, but there were still some things that had Merida on them that she hasn't received for a present yet.  Today, Madison got even more "Brave" things:  a new Merida dress, more coloring pages, and more toys.  And legos!

What did the dads get?  We got Ye-Ye a copy of that new television series, "The Bible."  And this Daddy got something pretty cool:  a new record player.  We don't actually have a record player in the house anymore, so this was a pretty nifty little item.  Of course, it's modern and can play CDs and the radio.  But it's all about the records.  Suddenly, I'll be looking around for records to play now!

After the presents and the smiles, came even bigger smiles.  It was time for another water battle!  The kids were anxious to get out there and splash each other, and it was a whole lot of fun.  There were water balloons, water guns and the hose itself, manned by Ye-Ye, who was wicked with his aim.

It was a fun, fun afternoon.  But we all had to head home some time, so we left, pretty late, after saying our goodbyes from another wonderful time together.  We returned home a little tired, of course.  It was a long day.  Still, we had enough energy for a movie - that's when we tried out "Puss in Boots," which - can you believe it - we haven't seen yet.  Daddy picked it up as one of Madison's birthday presents, and together we munched on popcorn again and watched the movie together.  It was okay - but it didn't matter the overall quality.  It was just a special weekend, and we're all content with smiles on our faces from a great time together.

Watch out!  You're next!