"I'm so glad when daddy comes home...

Glad as I can be!"  

(a favorite children's song)  

Dan came to visit and it was fantastic...5 1/2 days of fantastic!  It felt so nice to have our little family together again.  The kids were giddy with excitement as they saw him walk out of the airport doors.  Little squeals bounced off all corners of the car!  A whole month is too long for the little ones to be away from their daddy! 

It went from this....

To this....

In the blink of an eye.

And now, I'm back to being a 'single' mom til he comes back to visit again.

Here are a few things we were able to cram in to those much-too-quick-five-days.  I wasn't too great about remembering my camera for everything, but here are a few fun things that I did capture on camera.

We opened the birthday gifts he got me!  Thanks, Dan for spoiling me.  

 Of course we always love the 4th of July around here.  Nothing says Happy 4th of July like long boarding, a fabulous BBQ/birthday dinner (thanks mom and dad), vespa rides, ice cream cake, and watching things explode.  FABULOUS DAY!

 How great is it that my parents ride skateboards?  Pretty sweet. 

 Jack loved the fact that his dinner matched his shirt.  :)

 My birthday celebration was a week long event.  I'm not complaining.  I love birthdays.  

And this dessert, is to die for.  MMMM...ice cream cake.  

 

The morning after.  There was so much trash from the whole cul-de-sac that my dad just got his leaf blower out and made a giant pile of leftover fireworks.  

My dad's birthday tradition for as long as I can remember is to ride bikes to breakfast.  It's his favorite meal of the day.  And this old place right here in Star has old-school greasy-spoon type breakfasts.  Just the way we like it.  Such a fun tradition!  Happy Birthday Papa!!  

The breakfast Club Crew.

 One night we had all the family over to our house for dinner too!  Played in the backyard.  These are my favorite types of days.

 Love this little guy.  KJ is pretty obsessed with him too.  I think they'll be best buddies.  KJ thinks they'll be close just like he is with my brother Jess.  It's the same age difference.  

 We have a new superhero in the Howard home.  Jack will morph into superman in the blink of an eye. Or the Incredible Hulk.  Depends on his mood.  And yes, his shoes are on backwards.  In both costumes.  They always are.  And that's why I love him.   :) 

 Another fun day spent at both the river and the pond.  The river was ice cold, almost slushy according to Dan after he floated it with my dad, so we moved over to the warm pond.  

And found a rope swing.  

Dan and I celebrated our ELEVENTH, yes 11th Anniversary.  If it weren't written on my calendar I wouldn't believe it myself.  The years have literally flown by.  My parents took the kids for the night and we went out and played just like the good old days.  It was nice to have a real date and not have the kids in tow.  We spent the evening walking around downtown, having dinner, dessert, and then went to a movie.  We shared lots of laughs.  It was just what I needed. 

 We had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory.  It's the same restaurant we had our wedding party dinner at 11 years ago, so it is always a fun walk down memory lane.  And the myzithra cheese...delicious.  

Happy 11th Anniversary Dan!