Fantastic Father's Day Weekend!

The McCarthy household doesn't usually stick to the tried, and trusted traditions of old. And this weekend was no exception! Father's Day celebrations were extended to a weekend which started with a family fun night (FFN) on Thursday night. For FFN, we all went to go watch Madagascar 3 with friends. Normally this is am expensive outing, but we found a theater that only charges $3 per person, so the evening, with a cold-drink came to under $15! Then on Friday night, I came home from work and grabbed a quick dinner, before heading out to my friend's house to load the car up with band equipment for my bands outdoor gig at a local Coffee Shop. Once I got back home, the boys and I enjoyed some time in the pool, while Liesel went out shopping for Vacation Bible School this coming week. On Saturday morning, we were out of he house by 9:15 since today was the Annual Duct Tape Parade, and we wanted to get ourselves a good spot. It was a hot day, and sunscreen was definitely required! The parade did not disappoint, and the floats were impressive. We especially enjoyed the "Safari" theme with elephants, lion, giraffes and zebras aplenty! The boys were rewarded well for their patience and scored a load of candy and some other goodies.

Afterward, their was just enough time to get home and jump in the pool for a quick cool-off before heading out to my band's gig. We were playing at a coffee house from 2 - 4pm, but needed to set up our equipment beforehand and run a couple of sound checks - so we arrived at the venue at 12:30pm. The temperature was forecast to be 88 (31C), and it was HOT. Despite the heat, the band played well together and enjoyed the complimentary iced coffee during the break! By the time I got home after the gig, after packing up the equipment and setting it back up in our practice room, it was 5:30pm. It was the perfect time to fire up the grill and enjoy some hamburgers for dinner, followed by an after dinner swim with the boys. Then came Father's Day! After I woke up and went downstairs for breakfast, my wife greeted me with Chocolate Croissants and coffee! An excellent start to the day. Josh and Liesel made me a card that I got on Friday, and Nathan gave me a card with a customized copper guitar pick, with "Dad, you rock!" inscribed on it!

That was so thoughtful! Liesel also spoiled me with a heavy duty reciprocating saw! After breakfast, the boys headed to downtown Cleveland for a Boys Morning Out. It was Marine Week in Cleveland, which meant that there was a lot of Military hardware (tanks, planes helicopters and more) on display! The boys were able to climb into tanks, and even the cockpit of helicopter, which Nathan loved! We had a great time together doing guys' stuff!

We got home in time for lunch, followed by an amazing dessert that Liesel and the boys made the day before. It was Cookie Dough bites, small rolled balls of cookie dough, with some dipped in dark chocolate! Hmmmmmmmm But WAIT, that's not all. For dinner, Liesel made a delicious chicken in a mustard/maple syrup sauce, accompanied by some incredible roast potatoes!! Thank you Lee! You know the way to my heart :) What a crazy busy, but crazy good weekend!! Thank you family :) I am blessed to have you all in my life!