Holidays are tricky for me now, especially Father’s Day. They are a true test of my attitude. In all things, we have the choice to focus on the positive or the negative. Whether we think it will be a horrible day, or a blessed day, we will find a way to make ourselves right. With that in mind, we woke up choosing to remember the wonderfully happy, obnoxious, and charismatic Andrew and celebrate him for the remarkable Father that he is by enjoying some of his favorite things.
Naturally, this meant we were heading outdoors. As luck would have it our route placed us in some of the most beautiful areas in the country. We packed a picnic lunch consisting of many of Andrew’s favorite things (Dr. Pepper, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, and watermelon), and headed to Lake Coeur d’Alene in Idaho.
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| Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, Juliann, and Tate |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Ryder, Tate, Choice, Shiloh, and Juliann |
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| Choice, Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, and Juliann |
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| Ryder |
We ate junk food until our tummies hurt and laughed as hard as we could adding to that belly pain.
Reminiscing of our good times, such as: locking each other out on the porch until we danced wildly enough to be granted access back in; or daring each other to do disgusting things like eating a fly after catching it at the dinner table; or our inability to take a family photo without him mooning the camera or pinching the person next to him.
We smiled at the memories of his infectious smile or the way he would doctor up his moustache with Rogaine and mascara.
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| Andrew and Tate |
We joked about him watching over us today and getting a kick out of the wind blowing our food off the picnic table or me requiring the kids to trespass onto a private boat dock for a better view of the lake.
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| Juliann, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Juliann, Choice, Shiloh, Tate, and Ryder |
We took a moment to write individual Father’s Day messages to him on balloons. Each of us personalized our balloon with Father’s Day wishes and expressions of love and gratitude. After the messages were complete, we released them from our prime location on the private boat dock at Lake Coeur d’Alene. Shiloh assured me that Daddy would love ALL of the balloons…even though Choice scribbled his message. I believe she is right.
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| Juliann, Choice, Shiloh, Tate, and Ryder |
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| Juliann, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Shiloh, Tate, and Choice |
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| Shiloh |
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| Juliann, Choice, Shiloh, Tate, and Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Choice |
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| Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Juliann |
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| Tate, Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Juliann and Shiloh |
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| Choice, Tate, Juliann, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Choice, Tate, Juliann, Shiloh, and Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Ryder |
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| Shiloh |
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Tate
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| Tate |
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| Choice |
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| Juliann, Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Juliann, Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Juliann, Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Juliann, Tate, Shiloh, Choice, and Ryder |
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| Ryder, Juliann, Tate, Choice, and Shiloh |
We love you Daddy!!! We miss your stinking guts!!! Please stay near. Happy Father's Day.
To our Grandpas, Uncles, and Friends who have been there as father
figures over the past two years, THANK YOU!!
We sure love and appreciate the way you have been there to bridge the gap
during this transition phase in our life.
Happy Father’s Day to you all. We
love you.
I love all of you.
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