The Princess Ball

 

 

Daddy Daughter Dance

One of the girls' favorite events! 

They went to a Valentine dance with the best Daddy in the whole world! 

 

Our friends who recently moved to Houston came back and stayed with us for the weekend so they could attend the dance.

Daddy and the girls had a great time!

Celebrating 8 at School

Karis got to celebrate her birthday at school on Friday the 9th. She brought her favorite birthday treat again -- candy coated pretzels. Unfortunately her teacher doesn't allow parents to visit during snack time so we don't have any pictures. 

Daddy visited during lunch since it was also Mavs Dads day. 

The following week, Lindsay and Jamie visited her during lunch to bring her Cane's chicken and a cupcake. 

They stayed for recess and played. It was such a special treat for her!

Donuts with Dad

Kyle invited Daddy to Donuts with Dad at his school. 

Kyle gave his 60-year old dad a tie to wear to the event.  =)

The Princess Ball

Daddy took his two princesses to the Princess Ball at a local church. They were so excited! Makena wanted to wear a fancy dress. Karis didn't want to wear a "puffy scratchy" dress, so she picked out her own dress. She threw on her boots and was ready to go! 

Daddy was working at church, so we met him there and took some pictures. The girls had a great time with daddy, dancing with their friends, eating lots of sweets and meeting Elsa!  

Daddy's Retreat

Daddy took some time off of work to go on a retreat. He was gone for six days and spent those days in the wilderness at a retreat. We didn't have any contact with him for those days. Boy, did we miss him! 

I thought the hardest part would be getting the kids off to school and putting them down at night by myself. But those things were pretty easy compared to dealing with the kids' emotions and sadness. There were a lot of tears! The girls spent a lot of time drawing and making cards for Daddy while he was away. 

And finally, we got to meet him as he came off the bus! It was so good to have him home!

Happy Father's Day!

Boy, do these kids love their Daddy. During the day, they tell me they miss him or want to call him to tell him they got hurt or that they did something exciting. They love to spend time with him whether it's just checking the mail or going for long bicycle rides. He is a fun, loving, protective, and wise father.

The kids happily took these pictures for me because they truly believe he is the BEST daddy EVER!

A Special Date With Daddy

Karis and Makena went on a special date with Daddy. They went to a father-daughter Valentine dance at a local church. They were so excited all week and could hardly wait. Karis wrote about it in her school journal. 

Friday night finally came! They finished dinner quickly and got dressed up. 

The dance was geared more towards older girls (dancing with loud music in a dimly lit room), but they came home with fun treats and loved their time with Daddy.

Happy Father's Day

Today we celebrate Daddy! He is our hero. 

We can't draw hearts big enough to show him how much we love and adore him. 

He is our spiritual leader who cares for us in every way.

He's the kind of dad that comes home from a long day at work and jumps right into a tea party. 

We love our Daddy for who he is and all that he does for us. 

The only thing he doesn't do so well, is share his favorite dessert that mommy makes him once a year!

Oh, and we like having a funny Daddy too!

The Truth Is Out

I'm not sure how he does it, but Derek is a stern disciplinarian but also the biggest softy to his little girls. They simply love and adore him, and I know they'll one day appreciate his loving discipline.  I watch his relationship with them and it assures me that they'll grow up to be amazing women with such a positive and loving male figure in their lives.

Happy Father's Day

Derek spent most of the day at church. Our church moved to a new location so it was a busy day for him. Hopefully in the midst of the busyness he felt loved and appreciated! Karis wore her new "Daddy's Lil Princess" shirt for the occasion.

She Looks Like Her Mommy. She Looks Like Her Daddy.

Most people either tell us that Karis looks like both of us or that she is a "mini-Lena." I can see parts of her face that resemble mine, but when I look at her, I don't see me in her face. Well, I think I now know why. She doesn't look like me, she looks like Derek when he was little! I'm going to start calling her mini-Derek.

another first... but for Dad this time

There are many Mommy varieties of these...

I have seen so many of the Mommy varieties with my own eyes...

In fact, I had seen only Mommy varieties...

I had seen so many of the Mommy ones that I didn't think the Daddy version even existed...

And now that I've seen one of them...

I wouldn't sell it on eBay even if it was the only one in existence.