They love their daddy.

If you told Darius 7 years ago where he'd be right now, I'm certain he would have shook his head in total disbelief. I'm also certain that he wouldn't trade his current situation for anything in the world. Darius loves his boys so much, and there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't tell them that a number of times.

We were fortunate to be able to spend Father's Day with Darius, but unfortunately it was because he was sick and called out for the first time since being with Delta...very unlike him. Regardless of feeling cruddy and laying up most of the day, he still had as good of a day as he could. The boys surprised him, truly surprised him, with cups they painted more than a week ago. I'm still amazed they kept their project a secret for that long. Ben gave Darius lots of cards he made, and they both wished him Happy Father's Day many times and repeatedly told him how much they loved him. They were very sweet all day. The final round of the U.S. Open was on and gave Darius a good distraction for most of the day, and we all enjoyed a nice dinner together.

Darius and I are far from being expert parents, but we're learning as we go, and as long as our boys keep telling us how much they love us we know we're doing something right. Being a parent is the most stressful yet equally rewarding job there is. I appreciate how hard Darius works and for the job he does when he's at work. It's because of him that I'm able to stay home with our boys, and that's a priceless gift and worth whatever we temporarily go without.

Thanks for being the great man and dad that you are, Darius. We all love and appreciate you!

Dad Appreciation Day

To all the great fathers out there...namely my dad, my husband, my brothers, brother-in-law, and the boys' Papaw - thank you for being the great men that you are! I appreciate all of you and know your families especially do as well. A special thanks to all of our close friends who are fathers as well. Ben and Zach already have so many examples of great men and fathers, and as they get older I know how beneficial these men and their examples will be to them in the long run.

I feel a little bit guilty that a good portion of our day was spent hiking today....not Darius' favorite activity! I was actually really surprised that he even suggested it. We originally planned to go out on the boat and beach comb on Egg Island, but Darius was unsure about the tides and whether we'd run the risk of getting stuck, so he opted to go on a hike instead. He told me later that even though he doesn't care for hiking he wanted to do something that we could all do as a family...sweet guy, good dad.

It was our first hike together as a family, and we were fortunate we had Joy with us. The boys energy ran thin along the way and they needed frequent lifts from all of us. We hiked the McKinley Lake Trail , and aside from the pesky mosquitoes it was a really pleasant hike. The trail head begins just off the Copper River Highway at about Mile 21, and the hike up to the McKinley Lake Cabin is just over 2 miles through a thick spruce-hemlock forest, which helped give us a bit of a canopy from the rain that picked up on our return trip.

Darius is a great husband and father. I'm already so grateful for what he is and will be for our sons as they grow up. He has a huge reserve of all kinds of stuff waiting in the wings to teach Ben and Zach about. I know he's just as excited as I am at the thought of all we have to look forward to down the line as our boys grow up. I'm so glad they have him as a dad, and I couldn't think of anyone better to have by my side as we raise our boys. Love you D.

Dads

We had a quiet Father's Day this year. Darius had to go back to work after his 3 days off with Jimy, so we only had a little bit of time with him in the morning before he took off. The rest of us were all kind of tired after a busy weekend, so it was kind of a lazy day. Dad and Mom went to church and gave talks. After they got home Ben, Zach, and Dad took naps and Joy, Jimy, and I took a drive out the road to Child's Glacier. The drive out there was beautiful and we lucked up a got to watch a big chunk of the glacier break off.

Later after we got back from the Glacier, Mom had a great dinner made for everyone. With full bellies the laziness continued throughout the rest of the evening.

It's a big responsibility to be a father, and even more so to be a good one. Kudos to the great fathers in this world that set good examples for their children and others. Our world needs more of them! I'm fortunate that my dad is one of those good ones...great ones. I'm also very fortunate that Darius had strong women who raised him to be a good man and father. My hat goes off to single mothers who have both roles to play.

As I was adding pictures of my Dad to this post, Zach pointed at them excitedly and shouted "Grandpa!" Ben and Zach have had a great opportunity these past couple of years to get to know their grandma and grandpa. Although they're early memories, I hope they're ones they will hold onto as they get older.

Dads' Day

It's been said many times that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. My mom and I kept that in mind, and fed our men well today.

I'm not a great early morning person, but I dragged myself out of bed and made breakfast for everyone. Darius was expecting to get called in to work today, so I wanted to start his day on a good note. Lucky for him he never got that dreaded call. Instead he was able to relax and enjoy time with the boys.

My dad invited some people over to have pizza for lunch. We had pizza the night before, so I had put aside some dough at his request to make it again for our guests. As good as it was we didn't indulge too much. We had lots of room we needed to save up for dinner.

Mom and I made a great spread for dinner. Steaks, King Crab legs, homemade rolls, twice baked potatoes and green salad. Darius claims that it was the best meal he's had since our wedding night, which bumps our recent meal in Seattle down a notch.

Darius' mom sent a package to him last week for Father's Day. She included lots of his favorites: Slap Ya Mama spices, Monjunis pasta sauce, Mt. Olive sour pickles, and fresh blueberries from her yard. We used the blueberries to top off a homemade cheesecake for dessert...yummy! Thanks Margaret!

It's no easy task to be a father. I have a great deal of respect for my dad and how far he's come in his life. I'm so lucky to be his daughter and have this opportunity to live with him and my mom. They're the most selfless people I know, and I love and appreciate them so much!

Darius has only been a dad for a little over a year, but I think Ben & Zach have a great bond with him. I think ahead to all the things he'll do with them and I smile. You're a good dad Darius! Thank you for working so hard to provide for us.

To all our family and friends out there that are fathers....Happy Father's Day!

For Alfred

We're sorry we didn't get a Father's Day card sent off to you! We hope you had a good day! Since you and Margaret enjoyed the recent blog, we thought you would enjoy more photos of the boys playing in the "fish puddle".