Happy Father's Day and Forever Traditions

This was the best Father's Day ever for Oliver and Soren.  That's because Chris told them he wanted to buy new Legos and build something with them.  Oliver tried to tell Chris what he wanted him to buy, only to have Chris remind Oliver that they're Dad's Legos.  Oliver gets to pick what Legos he wants any other time of year, but for Father's Day, Dad got to choose. In the end, there were two happy little boys and a gets-to-be-a-kid-again dad building Legos together.

With the finished product

Father's Day afternoon was devoted to extended family and golf.  The Cheslas have traditionally honored the fathers of the family with a game of golf and a post-game barbecue at Chris' grandparent's.  That tradition has been in transition the last couple of years with the declining health of Chris' grandfather and then his death two years ago.  The locations of the golf game and barbecue have changed from year to year in recent years, yet the family has managed to pull together the planning each year.  Because really, the important part is that even if no one has swung a club since the Father's Day game the year before, the family still gets out there.  And no matter how hot it is or if it rains or if the old guys beat the kids or vice versa, they have fun.  On the car ride home, with his four tired kids up way past their bedtime, and skin still hot from the sun and partially-dehydrated, Chris reminisced on the day and wished for his family to continue the golf tradition forever. 

Spending Father's Day with my husband is a reminder of what a family man he is. Whether it's an activity as simple as building Legos with his kids or putting himself far outside his comfort zone by going to China and bringing home his two other children, he is the best father a mother could ask for and that's one of the many reasons I love him.  He's an incredible role model to his children of what a father should be.