the end of an era + a day with four kids
37 and 1/2 years. papa retired from the fire department on Saturday and boy was he loved, respected, honored, and totally considered a man to look up to. when a guy retires from the fire department- there is a ceremony. there is the flag presentation.. and there are lots of people to send off the retiree into the best years of his life:) we got to witness all this over the weekend and we couldnt be more proud of our papa.
I have decided that the effort it takes to get a family photo of six adults and five babes under three to even look in the general direction is far less than realistic.
and thats okay.
these guys. I’ve introduced them in a few past blog posts, but there are no greater family bonds than that of sharing blood AND the brotherhood.
aldon (nephew) + brian (nephew) + papa roy (patriarch) + jordan (son) + josh (nephew)
they all wore their ‘dress blues’ per the request of Roy for his retirement party- and they look sharp!
the final lowering and the presentation of the flag. Roy asked if Jordan could be the one to present the flag to him- and you could have heard a pin drop. the station hosting this party was actually Jordan’s station- on one of the busiest streets of the city.. and you couldnt be bothered with a single car driving by. It was awesomely honorable to be able to witness such a thing. the babes werent totally sure what was going on at the moment and Jo ran out to stand next to her daddy while the flag was lowered and folded by the IFD honor guard.
the other part of our day.. G Man! His mama was busy hosting a shower for her little brother who is set to get married over Easter weekend- so we were on baby duty while she was on her A game. although he was outnumbered, he was the perfect little tagalong!
Baker was happy as a clam to be with her boyfrann.
ya’ll. this is a thing.
so get ready for years of #bakerlovesgrayson.
the big girls ran around like crazy kiddos- they love love love the fire station and everything about it and have spent plenty of time there and know the ropes. the first thing they asked for when we walked in was “can I have some of dada’s cookies?‘
cookies at the fire station are like a no brainer.
but, they both quickly realized that the very best part about any retirement celebration..
the cake.
Baker was a doll baby. passed around by all the firemen and their wives that always make me beet red in the face when they tell me that they LOVE to follow us on Facebook.
..including this guy right here.. Jordan’s captain. the twins love Wade and now Baker is a big fan, too!
after the fire station celebration we headed out for dinner with all the close family and friends to keep the party going. I snapped a quick pic to document the baby explosion in our reasonably sized car that all of the sudden felt incredibly tiny.
after a long day, the babes were zonked. we came home and put the big girls right to bed and then tackled the bed time routines of a couple of teeny 6 month olds together before Auntie came to pick up Grayson after her party had ended.
way too much cute right there.
s u n d a y
after such a busy satruday, sunday morning was slow moving. we played hooky from church and made pancakes instead.
Baker was a fan!
we attempted for an early afternoon nap, but it was a no-go.. so we loaded up and made a sam’s run for the essentials like fruity pebbles + diaper genie refills in bulk. the babes enjoyed the snacks. I was delivered with an entire sample of greek yogurt on my boots and my half drank caffeine free diet coke Jolie slurped down when I wasn’t looking.
these kids.
on our way home we made a pit stop at the park to let them run off some steam..
and the sweetest little bunny to play her baby heart out. she loves being outside- and everything is hilarious right now..so she chuckled (literally) for two hours.
then it was home for a hearty sunday dinner!
sunday dinner is like the best meal of the week. I cant wait to share this one with you.. its made in its entirety in that one single pan.
I need a weekend for my weekend. and an ice pack for my right bicep because it is SO SORE from carrying around a baby (or two) for hours.
happy monday to you!!
January 25, 2016
This is so great that firemen are celebrated in this way! The work they do to protect complete strangers is admirable to say the least.
So true that getting a big family photo with everyone looking forward is nearly impossible but honestly I think the photos or more interesting and sweeter when they are perfect. I'm from a family with five kids so imagine now that we have spouses and kids ourselves. It is a 3-ring circus when we take photos!
I love your hot pink dress with the leggings. Would you mind sharing where is it from?
Happy Monday!
Love your blog!
What a special celebration and great way to honor him and all he has done over the years!!
Can't wait to hear the deets on that recipe. 🙂