The 5 Aces... One Day At A Time: Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day, to all the dads out there. And Happy Father's Day to the World's Greatest Dad (aka Hector)!

As with most celebrations in our family, today centered around simply spending time together as a family, and eating tons of great food. The kids and I all agreed that Hector works really hard, and he is a great dad. So we tried to give him a well-deserved day of good food and relaxation!

We started out this special day by making homemade banana pancakes for breakfast. They were quite delicious, if I do say so myself. And even though Hector asked for only 1 pancake, I made him 2 because, well, I know him... By the way, he gobbled them both up. :-)

After that, he opened his gifts. I saw a commercial last week that claimed that the average American consumer spends $90 on gifts for Father's Day. And while I know that Hector is worth every bit of $90, and so much more, I also know that I am a thrifty person. I knew there had to be a way to get him great gifts that he truly would love, while being true to my thrifty nature. Enter Vista Print.... Have you clicked on the link for Vista Print to the right of this page yet? Because it's there for a reason. :-) The reason being that I LOVE Vista Print! Why, you might be asking yourself? Because they love a great deal just about as much as I do! I got this t-shirt and the hat in the pictures below, both from Vista Print. They normally would have cost me over $30, but because I got on Vista Print's email list years ago, and subscribe to their email newsletter full of great online deals, I knew that both of these items were on sale. And I got both items for my absolute favorite price... That's right, people! I got them both for FREE! Maybe you should wonder on over to the right side of this page now, and click on that link. :-)

Yes, the kids really do think their Dad rocks!

Avery and I went grocery shopping yesterday to get food for Hector's Father's Day Dinner. Maybe someone out there can answer this question for me, because the butcher just looked at me like I was insane... I understand that brisket is a big hunk of meat, but why can't they cut it down into smaller portions? I mean, if they can cut down a roast, why can't they sell me an 8 pound brisket? Why do they need to keep these 20 pound hunks of meat fully intact? Because I do not need that much meat! But I digress... So, I walked away from the butcher's counter with my 16 pound brisket (the butcher searched in the back for the smallest one), and chopped it in half when I got it home. Avery thought it was SO funny, the way I went after that hunk of meat with the meat cleaver. But again, I digress...

Today after church, Avery and I made the marinade for the brisket, and into the refrigerator our big slab of meat went for dinner.

And after that, everyone in the family (except Samuel and I ) decided to participate in Hector's all-time favorite weekend activity... the afternoon nap!

After walking around and seeing everyone in my family napping, it made me stop and think... what in the world am I doing awake, typing this blog? So, off I went to Miss Nappie's House. The blog can wait... :-)

So, after a good nap Avery decided it was time for a snack. She wanted to make Purple Cow Jumped Over The Moon Milkshakes. So, that's exactly what we made. To make your own purple milkshakes, mix 3 cups vanilla yogurt with 1 cup milk, 1/3 cup frozen grape juice (undiluted), 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1/4 fresh berries. Blend until smooth. They were really filling and super easy!

There were lots of things that I wanted to make for dinner, but I decided to make what I knew Hector would want. It was HIS day, after all... The picture looks a bit strange. Perhaps it's the brown food on the blue plate. I don't know... It might look strange but it all tasted really good!

After I put this picture on here, I chuckled a little at poor Molly dog, peering through the French door, anxiously waiting to be let back inside to lick up the food that my messy kids dropped on the floor! :-)