Looking back at Father's Day 2011

This post is a bit belated, but better late than never.  Father's Day this year was bittersweet. Bella and I were away from Vinny, which was very difficult.  Vinny actually wished me Happy Father's day since I was having to serve as both mother and father for the time being.  I almost cried. (Vinny only recently got his Father's day present, so our Father's Day has been extended as a result, but I digress..)  

We were, however, blessed to spend the day with my Papa, Bella's great grandfather.  It's been a long time since we were able to spend the day with him, so we felt very fortunate.  A long day spent relaxing on the back porch, a handmade card from Bella, a simple dinner out and a jaunt down to the base to give him a little tour made for a great day.

I enjoy finding the right thing the buy the men for father's day.  Some years it goes well, others it is a total failure.  This year was pretty good.  My stepfather, Bella's Grandpa, is an avid hunter and has been going on about getting an exotic animal head for his wall at home for a while now.  My mother has, understandably, put her foot down and said no.  So I found this great little guy at a little place called Cardboard Safari (See their site here):

He came flat in a box and I put him together because there were some small parts that I didn't think my stepfather would appreciate putting together, but I can certainly see the man with a taste for model building really enjoying the process.  It was a little tough getting the center nose piece in place, but totally worth the effort.  I ended up hanging him on the wall as a way of presenting him when my stepdad visited, but I sort of liked how he looked on the mantel too.  Made me a bit sad to see him go:

I still don't know if my mom will let him put Robbie Jr. the Rhino (No, seriously, that's his name on the website) up in the house, but it made me immensely happy to find something that I felt was so fitting for him.

For Vinny, the choice was easy and one we sort of discussed beforehand. We've always been a bit lacking in the tool department around the house, so I told him I wanted to start him on a nice set of tools that we could build on over the next few years.  The first thing on the list was a set of screwdrivers or a screwdriver with bits that wouldn't strip the first time he dug into a tough screw.  After a chat with the older tool wielders in the family, and by unanimous recommendation I might add, I went with Craftsman.  I got him one that was a professional grade handle and came with a nice set of bits (that we can use with our drill too...bonus! Here it is on the website).  Then I decided I wanted to get a second handle so we could both work on something if necessary, so I picked up one that was a quick change screwdriver.  Actually, it was a Craftsman Autoloading Multi-bit Screwdriver (see it on their website here).  So we can use the professional bits with it, or we can use it for quick jobs around the house.  I didn't realize quite how cool this screwdriver was til he opened it upon his arrival and we started using it on Wednesday.  It's definitely one of our new favorite things.  Basically, it has a chamber inside the handle that holds all different sizes and styles of bits.  You pull the chamber out, rotate it to which one you want to use and slide the chamber back down.  The new bit slides up the shaft and into position, ready to use.  Here it is in action:

So, those are our new toys. I hope all you father's out there had a great Father's Day.

Did you get anything fun for Father's Day or do anything memorable?