This past weekend I got to experience my first Father’s Day as a dad. I was expecting a tie or maybe a some tools from the kids, but instead they gave me some stinky diapers. They’re the best. Since Shae got a tote bag and a table saw for Mother’s Day, I was half-expecting a screwdriver and a vacuum. Instead, I got a digital picture frame (thanks Shae) and some steaks/chicken/other tasty goodies (thanks mom). Besides the gifts, here’s the rest of my first Father’s Day weekend with the kids.

Lunchbox’s toenails had gotten pretty long and he wasn’t very cooperative when we tried to trim them, so on Friday I took him to Petco (the store, not the ballpark) to get a pawdicure. It would be an understatement to say that LB wasn’t excited about this, but he got through it. As a reward for being so brave Lunchbox got to take a trip to the dog park. It was quiet at the park, but one of the two other dogs looked like Mr. Box’s twin. There were a few times I actually found myself getting the dogs mixed up. The easiest way to tell them apart was that Baxter was the humper and LB was the humpee. After quite a while of being humped, Lunchbox was exhausted and it was time to head home.

As soon as I got home, Shae somehow suckered me into going to REI to look at baby-backpacks. We are taking the babies to Sedona next month, and Shae convinced me we need the backpacks so we can take the kids on some hikes. The plan was to try on the packs at REI and then buy an old model from someone on Craigslist, but of course we ended up leaving the store with two new backpacks. Funny how that happens. (Actually, the new ones have some additional storage that is really nice…I think we made a good decision…I’m going to keep telling myself that.)

Father’s Day weekend was one of three “fee-free weekends” at a bunch of national parks (details here), so we decided to head over to the Point Loma Lighthouse/Cabrillo Monument with the kiddos.  If nothing else it was a good excuse to get out of the house and try out our new packs, so we loaded up the car and headed to Point Loma. We met up with Chris, Patty, and Chris’ cousin Andrew (taking a break from his stay on an aircraft carrier to get some training in SD) for lunch at Olive Tree Market and then drove out to the lighthouse.

If you’ve ever been up to the top of the Point Loma Lighthouse (or probably any old lighthouse for that matter), you know how tight and crowded the staircase is; adding a framed backpack and a baby makes it a real challenge. After quite a bit of squeezing and contorting we managed to get up to the top and Shae took a few pictures (surprise). When we were done at the lighthouse, we took a nice downhill walk back to the car, made a quick stop for a chai tea freddo at Peet’s, and called it a day.

Sunday was nice and relaxed, so there’s not a lot to retell. Shae made me a nice breakfast, the kids were (pretty) well behaved, and we just hung out and didn’t do much. Lunchbox’s Father’s Day gift to me was to take me on a nice walk around the neighborhood. What a thoughtful puppy. Given the choice I think I’ll take LB’s walk over the babies’ poopy diapers, but they were both very nice gifts. Shae cooked me up some steak and potatoes for dinner (again, thanks mom), and we called it a day.

That’s about it for my first Father’s Day as a dad. Here are a few pics from my first Father’s Day with Jack and Ella: