Father's Day
If Mother's Day is all about dad looking after the kids while mom goes to the spa, why is it that Father's Day is all about dad taking all the kids out on a trip/picnic/zoo outing? I'll tell you why: because NOTHING makes you feel better and more dad-like than having a fun day out with your kids.

Denelle was convinced I would not survive, but I flew solo and took Emma and Cole to San Francisco on Saturday. I needed to pick up my kilt, so we also went to Pier 39 to see the sealions and buy Aunt Sheila some new puppets for her collection. It was AWESOME!! The kids were on their best behavior, and the sealions were a huge hit. I didn't even get complaints about the cold wind coming off the bay. They were too busy waving and shouting "Hi sealion" to the slumbering hulks on the floating dormitories.

I was on a roll, so we even went to a sit-down restaurant for lunch. I had the poster children for manners and etiquette. OK, Cole didn't eat his chicken and Emma only had a few bites of her grilled cheese sandwich, but they wolfed down their fries, had some nice sourdough bread and enjoyed the lemonade, so I knew they wouldn't starve. It helped that I let them each pick one puppet to keep them entertained on the drive home.


Of course, all good things come to an end. Buttercup the white bunny puppet and Mumble the penguin puppet have caused about 15 arguments today ("mine, mine mine"), so I suppose I should relish our grand day out even more.

Happy Father's Day to one and all...
Andrew