Father's Day Weekend with Friends and Family

Who doesn't love the multitude of summertime street fairs in Columbus?!?!? Food, rides, music, beer. What more can you ask for on a summer weekend? We headed back to the Creekside Blues and Jazz this year, and got our weekly fill of festival fun!

We were thrilled that the Lomaxes could come too. Ivan and Emerson get along instantly, and are like old pals whenever we all get together. There's something so great about young kids...they don't need the formalities of friendship and seeing each other regularly to pick right up as best buds.

I enjoyed my lemon shake-up, while my counterparts enjoyed their big plastic cups o' beer. I love a good lemon shake-up, but I was green with envy for my all-time favorite bev on a hot June day. We made our rounds with food. Rides. And then more food. Everett was too small for most rides, so it worked perfectly to have the Emerson and Ivan duo ride, while we all watched.

Can you see the little blondie in the yellow tea cup?

Waiting patiently for the giant slide.

The carnies lost power to most of the kiddy rides? No worries! We'll just head into the bounce house about a dozen times in a row.

Bounce with me...bounce with me.

Food break! Emerson slammed 2 hot dogs in 2 minutes. That much bouncing burns a lot of calories.

Back at it! (Ivan is behind Emerson on the motorcycle.)

Blurry because I was laughing too hard to keep it straight. Mike wins the award for most patient father ever, after Ivan smacked the plate of funnel cake, covering Mike in powder. This photo was after he dusted off.

The weekend of fatherly fun didn't stop there. On Sunday, we ran a few errands, and had lunch at one of Jason's favorite restaurants, BW3s. Yes, BW3s. On another recent trip there, we were exposed to the genius idea that this restaurant has implemented for kids. Personal game systems! This keeps kiddos entertained at the table for a few bucks. Seriously, genius. Later that day, we headed to Lancaster to spend some time with Poppy, Jess, Jared, my godfather (Uncle BF), and Aunt Cheryl.

Gone are the days of coloring your placemat with crayons.

"Hey Momma, I need to swipe more money."

This is what he does.

Hot, sweaty, and filthy. I think we can consider Father's Day Weekend 2012 a total success.

We only have a few weekends remaining before Coach Willie arrives. It's a little surreal at this point. August 2 sometimes seems forever away. And other days it feels freakishly near. Whenever it happens, we're so ready for our new little arrival and addition to our family!