Father's Day

Aaron has always insisted that he doesn't enjoy surprises, but I think he liked them this Father's Day. Three days before, I planted a "clue" pertaining to his upcoming Father's Day gift in his lunch. It was a card listing his competition: Chris Patton, Steve Lundsford, Kent Kemeny, Kelly Busby, Neil Sood, John Gardner, Jason Bassett, and Bryson Giles. After a series of questions, Aaron eventually guessed that they would be going go-kart racing! Mario Kart action for the big boys! And all the wives and kids stood in the wings to cheer them on.

So on Saturday, Neil and Lori Sood arrived with their pretty little daughter Annalisa. Neil was under the impression that they had come for a barbeque to celebrate Lori's and my birthdays. So he was doubly surprised when he learned about the go-kart reservations we'd made at a local track. So with very little time to eat our Rachel-Ray-inspired hamburgers, we tossed the kids in the cars and headed to Sterling, Virginia. Everyone had gathered at the indoor racetrack, little munchkins running around under their daddies' legs as the men zipped themselves into hot, thick, racing uniforms. After a ten-minute safety video, our husbands were off to the races!

Christopher did laps just like Aaron did--only while Aaron was whipping in twisted circles around the track driving a super-small convertible, Topher was running back and forth among the bleachers in his favorite "blue shoes." There was no slowing either one of them down. After a practice race of 20 laps, the men paused to compare speeds and scores and to rethink their strategies about how to take turns. And after the real race of 40 laps, they were all dripped with sweat from their hot suits and insulated helmets, but they were also pumped full of testosterone. Christopher had tried to steal into one of the go-karts, open one of the vending machines, and make one of the ashtrays into a sandbox. But besides all that, he was an especially fun little boy. He stood on the chair next to me and clapped for his daddy even though he couldn't see which of the men in black whizzing by was his daddy after all. In the end, the first place trophy went to Christ Patton, but that didn't matter much. Aaron had fun!

On Father's Day itself, Christopher presented Aaron with a card and a new XBox 360 game. It's a football game that Daddy can teach to his little boy who always begs him to "play." We invited Heather and Kent to join us for a night of Catan, a chance to use our new expansion. Christopher sat in front of a movie, eating tomatoes and pretzels and cheese while their little Gwynne fussed with fatigue. We were all a little distracted, but it still nice to visit together as couples. It finally grew so late and we had made so little progress that we had to end the game before it was really done. Still, it was a happy Father's Day and a super fun family weekend. And I hope Aaron felt how much we love him!