Photos of Father's Day Past

Since I took us on a trip down memory lane for Mother's Day, I thought it was only fair to do it again for Father's Day.

Here is Benny and Olivia on his first Father's Day in 2009.

Here is Benny (Olivia was sleeping in the car) when we dropped him off at the Naha airport on Father's Day in 2010. Benny flew to the States for work stuff and arrived back on Okinawa late on Fourth of July. I didn't get a photo of O and him on either day. Sad face.

Then there is this year. Here is the father-daughter team in our front yard. It was after church and I'm trying to get a photo before they change out of their dress clothes.

In the afternoon, we went to a minor league baseball game in Hagerstown with our neighbors and our friend, Jeremy. Olivia enjoyed a tropical punch Italian ice at the game, along with running the bases after the final out.

Nothing says Father's Day

Nothing says Father's Day like an afternoon at the local fishing hole.

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On Saturday, Benny got Father's Day started early with Olivia, a can of worms, and a Spiderman fishing pole. When we asked Olivia if she wanted to go fishing, she immediately yelled "yes!" and then called to the pond "Fishies! Fishies! Fishies!" while trying to climb into the water. Soon, Benny got her set up with a bait and a pole. Then the waiting began.

Luckily they didn't need to wait too long.

Catoctin Mountain, not Mountains

Olivia crossed another milestone: she completed her first hike.

We took her, along with our friend Melinda, to Hog Rock, a 1-mile easy loop in the Catoctin Mountain Park, which is part of the National Park Service. According to our Fodor's Virginia and Maryland guidebook, the Catoctin Mountain Park is eight square miles of forest and rocky ledges. Add in mild temperatures on this particular Friday and it was the perfect recipe for Olivia's first hike.

Follow the arrow

We brought the hiking backpack to carry her, but she wanted to walk solo, so she did that (at a slow, slow pace stopping to collect sticks, leaves, and worms) until the vista. At that point, she told us to stop and take a photo "here!" We obliged.

Family photo on the mountain

Then she ran around, despite my plea to walk, while I took a photo at the vista with Melinda. Of course, Olivia fell. She wasn't upset until Benny took a photo of her on the ground. She tried to wave him off while Melinda and I laughed.

Don't take my photo, Olivia cries.

Meli and I

We finished the hike (with Olivia in the backpack) by identifying trees and poking at a harmless caterpillar.

Olivia loves to hike

Olivia loved every minute of it, even if it lasted more than the 45 minutes it typically takes to complete that loop.

I forgot

I forgot how wonderful spring can be. It's been a long time since I've experienced the season of spring. Since 2002. Almost a decade. Without a spring.

I returned to the States in the winter and found the Midwest to be cold and covered in snow.

Olivia's minature snowman

No sleds, only swimsuits,  for sale in the stores in March.

I arrived in Maryland to find no buds on the trees and a chill in the air. Then suddenly without warning, the wind shifted and soon birds were singing in the mornings, tulips had popped through and opened on Easter Sunday in front of my new home and yellow and white daffodils bordered every farm house in our county.

In front of our house, April 2011

In front of our neighbor's house

Spring had arrived. Olivia's new hobby was picking dandelions and handing them to me for safe keeping.

Picking at the Washington Monument

Picking at the local library's lawn

My new hobby was photographing the beauty of spring.

Random tulips in D.C.

This weekend, the temperatures reached the 90s and the humidity pushed down on us. It left me thinking about how much I missed spring and how could I ever forget about it.