After 33 1/2 years with the state of Washington's Department of Ecology, my Dad is officially retired! My brother and I flew home last week to take part in the festivities. It's actually fall in Washington, how great is that?
I spent the first night @ my cousins house and woke up to these little ones climbing in bed with me the next morning. They never cease to entertain! {We even let the girls play hookie for the day, so fun}
Both of my dad's parties were WSU Cougar themed {I'm the black sheep who didn't attend WSU, but at least I was still a Cougar}.
My mom had this picture done of my dad-all the things he loves to do: skiing, soccer, golf, and bicycling. Everyone from the Department left little notes for him.
My dad's work party was way better than I thought it would be {not that I expected it to be bad}. It was neat to hear people talk about the impact my dad has had on their lives. As a kid I knew my dad went to work and that was about it. My favorite speaker was a boy, well he's a man now, that met my dad @ the age of 17 at a wildlife restoration camp {or something like that}. After meeting my dad he knew he wanted to some day work @ Ecology too. After college he struggled to find a job and decided to call my dad. My dad hired him to work with html and he caught the 'internet bug'. He went on to help create ESPN International and now works with ESPN and Disney. And he said never would be where he is now if it weren't for my dad! You always here people say comments like that about their own parents, it was even cooler to hear it said about one of mine. Congrats Dad, I'm so proud of you!
After the party we hit an Olympia must-eat, Brewery City Pizza.
I promise Caleb was laughing in this picture, not freaking out!
Two days later we threw a huge family/friends party @ my cousin Mike's 'Party Barn'.
I still dont know why the fire truck stopped by that morning but they let my dad get in the truck!
I got to watch the kiddos while everyone else worked to get ready for the party.
Brynley is only 9 but she's already a little mommy, she is seriously so good with Caleb!
Go Kart time! These are NOT the sissy ones you ride in circles @ your local go kart place. They'll do 60 mph!
All the girls took turns riding with Uncle Jerry! I rarely have pics of Tiff...this is my cousin Tiff {but she's really like a sister} who I lived with for a few summers!
Caleb even got to go for a ride! He loved the first lap, but not the second!
Me & Doug @ the party!
