Gong-Gong's Visit

So what do you do with a 77-year-old grumpy man? 

He was grumpy when I was growing up.

But we still had a great relationship.

You know, there's the fun one and the boring one?

That could be us.

My dad is the quiet type. 

The type that walks ahead of you at the mall. 

Sends money instead of gifts for birthdays and holidays.

Sometimes calls. 

Has hugged me maaaaybe 50 times. And those hugs were almost always initiated by me.

But, I love that old man.

And I know he loves us. 

Even when he has a hard time showing it. 

There's not much to do 'round these parts.

I mean, Steve and I are both working some days.

We always have things to do around here, but not like fun things. lol.

Chores? 

Feeding chickens, mowing the lawn, taking care of everything. It's a lot of work.

So my dad is just hanging out. 

Probably similar to what he was doing back at his home, in Las Vegas where it's like 110 degrees. So he's stuck inside. 

He'll come out and hang when we go to the pool. 

We eat dinner together. I think he just enjoys being around the hustle and bustle that is our family.

Sometimes I think he misses the quiet, lol. 

Another benefit of my dad being in town is that my sister comes to hang out! I mean, I see her at her and my mom's house almost every week, depending on if she's spending time with her BF. But she doesn't come HERE often anymore.

So that's been fun. Since she also works from home, she can come here and work! 

And go swimming.

LOL circus tricks? Jumping through hoops

We are lucky enough to celebrate his 77th birthday with him this year, too!! I don't remember the last time we got to actually be together in person on his birthday. 

I tried an Aperol Spritz purely because I keep hearing the damn radio spot on Spotify. It was good! 

I LOVE tiny things!

The food was amazing.

Chicken Parm for the win!

Then of course we had to stop at A's to get dessert! 

Dad made the mistake of getting a MEDIUM lol. 

He absolutely seemed like he did NOT enjoy this, even though he did. 

"This is too much. It's so much work." 😂

Me and my Dad! Tell me he's not the cutest thing you've ever seen. 

My dad wanted to treat us all out to dinner - since he thought he was treating us last night for his birthday - but we wouldn't let him pay...anyway. He wanted to take us out, so we got to enjoy a beautiful evening out on the porch of Nolan's, one of me and Steve's favorite restaurants in town.