Dad's Birthday Gift, Wendy's "Poof" Fairy and a Surprise for Maddy Moose (but don't tell her, Jodie! lol)

I finally finished the little scrapbook I was working on for my dad's birthday. I had done myself a "book of Dad" not too long ago, but I decided I would do one for him for his birthday, which is next week. Dad's not a sentimental kind of guy so I don't know what he'll think of this. I hope he likes it, though. He's so hard to choose gifts for. I think that's true of most dads, huh? Anyway, here's the cover (this book is only 6" x 6"): The next picture tells, on the left side, of 12 things my father taught me. The right side tells of twelve things my father never taught me. I used the same photo, but used a program that makes it look like a water-color painting. Then for the picture on the right, I reversed the image and changed it to black and white.These next pages show my dad's parents (on the left) and on the right is a picture of Dad with his brothers, individual pictures of his sisters and a single picture of me.

This next one shows, on the left, an action shot of Dad sliding into 3rd base. He used to play on a softball league out at Tinker Air Force Base. Those games were a lot of fun to watch. The right side shows Dad demonstrating his perfect bowling form! My parents were always in a bowling league when we were growing up. In fact, that bowling alley is where I got my first real job. First I was a waitress in the snack bar, but kept forgetting to give people silverware. Then they switched me to short order cook. I still can't believe they didn't just fire me and be done with it. lol I think it's because the owners liked my parents so much, they didn't have the heart to tell them their daughter was a dork!

The next page I did (below on the left) tells my dad about some of the things I feel certain I inherited from him. (most of which I'm sure he'll agree with!) The page on the right is a picture of Dad and his lovely wife, Wendy.

These next pages show Dad's kids on the left and Wendy's kids on the right. His and Hers.

And then "theirs" (below) - the left page is all the grandchildren that Dad and Wendy have, combined. I whited out the names because I don't know if their parents would want their names all over my blog. The page on the right is a note to Dad from me. I blocked out some of it because that part is particularly personal.

And here's the back cover, featuring my brand-spanking new stamp that I so love. I know you guys are wondering why I've started showing so much scrapbooking stuff lately, aren't you? Well, aren't you? You're interested enough to wonder, right? (Say yes. You know I need the validation. lol) Anyway, the answer is simple. It's the easiest way I know to show this stuff to my daughter-in-law, Jodie. Loading these pictures onto e-mail takes forever and a day. Unfortunately, it means I'm now boring you guys to tears, I'm sure, but bear with me. I at least tried to make the background of the pictures bright and happy so they'd look halfway interesting. :)

Moving on...has anybody else seen these "Poof" fairies? I love 'em. I found them at our local Hallmark store and they just crack me up. Wendy's birthday is a few days after Dad's so I got her a "Poof" fairy to celebrate. It says "Poof! You're 29!". LOL They have ones that say "Poof! The dishes are done!" and "Poof! The house is clean!" (I could really use one of those...). Here's what they look like, although the different phrases come in different colors. They're so ugly, they're cute.

This next picture is NOT FOR MADDY'S EYES, JODIE! Do NOT let Maddy see this! This is the new Build-a-Bear they came out with today. It's a Topaz bear. I had to get it for the Moose because Topaz is her birthstone (she's a November baby). This is the cutest little thing! I named her Daisy May. Shut up, you guys! I happen to like that name! Although I kind of wish now that I had named her Buttercup, 'cause that's what I think of when I look at her. Not that I've been playing with her or anything. ha! The trick will be for us to hold off giving this to Maddy before her birthday. It's hard to hang onto something that long. It's the reason I can't shop for Christmas gifts throughout the year...I always end up giving the gifts waaaaay before Christmas and then I have to buy more.

Okay - that's enough goofiness for now. It's almost midnight (Yikes!). Time for all little bear buying, fairy poofing, scrapbook making chicks to be in bed. Goodnight, ya'll!