My Father's 70th Birthday

Posted by Chandra June 02, 2012

My Father's 70th Birthday

What a day to remember! My dad celebrated his 70th birthday today! He sure knows how to party! We started off the day with a workout.

First, dad showed us (Jon and his family came over this morning) how buff he is by bench pressing 85 pounds 16 times! To put that into perspective- I cant even lift the bar. Ha ha he truly is amazing. The emergency surgery he had in November left him very weak, especially in the upper part of his body. Any thoracic surgeon who has dealt with patients who have undergone the same treatments as my dad will tell you that his strength and fitness is extraordinary. It's very, very impressive and I'm so proud of him!!! Next, we took our walk/run to the park. The kids played and burned off energy while we tried to burn off calories. My dad showed off again by doing 5 pull ups on the bars at the playground! Holy cow! He's truly amazing!

We stopped by a garage sale on our way to the park and uncle Jon bought Parker a transformer for a nickel. ;-) thanks uncle jon!!! When we got home everyone was starving and no one knew how to make a terrific breakfast like tanner can! So I whipped together some German pancakes (since there's no way I knew how to make Swedish ones...) and we blended up some super nutritious smoothies and we were feeling great!

After breakfast Jon and I presented dad with the book of memories we put together. We sent out letters a couple months ago asking friends and family to send their favorite memory or some kind words for my dad. He was speechless when we gave it to him. It's really something he's going to treasure. I mean, he even admitted that if the house caught on fire he'd get my mom out safely, then get the book!.... And then the turtle. Ha ha :-)

The afternoon was spent preparing for dads big birthday bash! Cami, Jon, and I, as well as mom and dad, met at the clubhouse in ladera around 3 and worked non stop filling balloons and decorating! It was so fun working together and knowing we were doing it for the best dad in the world! We wanted this birthday to be extra special.

We had a TON of desserts and a really good turn out! Lots of people came and stayed to talk and laugh and give their love to dad. He was beaming all night. It's such a blessing having a father who is so respected and loved by so many people. It's an honor to be his daughter and it was a privilege to organize and execute this party for him.

Parker and I stayed and helped clean up and took home all the balloons! It was quite a hilarious drive home. He looks like he could fly away with all these balloons! :-)

I'm so happy I could spend the whole day with my dad on the day he turned 70 and to witness his good spirits and exceptional health. I love him more than words can express and am forever grateful to be his daughter and to know I have all of eternity to be with him. He has been and always will be my rock and I will never grow tired of being his caboose. Love you daddy. Xoxo