They're Home!

Yesterday was such a great day! The daughter, my parents, and other relatives made it back from the beach safe and sound and much earlier than usual! I had a father's day dinner all planned out and prepared to cook when I met them over at my parent's house.

I made carne asada with flank steak (and chicken for the daughter who does not eat red meat) except I turned it into shish ka bobs with vegetables like green and red bell peppers, baby portobella mushrooms, and onions. We also had corn on the cob and a lovley green salad. The marinade on the meat made it so tender and delicious! This is the epitome of a summer meal to me...also something my father had never grilled.

I adore this man. He is the best father in the world...I could not have chosen better parents if I'd been given the ability to do so. It felt like it was 9,000 degrees outside, and he was totally willing to be the designated grill master! I decided to accompany him, despite my hatred for the high humidity. (Literally the heat index was 110 while the temperature gauge read 99). It was funny because seconds later, everyone joined us outside despite the heat. We were enjoying the precious deck that my brother built for them, my mother's potted plants, and each others' company! This is our first summer since my parents moved away from the house we all grew up in...no more pool, no more lush beautiful gardens around the pool, no more acres of grass for him to cut! No matter where they live, my parents will always have a lovely yard with beautiful flowers...and a grill and a deck!

Everyone enjoyed dinner, and then we had such a fun dessert! The daughter and I (though we were apart for the week) planned (through text messages and phone calls) to make a specatacular surprise that we found on Bakerella's site...Happy meals for all of the fathers we know and love! These were delicious and certainly impressive. You should check out her blog if you ever need something to wow someone. The daughter and I love to try new treats from her site. We had some difficulty with the sugar cookie fries and we are always a tab bit messy compared to her perfection, but we had such a good time putting these together...and everyone seemed to enjoy eating them!

Hope everyone had a wonderful father's day and a superb weekend. Now, I am going to go look at my girl again and tell her how very glad I am that she's home!