As many of you know, yesterday marked the celebration of Father’s Day here in the US. And even though a certain someone forgot Mother’s Day last month, I still made sure to put in the effort for him on his day. After all, marriage means having to “forgive and forget” as the sage man from Taiwan told Ashley & Constantine on The Bachelor last week. Did anyone else find that conversation totally random and uncomfortable? Ah, the pleasures of trash television.

So I figured I should practice what The Bachelor preaches (where’s that sarcasm font again?) and devote some time and attention to Peter. He works hard to support our family, love and play with our children, believe in me, and put up with watching shows like The Bachelor. I guess he deserves a little special treatment. I happily obliged.

I started the traditional way by preparing a special breakfast for him. The man loves peanut butter. The man loves pancakes for breakfast. Peanut Butter Pancakes naturally made a perfect breakfast selection. And as luck would have it, we could easily adjust our standard pancake recipe to make a hearty peanut butter version.

Peanut Butter Pancakes

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 80 grams (about 1/3 cup) natural peanut butter <—I do grams so I can just measure the pb directly into my mixing bowl. It’s easier than trying to scoop it into a measuring cup and then get it all out of the measuring cup.

Mix the dry ingredients together (flour through salt). Whisk milk and peanut butter together. Add the wet to dry and stir until combined. The batter should be thicker than traditional pancake batter because of the peanut butter. Prepare pancakes as normal by dolloping even spoonfuls onto a hot griddle or pan. Cook for around 2 minutes per side. Makes 10-12 medium sized pancakes.

The pancakes came out perfectly. I prefer a hearty, dense pancake that will fill me up and these did just that. I topped the pancakes with maple syrup and served them alongside a simple fruit mix of bananas and strawberries. The flavors went so well together and the peanut butter flavor didn’t get lost in the pancakes. I loved taking a bite of pancake with a piece of the fruit, especially banana. Mmmmm!

Besides a special prepared breakfast, I also picked up a few items for Peter that I knew he would never buy himself even though he wanted/needed them – a new wallet and a new pair of jeans.

Originally, I had tried looking for tools and other man items that I have no clue what to look for in quality or price. I scratched that idea when he mentioned something a few weeks ago about needing new jeans. And then last week griped about his old wallet. Wallets and jeans I can figure out. Wood routers (????) not so much. I hate shopping for men, so I’m so thankful he gave me ideas I could handle. I’m also thankful for ideas that don’t mean the start of a new house project. 😉

Father’s Day celebrations continued with some stops to visit both of our parents. We only had time for a quick stop over to see Peter’s parents because we planned to spend as much time as we could with my family before my brother left to return to Arizona.

My brother planned a special meal for my dad – large and in charge burgers on the grill.

Typically, I’m not a huge burger person, but sometimes they sound so good. Yesterday was one of those times. I loaded up my burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, pepperjack cheese, ketchup, and mustard. Of course, a burger is nothing without chips or fries so I had to grab a nice sized handful of the barbecue kettle chips.

I think you could safely say that I ate well yesterday. Very well indeed. We can’t forget how the night finished now.

I secretly picked up a 2 slice pack of Edwards Key Lime Pie for Peter and I for dessert last night. For some reason, this standard, frozen, grocery-store pie delights Peter so much. Who am I to deny him his favorite dessert on Father’s Day? I only wish I had captured the surprised and overjoyed look on his face when I brought it out to him after dinner. We both get way too excited about dessert. A Happy Father’s Day indeed. I know I didn’t mind celebrating!

• Did you do anything special for Father’s Day?
• Do you find it hard to shop for guys? Any good man gift ideas you have come up with before?

Want to join in on the beach fun?? Here are some posts you might have missed:

• Confessions (I had FFF t-shirts made!)
• Greetings from the Road (my favorite pit-stop for breakfast)
• Settling In (comforts of home when away)
• Officially Started (our first beach moments – including super cute kid photos!)

Before hitting the beach yesterday morning, I helped Peter get started on a new challenge he has decided to pick up. The Couch to 5K!!

I was so thrilled when he told me he wanted to try to get a bit more into running as well. Even better? He wanted to get started on our vacation so I could go out with him. We woke up early yesterday morning to get in the week one, day one workout.

The workout called for 5 minutes walking to warm-up and then alternating 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking. Our walking intervals ended up being more photo shoot intervals instead though…

Besides our self-portraits we snagged some shots of our new house…

(if only)

…and one of the many scary looking jelly fish washed up on shore…

(remind me not to go in the water)

….and goofy “I’m running pictures”.

so special

We still managed to cover 2 miles in our workout, which felt great. It also got me amped up for a longer, steadier run on the beach this morning.

I laced up and headed out to the flat, packed sand. Oh, how I would love to run along the shore every day!! I covered 4 miles at a calm, easy for me 10 minute/mile pace. It felt amazing! The peaceful, quiet of the early morning coupled with the serenity of seeing such beauty as the vast ocean and colorful sky God created – what a way to start a day!

To top off a revitalizing workout, I filled my belly with my all-time favorite breakfast. Oats with strawberries, raisins, and peanut butter of course!

Mmmmmm. Now I feel ready to tackle anything. Though today I only plan to tackle my beach chair and sand when playing with Makenzie. I hope Monday treats you well!

• What is your all time favorite breakfast?
• Do you know anyone ever stung by a jellyfish? My sister has been…and someone did in fact have to pee on her. She’s gonna kill me for telling that!