Father’s Day Weekend 2026

Good morning, good morning! I’m sitting down at my computer this morning with a million and one different blog post ideas flowing through my brain but we’ll have to settle at one. How about a weekend recap!? I’m feeling chatty and since I managed to snap a handful of pictures over the course of the past few days, a weekend recap feels right!

Saturday

Our weekend began on Saturday with a workout! I was itching to get into the gym as my summertime workouts have been not-at-all consistent with travel and visitors in the mix. It felt fantastic to move my body and by the time I made it home, everyone was hungry so we ate breakfast and then I did a quick change because we had a swim meet to go to.

(Open-Knit Sweater: Nuuds / Tank: Target / Shorts: Pistola — they’re a true A-line fit with a much larger leg hole opening than most shorts (hallelujah!) and the length is great — not too short but not frumpy either! / Bag: BaubleBar / Sandals: Amazon / Phone Case + Grip Ring: Velvet Caviar — PBFINGERS20 saves 20%! ) 

Ryder and Rhett are our two swimmers this summer season and every Saturday morning we have a one-hour “Speedy Meet.” (Chase opted out of swim team this year which was fine with us because he’d now be in the big kids’ swim group and those meets are loooong.) Rhett has always been a water kid but this is his first year on swim team where he’s learning all of the different strokes… yep, even butterfly. We joke that butterfly at this age looks more like a hybrid of a all the strokes mixed with a drowning fish but hey, they’re learning, right?!

The speedy meets have been a lot of fun for us to watch because the boys are really into them. Ryder’s backstroke is ridiculously impressive and it is fun to see his pride in his swimming slowly grow every meet. As for Rhetty, even though he comes in last place in every single race he does (he’s one of the youngest swimmers), he is so enthusiastic and happy and truly smiles when he races and I think that’s something. Maybe even everything.

Once the boys were done with their meet and I was done with my job volunteering as a lane timer, we headed home for Comet training! We signed up for six sessions with The Woof Pack and took a mini break on our Saturday sessions due to travel and visitors so it was good to meet with Kristin and talk through all things Comet again.

Comet actually boards with Kristin and The Woof Pack when we travel and can I just say how freaking wonderful it is to have a place to take your dog that they love!? Comet wags his tail and genuinely seems excited to go to Woof Pack when we have to leave which is such a relief. Vizslas can be very anxious dogs and can majorly struggle with separation, so we were really determined to work with Comet upfront to socialize him and proactively work with him and a trainer to get ahead of typical vizsla anxiety. It’s been worth the effort and money a million times over. Comet does some day training days at Woof Pack so he’s used to the facility, trainers and play time with other Woof Pack dogs who are also under the care of the trainers. I cannot recommend them enough if you are local!

Our one-on-one training sessions are different than day training, however, and involve one of the trainers coming to our house for an hour (we love Kristin!) to work with us and Comet on anything we have on our list of Comet concerns or issues. On Saturday we wanted to discuss managing Comet’s energy around guests when they arrive and his escalating energy levels when kids get rowdy in our home (he’s now thankfully mostly great with our boys but could get a little wild when we had 7 kids running around our house last week). We are also working on his recall and not intensely pulling when we walk with the boys and they’re ahead of us on their bikes, scooters, etc. (He’s good on solo walks but we joke that he wants to keep the pack together when the boys are with us.) It’s all a work in progress but Kristin always seems to have incredibly helpful and practical training tips for us to implement. Her knowledge and insight into dogs’ brains and training techniques is truly so fascinating and impressive to me.

Oh and Kristin and I also spent some time discussing Mister Softee’s soft serve… more on that below!

After we said goodbye to Kristin, it was time for some kayaking in the lake which Comet was all about because this dog is 100 percent a water dog.

He LOVES swimming and truly does not have an off switch when it comes to doggie paddling in the lake, especially if he spots geese (hence our desire to work on his recall). He wears a life jacket and we keep him on a long tether while we kayak and it works pretty well. The lake is his happy place for sure, especially in his 90-degree summer heat!

Once we were done with lake fun, we ate lunch and then made our way to the pool for an early evening swim before dinner. Did anyone else basically live in the water this weekend? When temperatures eclipse 90 degrees it’s pretty much the only place we want to be!

(Swimsuit: Old Navy — I’ve been so impressed with their swimwear this season. I have this one-piece and love it as well. Bonus points for actually working on a long torso!)

The rest of our Saturday night looked like showers, pizza and movie night!

Sunday

Sunday was Father’s Day and we have one heck of a good dad in our house that we got to celebrate! The boys and I gave Ryan a few surprises and planned a “This or That” Father’s Day for him where we put together lists of 3-4 things under various categories for Ryan to choose from. (Categories included activities, meals, treats, etc.) His Father’s Day began with fishing at dawn with the big kids while I got a little work done and Rhett slept in a little bit. (“Slept in” = 7 a.m.)

Our main Father’s Day activity — Ryan’s choice! — took us up to Lake Norman State park, one of our favorites for family hikes.

We hiked just under 5 miles along the Lake Shore Trail and had a really good time exploring and playing the boys’ favorite Predators vs. Prey trail game.  The trail took us on a path that followed the lake and with the lake being so low, different areas of land were exposed which added a new sense of adventure to a trail we otherwise know quite well.

After our hike, we had one thing in mind: Finding the Mister Softee’s soft serve truck! Kristin, our dog trainer I mentioned above, was raving about it as her top pregnancy craving and piqued our interest as everyone in our family absolutely loves ice cream. She talked it up so much it became our Father’s Day mission to find it!

We ended up going quite a bit out of our way to locate the truck but it was more than worth it for a dipped cone (my choice) and other treats.

By the time we made it home, we were ready for lunch (after ice cream? Why not!) and some random individual activities — yard work for Ryan, laundry and some house organization for me, basketball outside and some random inside playtime for Ryder and Rhett, and scuba diving coursework for Chase. Chase is registered for a one-week scuba diving camp in early July and should have his scuba certification by the end of it! He just has to complete all of the written coursework and the test before camp so it’s crunch time!

Once everyone was ready to come back together, the boys and Ryan played soccer in the yard before the heat got too intense and the lake began calling our names! We spent the rest of the afternoon in the lake until it was time for Ryan to head off to the airport for his flight to Chicago. (He’ll be back home tonight but has a one-day conference to attend in Chicago today.) We all said goodbye and then I got the boys showered and in pajamas for an early bed time.

Plans for this week include our boys’ first (and Rhett and Ryder’s only) week of camp! They’re doing a 1/2 day VBS camp and I’m looking forward to having some solo work time again. Woop! We also have friends arriving in town on Thursday for a long weekend visit so I have a feeling this week will be a speedy one. I hope you all have a fantastic Monday!