ryan's very first father's day!

When choosing the man to spend the rest of my life with, it was necessary that he fit certain criteria. I'm a picky person and refused to settle for anything less than exactly what I wanted... which is really how everyone should be when contemplating something as important as marriage. Ryan ticked all of the boxes, and I'm so fortunate to have found him. One of the specific items on my list was that he would have to want to have children one day, and I needed to know that he'd be a good father.  There wasn't a question of doubt in my mind that he'd be a great dad.... after all, he is a kid at heart.

When Aaralee joined the world last year, he exceeded my expectations and made her the luckiest little girl in the world.  From the beginning he took on the role like a pro.

So when Father's Day loomed on the horizon I knew that we'd have to do something special... especially after my first wonderful Mother's Day.

When I heard about the "Roam the Runway" event at the Calgary airport, I knew that we'd have to go. Even if it didn't fall on Father's Day, the aviation geeks in us could not and would not miss such an event.  At 14,000 feet, the new runway will be the longest in Canada and capable of landing jumbo jets such as my beloved A380. The runway event was open to the public, full of food trucks, airplanes, and entertainment.  When else would we have the opportunity to step foot on the runway of an international airport?!

We woke up bright and Sunday morning. We were a bit tired, having attended a wedding the day prior, but thankfully that meant that we were already in Red Deer which was half of the drive.  We had a Father's Day breakfast with Ryan's family, and Aaralee delivered a few treats to her Grandpa Bruce.  Ryan had already opened his card that she had lovingly signed (scribbled on).

After getting our fill of waffles and coffee we set off for Calgary! We arrived and loaded onto a bus just in time for the rain to start. Luckily for us, we arrived and were given big red rain ponchos. Aaralee was cozy and warm in her stroller, and we were off to roam the runway!

The biggest thrill of the day was the fact that Air Canada had flown in their 787 Dreamliner for the occasion. It was parked for all to see and we happily walked underneath it and touched it for the very first time. We are still a bit upset about the fact that we were supposed to have flown on it to Japan, but we'll get over that one day... maybe.

We continued walking way down to the end, writing our names on the lines and happily wandering past aircraft.

 After taking photos of our baby posing by the runway lights, we headed to the food trucks for lunch.  Father's Day meant Ryan's choice of food, and thus we indulged in a fried chicken poutine. It was delicious, as poutine typically is.

The rain had stopped but the wind made for a chilly afternoon. Our baby was getting cold due to her insistence of being carried as opposed to sheltered from the wind in her stroller.

 We decided to make our way back to the car, stopping for a couple more photos of the Dreamliner... including one of Aaralee sitting in the big, beautiful engine. I can't wait for the day that we have the opportunity to fly in one!

We headed back to Red Deer after a short stop at Tim Horton's for iced caps... did you know that they now make birthday cake flavoured donuts? They do, and they are delicious. It's as though they know that I was born this month.

Back in Red Deer we had dinner with Ryan's parents and visited for awhile before making the drive back to Edmonton. We'd only been home from Oklahoma for one day before heading to Red Deer, so it was nice to relax and crawl into our very own bed. I may have enjoyed the day just as much as Ryan, but it was fun to celebrate him and the great daddy that he is to our daughter.  She sure loves him... as do I!