Happy Birthday Mr. Tennis!

Last week we went out for a birthday dinner for

Mr. Tennis . . . also known as

The Rickster

Ricardo

Ricky!
How does he do it???
He gets better looking every year!

My sweet Dad and he had special names for each other!

Rickster called Al  -- Alberto and in return
Al called him Ricardo!
Perfecto names for those two!

Besides playing tennis (hence the name Mr. Tennis),

he likes to ride his horse and do a bit of

golfing too.

Somewhere he fits in working! :)

We had a fabulous meal and shared

a delicious birthday dessert

Chocolate Excess!

What is Chocolate Excess you ask???
We have it every chance we get!
It's a triple fudge brownie covered in walnuts and
shards of chocolate.  It's served warm
with the finest French vanilla ice cream,
ribbons of hot fudge and a splash of Kahlua!
It is divine!

Thinking of Dad

I'm having the hardest time starting and writing this post,

for you see, my Dad died on August 22nd,
only 2 days away from his 95th birthday!

Me, Dad and my sister Amy - a few years ago

While we are so sad to lose him (and at times I still cannot believe that he's gone),

he had really been suffering.  He had a fall  the week before resulting in 

deep cuts on his forehead, black eyes, a

 broken nose, broken wrist and an unstable neck fracture.

Mom with me, Dad with Judy (the twins)

A celebration of his incredible life was held last week.
I often called him Al and he loved that --
 he also loved that Mr. Tennis would call him Alberto and he called him Ricardo.
He would have been so delighted to see so many relatives and friends there and
would have talked to and
reminisced with each and every one of them.
We are at peace knowing that his pain is gone and he is enjoying eternal life in heaven
and with my Mom and nephew . . .
and probably wondering why we didn't have
any beers at his funeral.

He was truly the best Dad ever!
My sisters and brothers and I were so lucky to have had
such incredible parents and such wonderful memories to comfort us.

There are special people in our lives who never leave us . . .
even after they are gone.
My Dad was one of those very special people.