First, let me say HAPPY FATHER’S DAY this Sunday to all the dads in my life … but especially this one, MY Daddy.

Dads make me smile.

I have been organizing pictures this week and burst out laughing when I came across the sequence below.

I often have duplicates and sequences because like many parents, I’ve figured out that if you snap enough photos in a row then you have a better chance of capturing everyone looking angelic (or at least not choking each other). I was so relieved when digital photography came along and we could start doing this without wasting film. Yes, I am old. Hush up, all you youngins!

But this time, looking back, it wasn’t the kids that caught my attention. It was the sub-plot, if you will. What is happening in the background?

If your family is anything like mine, you might have observed a scene like this before.

Two cousins eating lunch.

Three cousins eating lunch.

Four cousins eating lunch, and the littlest one begins to howl.

Here come the menfolk, who have been watching football in the next room.

Menfolk help meet everyone’s needs and–of course–entertain the children.

Monkey see, monkey do. (Meanwhile menfolk are free to go back and watch football.)

Mission accomplished.

Family rocks.