My Dad's 60th

My Dad turned 60 this month and it is becoming a bit of a joke that this celebration just keeps going on and on! He deserves it though. So as his birthday has lingered so will this post!

Earlier in the year we started to think about my Dad turning 60 and what we wanted to do to honor him. It seemed like a natural thing to gift him with a guitar. For those of you who don't know my family my Dad enjoys playing the guitar and has a fine appreciation for woodworking. Pair that with Rod's incredible skill and love for building guitars and it's not hard to figure out what to do! We wanted all of the kids and grandkids to be involved in this gift though so we all spent some time in the workshop helping out with what we could. It was a labor of love. And YES, it remained a secret until the gift was given.

First the grandkids all came and had a turn. Even Kennedy got in the action and helped out!









Then the kids all took their turn coming in. Unfortunatley I don't have a photo of Debora. She did help though by choosing the style of the bridge and the headstock. By the way Debora I think you did a fantastic job!




My sister Julie and Rod having some fun!


Rod took this photo of me in the shop.


We also all put our fingerprints inside the guitar and signed it with a personal message to my Dad.



Remember I did say this was going to be a long post! We are only half way there. Here are a few photos of the guitar finished. Well, actually it isn't 100% done. The actual finish on the guitar isn't on yet. We ran out of time and it takes weeks for it to cure properly. Dad is going to have to give it back at some point to get the proper finish on it.





This was the first time that Rod built a guitar with a sound port.



Finally the day of the party! We were so proud of the grandkids for keeping the secret. They could only wait so long though and we decided to open presents right away. We wrapped an album of photos that I had taken of making the guitar and that is what we gave to my Dad. He's a smart guy and figured out right away what was in store. My Mom on the other hand! It was quite funny watching her as she couldn't see the photo's and had NO clue what was going on.




Finally out comes the guitar. Kaidan taking a look in the sound port.




Let's play this thing already! For those of you who have never heard one of Rod's guitars you are missing out. I need to brag for a moment about my hubby because he is AMAZING at building guitars. Not only do they look fantastic they sound incredible.





I think this is one of my favorite photos here. I love the look of my Dad's hands against the guitar. Very personal to me. Happy Birthday Dad! You are so very loved and I am so honored to be your daughter. I love you.