A few weeks ago, back before a barrage of work, birthdays, and family visits knocked me out of my blogging mojo, the family was invited to attend the grand opening of SeaWorld San Diego’s new dolphin show Blue Horizons.

As you may recall, Swee’Pea, TheMonk and I got to be a part of the final weekend of the old dolphin show back in September of last year. So we were excited when SeaWorld invited us to be their guests. I thought the kids would enjoy it but I really didn’t know what to expect.

It turns out, the show is all about a Princess in pink with a fantastic combination of acrobatics and great dolphin tricks. I wish I could put into words how theatrical and fun the show is but I’m not sure how to do it. I do know that it’s difficult to take everything in at once. So many things are happening that we’ll probably have to go again just to get a better feel for it.

I know Swee’Pea won’t mind. Did I mention the Pink Princess? Maybe next time, she won’t chicken out when it comes time for a photo.

It’s important to provide a mellow bedtime routine to help kids transition to sleep. The books tell you that.

But it’s equally important to boogie to Lady Gaga’s Telephone while getting jammies on – creating laughter and memories. My heart tells me that.

It’s important to provide nutritious, balanced meals and limit unhealthy snacks. The experts tell you that.

But sometimes it’s okay to have cake for dinner or ice cream for lunch. The smiles tell me that.

It’s important to teach proper table manners when kids are young. It will prepare them for when they live in an adult world.

But it’s also okay to giggle and make up silly words at the dinner table from time to time. It reminds us that being a kid is such a short window of time.

You’re supposed to let your children grow and mature, right before your eyes. Everyone knows that.

But when your babies are about to turn five, all you want to do is hold them, and kiss them and snuggle all day with them. I could tell you that.

I don’t do reviews. I get, on average, about 15 to 20 emails a day asking me to review some product or another. Some offering payment. Some not. I’ve rarely accepted these review opportunities because I wasn’t familiar with the company and didn’t use the product.

But that changed this week. The good folks at Red Envelope, a “unique and personalized gifts” website that I have used for the past several years (I bought two sets of these frames and some great family Christmas ornaments) contacted me about doing a product review for Father’s Day. Because of my love of the company, I agreed. And they paid me for this review.

Now that I have the nice FCC requirements out of the way, let me tell you about the cufflinks I received to review. These cufflinks are made of stainless steel and great quality but it’s the quote on them that I liked the best.  Each cuff link says, “All that I am and all that I hope to be I owe to you.” These words, inspired by a quote from Abraham Lincoln, are a great reminder to me of what fatherhood is all about.

The cuff links were shipped in a nice red box with a ribbon and were placed in its own box inside (see photos below).  If you’re looking for a great last minute Father’s Day gift, I would highly recommend Red Envelope.  And I’d say that even if they weren’t paying me.  (In fact, I think I have before!)

To see Red Envelope’s Father’s Day gifts, you can go here.  You can get a 10% discount on any item by entering the promo code: 10offred.  Tell ‘em Matthew sent you! (I’ve always wanted to say that.)

This is a paid post.