Father's Day

My Dad.
I love this picture. He decided to eat healthier after a few medical scares. My Mom gave him a bag of rice cakes.

This was his reaction! Classic.

But now, this is him. 60 lbs lighter, and I can hardly believe it.
It really hit me when I went to the store with him. We were getting some sherbet. He couldn't find any with 90 cal per serving so he skipped out. WHAT? This is my Dad who eats chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and why not add some fudge chunks or chocolate chips? I'm really proud of him for his self control and his progress. He looks great. But I'm still getting used to it.

This Father's Day I've had a chance to reflect and think of some of my favorite memories with him.

He always had Trident gum, original. It will forever remind me of him. And we always tried to sneak it out of his suit pocket at church. Never succeeding, but eventually he would relent, give each of us a piece, and half his pack would be gone.

We loved dressing up my Dad. We'd pull his hair up in many tiny elastics. Blush and lipstick were applied. He was always a willing participant. And we loved it.

He would play us a boogey song that we would dance to at night and danced right into our beds. (one of my ALL time favorites.)

His bedtime stories were the best. They were all connected about a family of fish that ran a chocolate eclair factory.

Family Home Evenings where he was acting like a child. Jumping on couches, doing somersalts on the ground...the works.

He would always make it a point to have one on one time with each of us. We would park in front of the Temple and he would ask us about our lives. What are favorites were, who we liked etc..one of my favorite memories was with Carlee hiding out in the back of the car to spy on his and Kelsey's conversation. We were convinced that she was his favorite and that he would tell her. Well he did, after seeing Kelsey talking to us. He figured what we were doing and played it well!

Vacations. We ALWAYS went some where, even if was only an hour away...some of my favorite vacations were:

San Diego with the Cahoons (temple open house and beach time)

Navoo trip. Twice. Love them both. The best was the creepy motel with the shower in the middle of the room. Literally. And Ben with "Tony", his monkey. (since they were road trips we had lots of fun stops on the way..Six Flags, World of fun, St. Louis arch...)

Florida. Disney World and Busch Gardens. Need I say more?

Various road trips to California and Utah. Depending where we were living at the time. Including stops in Las Vegas.

South Carolina. Hilton Head at the beach house.

And the best Japan. It was truly amazing.

And finally two memories dear to me...

Our special Daddy daughter time was Saturday night. My Mom would have things for him to run to the store for before Sunday. It was our time. We would go to the the store together, get gas and he would let me get something every time. It was always sunflower seeds, slushies from the gas station and a magazine. (teen beat, seventeen, and the likes.) I loved that it was our time and I always enjoyed going.

And road trips to California, with just him and I. Listening to Jimmy Eat World and The Beatles. Going to In-N-Out with cancers, and of course Baja Fresh. He would let me talk his ear off the whole time, and would keep up with all the stories about boys, friends and our crazy adventures.

I love you Dad. And I love our memories.

For the other "Dad" in my life.

I am so thankful for him. Thankful for the memories he is creating with Aubree and Sophie. He is definitely the "fun" parent and they know it. They love playing with him and his energy seems to match theirs. I know that as they grow up they will have fun Dad stories and memories to share. Thank you for all you do, I love you and I can see how much our girls love you too.

Pictures of Dave with his girls from this last year.