It is FATHER'S DAY!!!!

and I am kinda a daddy's girl...

He just kinda cracks me up... he is this total goof. I can laugh at him all day! hahaha ;) But really it is funny because he is SO extremely intelligent and can be very serious and yet you will see him doing the most random things and you may even question if he has any common sense from time to time. haha But that is what makes my daddy my daddy. 

My papa is so great though. He really is. He always had this ability to know what is up. He has always been super understanding of me and maybe that comes from the fact that my mom and I are practically the same person so he has had a lot of practice... but in any case I love that about him. He always knew just what to say to help me out in times that I was extremely upset about something. He would just come in and let me cry and very slowly get me to finally talk to him about what is going on and he would just calm me down and help me feel better, My dad is a great comforter. And still to this day when I get suuuuper upset about things I call my dad and he will just help me talk it all out and figure things out. 

Part of all that I guess comes from him just being very wise. Life has taught him a lot I am sure, How can it not when you raise six kids?? But I also think he has been blessed with this gift of wisdom. It is pretty incredible and hard to describe. How does one sum up a man's wisdom? It runs deep and it had breadth. It is hard to explain, but it is something I often have needed in my life and something I know I can turn to when I have exhausted my own efforts in figuring out life and its difficulties. I hope that one day I can be a bit wiser like my father, but I hope to find a wise man to marry as well because I am pretty sure I will lack in that department and I want my kids to have that in their lives. 

My dad has always been such a spiritual giant to me. I have always looked at him as someone who knows and lives the gospel to an almost perfection that is quite rare in most people. I remember gathering for family scripture study and prayer. I learned a lot through those moments about prophets, our savior, and principles of the gospel. I'll admit I fell asleep a lot in high school during our scripture study... but there was still an impact. I saw the importance of it all. It is strange how much of an impact diligence can make on a child; I am thankful for a diligent father.

 My dad is pretty much the greatest, I know... but you haven't heard it all yet. My dad ALWAYS took us out camping and took us to the lake. He just drove that boat around and around being patient with us as we learned to ski and to wakeboard, but I think he may have taken his frustrations out on us while tubing. That man shows no mercy when you are on that tube, his crazy comes out for sure. haha But never once has he ever complained about not getting to ski a lot or wakeboard. of course now we are old enough to drive the boat and so he gets his turn. But he still gets most of the time behind the wheel of the boat rather than behind the boat. My dad is pretty selfless. Not just by that, but by the fact that he works so hard at his job to provide for us. He even commutes because my mom and my dad wanted us to grow up in a good town rather than the most convenient town by his work. i really thank him for that! I am glad I did not grow up in Mojave!! ha or Lancaster, sorry all you Lancaster folks! 

My dad was a teacher to us. Not just about the gospel, but about sports, fixing cars, putting in sprinklers, outdoors work in general, and so on. The list is quite extensive. He taught me personally how to play volleyball. I remember the time he took to help me control my bumps and how to even set. I improved greatly in the sport due to my father's efforts and patience. I love that he taught us to work though. Working is a great and marvelous thing, even though it can be hard. Just this week I got the privileged to kneel down in our boat and bail water out of it because our bilge pipes broke. I loved working beside my father doing that. It was easy work it is true and we didn't talk much, but I loved it and enjoyed it. That is kinda the beauty of it all nothing really needs to be said. Also he is a guy and they don't talk much for the most part which is kinda nice. hahaha 

I LOVE my dad!!! I will never forget the times I would come home from school or work or practice to find flowers on my bed with a note or our little daddy-daughter dates. They have made quite an impression on me and taught me of my value and worth and taught me a lot about how I should be treated by a man. 

Dads are great! My dad is the greatest!!! Happy father's day!!!!!