Reflections on my Dad

With it being Father's Day, tomorrow, and with me preparing to take on the role of "Daddy" I've been thinking a lot about the example of my own Dad. My Dad is maybe the most interesting man I've ever met in a lot of ways. Here are just a few things I appreciate about him.

• He's loyal. My Mom used to complain how predictable and routine oriented my Dad is in a lot of ways. He eats the same cereal everyday (Raisin Bran), out of the same bowl, with the newspaper in front of him. She complained about it until she realized that his loyalty to even the simplest of things made him able to love her the same amount every single day and never get tired of her (as she's watched many others of her friends get divorced since my Dad and her got married). I could not have had a better example of how to love and be loyal to your spouse. Heck, when we all got Hepatitis one Summer and did nothing but watch Cubs games on WGN he even decided right then that the Cubs were his team. And he's been their most die hard fan through their many years of sucking since. 
• He's a man of faith. My Dad is not the typical LDS man in a lot of ways. He is a Mormon historian but the anti-Truman G. Madsen. He finds the blotches on Mormon history and the imperfections of its leaders fascinating. He has written a few Mormon history articles, including some about his own ancestors, that would be considered less than flattering.  At the same time, he was an incredible Bishop, offers the most humble prayers I've ever heard and has many unique spiritual gifts that I envy. He's never let his intelligence and intellectual curiosity remove from him his deep conviction of God and the gospel. 



Here's one of my ancestors in jail for practicing polygamy.

• He came to all our ballgames, events, everything. We always kind of took this for granted but he even came to the most boring events (Dylan as a Senior having to sing with 9th graders in choir to finish his art credits), the many atrocious sporting losses (Phil soccer, Dylan football and baseball) and listened to our teachers at PTA meetings complain about our hygeine or our inability to sit quietly in class. I know of many dads that this cannot be said about. 
• He took me to New York Yankees games. This might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but knowing how much my Dad hates the Yankees makes me appreciate how many games of theirs he has taken me to over the years. He even has bought me a Yankee hat or two...after which, he quickly washed his hands so as to not be contaminated.  

Apparently if you want to diss someone or something, you take a picture of either Osama Bin Laden or Sadaam and digitally impose that person's face or the teams logo on a shirt or hat they are wearing.

• He showed me how to work hard. When I was young, I was very lazy. I hated chores and my room was always a mess. I also never applied myself in grade school. He never really scolded me for being lazy or ever really discussed with me why it's so important to work hard, but I just saw how he put in an honest day's work in everything he did everyday. Little by little, watching his example has made me work harder and apply myself more in school. Now, I consider myself a good employee and a good student and I was very disliked on my mission because I took away companions' agency and made them work hard (I think I missed some lesson there). 
• He was always there when we needed him. I heard somewhere that the biggest part of being a father is just showing up. He always has and then some. 
  

I love you, Pops. Thanks for everything. We're excited that our baby girl is going to have wonderful grandparents.  

Love, Scooby 

Things to do Before We Leave

The time when we are moving to North Carolina is fast approaching. We are moving in about a month and a half and will be in California for two of those weeks. Before we go, there are some things that we need to do in my beloved home state. Here's just a few of them.

• Do a live session in the Salt Lake temple. 
• Go see some Bees games (while helping Julie stay away from the Bee she's so afraid of). 
• Golf at Hobble Creek (Dylan. Julie is exempt from this).
• Go to Color Me Mine. 
• Make baby something at Build-A-Bear. 
• See Harry Potter 7 pt. II (both of us). See Cowboys and Aliens (just Dylan. If he made Julie see that with him, she might make me see ten chick flicks in a row like she did when I asked her to watch Scott Pilgrim with me). 
• Disc golf at some of my favorite courses (Dylan). 
• Go to Jo-Anns. (Just Julie will like this but she will probably ask Dylan to go with her).
• Get some more cheap Macey's ice cream cones. Also, stop at the Creamery and pick up either some LaVell's Vanilla or Graham Canyon. Or both.
• Get Dad to fix the scooter so Dylan can take the woman of his dreams on a little joy ride through the cemetery. 
• Dylan play his brothers in basketball in the backyard. He will have to cheat a lot to win. This isn't new, though. 
• Go to Tucanos. Preferably on someone else's dime. 
• Go to Hires with the Cannons. 
• Dylan go to Culvers and eat the glorious food that made him 225 pounds on his mission. 
• Enjoy the hot, dry Utah weather before we both soak through our shirts everyday in North Carolina.

To My Daughter

   Yes, that's right....we're having a baby girl! And I could not be more excited. My cousin's eleven year old daughter told me if I want to have smart kids, I should have a girl first to set the tone for the family. I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment and couldn't be more excited about having a daughter. On that note, I wanted to say a few words to my girl that maybe she will read someday.

Dear Daughter,
   On June 9th of 2011, we found out your gender. It took the doctor a long time to find out because you had your legs crossed the whole time and were very modest. I hope that you will continue this trend throughout your lifetime--it was frustrating when we couldn't tell your gender but it will save us a lot of frustration if you maintain it in the future. The doctor kept looking at your other organs to make sure everything was ok. Your beautiful little heart, your spine, your bladder, everything; she kept writing the different organs on the screen in front of us. Finally, she wrote out the letters "G-I-R-L" and I was trying to think of what organ is spelled that way until I realized the doctor just revealed us your gender. It was such a wonderfully happy moment for your mother and I. You were exactly what we both wanted.
    Your parents already love you very much. You have already brought a lot of joy and a lot of exhaustion into our lives. I am sure you will bring about both of those reactions from us for years to come. Your mother is the most fantastic person I have ever met. She is very interested in life and many of the good things in it. She is beautiful, kind and talented. She is an incredible photographer and I absolutely love her work. She makes me laugh in a way that nobody else does, too. The first time I saw her I knew I wanted to be with her. She is also feisty and wears her emotions on her sleeve. This has taken some getting used to but it's one of my favorite things about her. Unfortunately, she is not crazy about sports and hates my beloved Yankees. It's the one thing that keeps her from being translated, so I can live with it. I hope that you turn out just like her (except I wouldn't mind if you will occasionally watch some sports with your old man).
    As for your dad, he loves you very much. He will understand when you don't want him to drop you off in front of the school with your friends watching; but make sure that you give him lots of hugs and kisses on the cheek afterwards. A couple of other things you'll need to know is that he likes BYU football and Yankees baseball way too much. If you indulge him even a little in either of those interests, he will spoil you even more rotten than he's planning. The one good characteristic he can allow himself is that he's loyal. He's loyal to his wife, his family, his friends and he tries to be to loyal to God. This loyalty may cause him to be overprotective of you, particularly when you become a beautiful young lady. Just know right now that he's going to have a very difficult time when you start dating boys and will find each and everyone of their flaws to try to get you to stay away from them. But most importantly, know that marrying your mother and having you are the two things that make him happier than anything else ever could. You and her make him feel complete and fulfill his fondest dream.

Love, Daddy

Dylan as Homemaker

If we had kids rights now, this would totally be me.

The last week or so, I have not had any work through my temp agency. So, I have been staying at home getting my homemaker on. And let me tell you...it stinks. I'm awful at it. The first day or so was kind of fun. I vacuumed, did the dishes, mopped some and yes, I managed to sneak in a few rounds of golf on the Wii. By day two, the charm had already worn off, a little. Or a lot. I decided this homemaking stuff is not for me. I could see why the people I taught on my mission who had no jobs in the trailer parks and ghettos were SO lazy. It is completely demoralizing to have no reason to do anything. And this was only after two days! Imagine years of not doing anything. I almost decided to do nothing but sleep and play video games all day saying "wo is me." But, I remembered a conversation I had with my oldest brother about men in our neighborhood who did not work but also did not want to do "women's work" so they made an alternate universe where they had "retired" while their wives slaved away at work and in the home. Determined to not allow myself to become one of these bums, I decided to continue to work hard and be productive in the home while Julie was away. I even cooked the last two nights! I made a casserole and then home-made pizza (crust and everything. That was tricky). Neither of the meals has left us violently ill (yet) and I actually kind of felt like I accomplished something. With Jules pregnant, I told her I would like to start cooking more. She was happy about that but with the caveat, "don't get too used to it. I want to be a homemaker and I want you to work." Sweeter words have never been spoken. Here's to hoping that's sooner rather than later for both of us.