Happy Father's Day!

Because it is Father's Day I thought I would pay a tribute to all 

of the men in my life who I love so much.  

I am going to start with my DAD first because he is part of the reason I am who I am.  Every girl in the entire world should know one thing without a shadow of a doubt, and know it deep down in her soul.  It should be a part of who she is, and she should repeat it often.  It is this: "If you hurt me, my dad will kill you."    That's right, I believe the primary reason that dad's exist is to protect their babies from anyone or anything that could hurt them.  I am a lucky girl because I knew my whole life that if someone hurt me they would meet with a grizzly fate.  I even told the doctor's this as I was slipping under the anesthesia during surgery.  

Look at him.  Is it any wonder that I never went on a date?  He is smiling in this picture, but picture him scowling, therefore, no dates.  My dad is the best.  He was an overprotective father while I was growing up, but that is okay now, I guess.  I mean who cares that I wasn't allowed to move out, attend the U, and live in Salt Lake.  It's all water under the bridge.  Really, though, he taught me many things.  

* He taught me how to drive - that was the first time I ever heard him say the "F" word, so you can imagine how it went.  

* He always made sure my oil was changed and my tires were safe.  

* He has a really great knack for calming me down when I am upset.  

* He did all of the grocery shopping, and bought the best stuff.  He was even man enough to buy the products that no man wants to buy.  

* He taught me how to shoot and made sure I was in hunter's safety at eleven years old.  Because of him I have shot machine guns, hand guns, rifles, etc. and am quite good, if I do say so myself.  So if you are planning on robbing my house - Don't. (Oh, except for the guy who already did.)

* He can build anything.  He is quite talented with his woodworking and has cased my window, built me frames, etc., etc.  

* He will do anything for his girls.

* He is brave.  He was a Police Officer, a County Sheriff, a Firefighter, an EMT, and was the sergeant of the SWAT Team.

* He had a hand in teaching us how to cook, especially breakfast.  If the eggs weren't good, they would get sent back to the kitchen.  I make really good eggs, there was no other option.

* He always knew when we needed to cuddle and made himself available to do so.

* He always rented us really cool movies - Grease, Mannequin, Girls Just Want To Have Fun

* He watched out for Reed when he was on his mission.  If a boy showed up I got asked "What about Reed?"

* He says: "Let me just say this about that..."

* He is a great grandpa.

Now for my FATHER-IN-LAW.  When Reed and I got married I think he was under the impression that I was quite the princess, but since I have proved him wrong, we get along great.  Not that we didn't before, he was always very nice to me, just a bit worried I think.  When you fall in love with a boy you take a huge gamble on who your in-laws will be.  I hit the jackpot with mine.  He is the best father-in-law/grandpa I could have asked for.  He is fantastic with my kids.  He instituted Grandpa Day when Reed started going back to school and the kids refer to it now as a day of the week - Wednesday, Thursday, Grandpa Day, Saturday.  He is a great man with a lot of integrity.  He is a very hard worker and very honest.  He watches out for us.  When Reed went to Ground Zero he called to check on us everyday, and he still checks in when he is gone for a period of time.  If you ever needed anything, he is your man.  I am very lucky that he is my father-in-law.
This is my GRANDPA.  He is fantastic.  He is the world's last true optimist.  He is a great gardner and a fountain of knowledge in this area.  He is a great Grandpa and an even better Great Grandpa.   He is so creative and uses this creativity to build really neat things.  He can build or remake anything out of veneer.   He loves to camp, fish, and hunt and taught us how to love these things as well.
Last, but definitely not least, the FATHER of my children.  Reed is an amazing husband and father.  I could go on and on about him but since it is Father's Day I am going to let the kids talk about him.
Taylor:  He works 24/7.  He is a good coach.  He is very nice.  He helps a lot of people.  He is one of America's Heros.  He lets us do "tickle time" 3/4 of the time.

Torey:  He is one of America's Greatest Hero's.  He's nice.  He's the best dad in the world.

Jake:  He's always with you on scary things.  He gets money for the house.  He gets me my own room.  He gets me food.  I love him.
Now, I will go on and on about him.  When fatherhood presented itself Reed dove in with both feet.  He didn't even stop to test the water.  When Taylor was born I didn't get to bathe her until she was two weeks old and he left town.  I have never changed a diaper in the hospital and he always helped with the nighttime chaos.  I have been very blessed to have him by my side, helping my through parenthood's many challenges.  I could not have picked a better father for my children.  He does everything that I do and is a better playmate than I am.  He is very patient and loves his kids.  Now I will tell you about some of his "fathering" quirks, lest I make you all cry.

* He has a bit of OCD when it comes to the purity of water.  We have to add bleach to the kiddie pool.  We also can't drink out of drinking fountains at hospitals, install a fountain in our backyard, and a couple other ticky things.  It's all about our health and because he loves us.

*  If the kids fall down they have to undergo a full medical assessment before I can pick them up and hold them.  Don't even ask me about the time Taylor fell down the stairs.  Can you say PANIC?

That's all.  He only has two quirks, he is perfectly capable with the rest of fatherhood, as he is with most things he does.  We are so grateful for all he does for us:  the working, the coaching, the working, the priesthood he holds, the providing, and the working.  But most importantly, we just wanted him to know that:

WE LOVE HIM MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WHOLE WORLD!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!