Happy Father's Day!

I had to give a talk today at church, which was sort of random given that it was Father's Day and I am in a ward too far away for my dad to come listen and my husband is not yet a father. However, my dad is the ultimate talk writer and giver, and I have several memories growing up, of him helping me write my talks (or writing them for me in my younger years :), and so I prepared my talk with him in mind. I wish I possessed his wittiness, use of rock and roll songs in application to the gospel, etc., but instead, I wrote a normal talk, but it did give me the opportunity to reflect on why I love my dad and am so fortunate to have him in my life!

This is one of my favorite pictures from my wedding day, because I think it captures my relationship with my dad perfectly. Often laughing about something, usually him making some sort of hilarious comment or noting an awkward situation.

To list just a few memories with my dad:
-Drove me to seminary for 2 years before I could drive, and then sacrificed his car and started taking the bus and his bike to work so that I could "have" a car my junior and senior year!
-"Taught" me that when you hit all red lights it means you're doing something wrong in your life...we had a few of these mornings on the way to seminary and would turn to each other on about the 4th red light wondering who had sinned the day before, haha.
-Coached some of my pretty awesome soccer teams as a child, The Blue Dolphins and Yellow Jackets, to name a few.
-Taught me the value of money. I attribute the financial success of my marriage to the knowledge I learned and frugality I inherited.
-He is a great cook and inspires me to try new things, as it seems like every time we go home he makes something new for us to try...prosciutto wrapped shrimp dipped in guacamole anyone? yum.
-We were the only ones in the household that thought Musicals were ridiculous and would make fun of them when my mom and sisters would love to watch them!
-Our bedtime stories were often tales of his years as a juvenile delinquent- burning poop on doorsteps, etc...it's a good thing he had girls!
-He is a huge inspiration to me in his dedication to everything he does. He is an amazing professor. I occasionally log into ratemyprofessor.com to read reviews about him and his students for the most part LOVE LOVE LOVE him, say he inspired their career choice, learned more in his class than in the rest of college, were entertained and loved to learn, etc. He motivates me to take care of my body and exercise, as he is diligent in going to the gym. And, he is a faithful church member and raised me to know the gospel is true and to love the Lord.

Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you.