My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. He turned 64, although if you were to ask him I think he would claim closer to 34. Which do you think he looks more like? Maybe in between the two.

Anyway, I just thought since it is his birthday I would share some of the reasons why I love him and feel so blessed to be his daughter.
1 - He is a fantastic dad
2 - He is a fantastic husband
3 - He is a hard worker
4 - He is very kind
5 - He is really funny
6 - He is dedicated to living the gospel
7 - He loves his family
8 - He has a great laugh
9 - He has had this best-friend since he was just a kid and they chose to live where they do so they could be close to each other - they live in the same ward (or LDS congregation, which are decided geographically kind of like zoning for schools). I don't know many adults who even have friends that they still are in contact with from childhood - and they not only made sure to live in the same city but within a couple miles of each other and I think it is awesome
10 - He loves movies and you can always know what good movies are coming out or are out by talking to him
11 - He makes the BEST Banana Milke shakes in the world
12 - He pretends not to like pets, but when we had our dog I would often findhim alone with her, lying on her stomach - or I'll find him petting our cats, or whatever - and he spoils my sister's dog as much as anyone - he loves pets
13 - He served a mission, and he did so at a time when not everyone was and when he could easily have gotten out of it because at first they weren't going to let him go becauase they thought he had hepatitis (they were wrong) and he was already engaged to my mom and would have prefered to stay and marry her - but he chose to go on a mission anyway, and I think that is awesome
14 - He is super smart
15 - He almost never yells
16 - He is a die-hard Rebel Basketball fan and even though he sometimes considers stopping his donation to the scholarship fund when they are stinking it up for a long time, he never does - and his love for the Rebels is contagious, not only are all of his kids fans, but all our husbands are too
17 - He is a great father-in-law, he has 7 sons-in-law and loves them all
18 - He has a great sense of humor
19 - He loves music, I don't know how many CDs and records he has, but I would guess thousands
20 - He is the BEST DENTIST ever - he cares a lot about the quality of his dentistry and so he won't become a dentist for PPOs or HMOs, not because he wants to be able to charge a lot, but because if he were to do that he would not be able to use the same quality of materials he uses nor spend the time he does and stay within the budgethtey dictate and he cares too much about his dentistry to do that - and when he gives shots you don't even feel it, which I have been given lots of shots by other people and I always feel it, but he takes so much time giving them that you just don't. I am not a very good dentist's daughter - I didn't take care of my teeth as well as I probably should have, and I have had tons of cavities (I have no idea how many) and I even had to have a root canal. I think for most people that would be a big deal - not for me, not even painful, because my dad is awesome. He also took out all my wisdom teeth and I could eat the next day. He's the best.
21 - He is a fantastic grandpa - he currently has 20 grandkids with 3 more on the way. All the grandkids adore him because he is the best, and he loves them.
22 - He is proud of his children
23 - He gets up super early Thursday mornings so he can serve in the temple for several hours, and then he goes to work.
24 - He is well educated, continues to seek education in his field, and encouraged us to become well educated
25 - He is a good artist
26 - He makes awesome chocolate chip cookies
27 - He would take us on dates growing up - I am not positive if this is accurate, but it seemed like at least once a weekend he would take one of us on a date, which I think is great, especially for dad's of big families so we could all get one-on-one time him
28 - He was always worthy to give us blessings, and he not only gave htem when we were sick or something but at the begining of every school year.
29 - He loves animals, if he goes on trips the biggest higlights are generally his animal sightings
30 - He was so good to his parents
31 - He sees the best in people
32 - He does not talk bad behind people's backs
33 - He is diligent in whatever his responsibilities are - for example, he always does his home teaching
34 - He is always teaching me things
35 - He has a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the restored gospel
36 - He is a great example of what a true disciple of Christ should be and people have actually joined the church after watching his example
37 - He is easy to buy presents for - because he loves music and movies if you an't think of something else you can always buy him a CD or DVD and know that it will be enjoyed - most men are not so easy
38 - He's built his own speakers, twice - I am not talking about some small speakers, I mean speakers that are as big as twin beds - they are prety amazing
39 - He always give thanks and reminds us of the importance of giving thanks, even in trials
40 - On his 40th birthday he ran 20 miles. He took our whole family to the UNLV track with him and he ran the 80 laps. I know that a lot of people have run marathons and maybe 20 miles does not seem like a big deal, but I also believe that not all of us are genetically programmed to be runners - it is just easier for some people to run than others (I hate running and it is much easier for me to swim a mile than run it - I am not genetically programmed to run, neither is my dad). I think 20 miles for someone who is not suited for running is more like 40 miles for someone who is, so I think it is way cool that he did that on his 40th birthday.
41 - He is humble
42 - He is charitable
43 - He is a great provider
44 - He always led our family without being controlling - he led by example and by teaching correct principles but we never had a lot of rules
45 - He and my mom were equals, he never tried to dominate her
46 - He knows how to deal with depression - I think a lot of people use depression as an excuse or at least let it get in the way, but my dad learned how to deal with his depressions early, which is great because not only does he not let his depressions gt in his way but he has taught all of us how to deal with our depressions
47 - He would have interviews with us when we were growing up - I am not sure how often they were, but I remember meeting with him one-on-one in his room and just discussing things with him - I think this is a great idea
48 - He can do more pull-ups than most guys half his age
49 - He's way protective of us - for example, if I were walking with him he would make sure he was walking on the side of the side-walk closest to the street, and if we were to cross the street he would grab my hand to make sure I would stay with him - this wasn't just when I was little, this was when I was a teenager - I love it!
50 - He has great hands - yes, I know it may sound weird that there is something physical about my dad that I love, but I have a thing about hands and I think my dad's are great and when I was dating guys I would consider whether I liked their hands or not - generally I liked them if they were of a similar shape as my dad's and disliked them if they weren't - luckily, Ryan has excellent hands as well
51 - He took us on great trips
52 - He is a great traveller; I am not sure if there is another couple that Ryan and I like traveling with more than my parents because they travel exactly like we do. They want to be out doing stuff as much as possible - preferably walking around seeing stuff or hiking. (Unfortunately they are not scuba certified because they would love that.) They don't care too much about staying at super nice places or eating at expenisive restaurants - the money goes to getting the places we want to get to, and then packing in as much as we can while we are there so you leave the trip tired.
53 - He has a music room - in a bedroom-sized room in our basement is a room that has all his stereo equipment, a TV and VCR system, but also all this stuff to minimize sound waves from bouncing off walls - like foam on the walls and ceiling, and this wood thing on the back wall where these wood panels come out at different levels (yeah, I don'tunderstand it either), and of course he has his huge speakers. He spends hours improving his system all the time. It always sounds good to me. But it is truly amazing. If I remember correctly it has been featured in a stereo magazine and a violinist who has played in various movies has come to see it. Yes, he is famous.
54 - He is a healthy eater - growing up we pretty much had no sugar in the house. Our most sugary cereal was Cheerios - maybe Wheeties are more sugary, but you get the point. We sometimes could add honey. We didn't eat candy, but we always had fruit. As a result I eat more fruit than most people I know.
55 - He loves my mom, you can tell (I wish everyone could say their dad loved their mom)
56 - He is honest
57 - He is very patient
58 - He looks on the positive side of things
59 - He give great dune-buggy rides
60 - He is super generous
61 - He gave me my widows peak - I have had plenty of people lament for me that I have it or suggest that I shave it or such things - but it is part of who I am, it makes me unique, and it ties me to my family, and even though it makes my hair a bit challenging in some ways I am happy to have it
62 - He gives great hugs
63 - He is the father of 7 GIRLS - how could you not love someone who has pulled that off successfully, and he did a great job, despite all our hormones
64 - He's MY dad, and I love him and would not trade him for any other
Happy Birthday Dad!