A -Arm Wresteling. One night my sister-in-law Gini challenged my Dad to an arm wresteling duel. Oh, it was quite funny to watch!
B- Bishop. My Dad has been Bishop four times in my lifetime. He has honorably served those people in his ward, and he is quite well loved for it! Now, THIS daughter didn't always appreciate having her father for her bishop, but oh well! :)
C - Corvette. My Dad had a '78 silver anniversay Corvette when were kids. I can't quite figure out why he sold that right before my sister started driving! :) He has always loved Corvette's. If I ever win the Lottery or marry rich Dad, I will buy you one!
D - Dates. When I was a teenager my Dad was extremely busy and I didn't see him very often, except it seemed like when I was in trouble (which was often!). After I expressed that to him, he made a significant effort to take me out on a me and him date once a week. Often times it was something simple like going for a walk around the park by our house or getting ice cream that we brought home to share with every one else, but I will always remember those times and cherish them!
E- Extremely Fashionable. My favorite of my Dad's outfits that he wore was one time after running a race, he had his short running shorts on (hey, cut him some slack...that was the style!), some knee high running socks and his cowboy boots! Man, he was styling! (Oh yeah, that's me in the picture with him!)
F - Fishing. My Dad loves to fish and is quite good at it. I loved being able to take him out fishing in Alaska. Of course, the times we caught fish were always much better, but we still had fun even if we didn't catch anything!
G - Grandpa. My dad loves being around his grandkids and is quite fun to play with. My niece Kiersten loves to talk to my dad on the WebCam and show off her twirly dresses! My niece Brooklyn calls him Padi since she can't really pronounce Grandpa.
H - Horses. My Dad grew up on farms and around horses. He always talks about having to shovel hay and clean out the barns. When I was growing up I wanted a horse so bad. He and my mom put me in a horse back riding class. He then offered that if I saved up money to pay for half of a horse, he would pay for the rest. I never did, so he never had to come up with the money for the rest of the horse, as well as room and board and food! But, I loved that he offered!
I - Intelligent. My Dad is incredibly intelligent and he has a large vocabulary. When I was younger he would regularly have a word of the day in order to help improve our vocabulary. That is where I learned to use words like "eclectic" and "plethroa" and "paucity" just to name a few.
J - Juris Doctorate. My Dad graduated from Law School 2 1/2 months after I was born. He has worked as a lawyer throughout my life to provide a wonderful and comfortable life for us. He has instilled in us a respect for the law and along with that encouraged a logical way of thinking in our family.
K - Kid. My Dad himself is still a kid to his parents. He used to spend a lot of time with his parents (until he moved).
L - Loving. My Dad has a very loving and generous heart. So many times has he come to my rescue and aid and shown me over and over again how much he cares and how much he loves me. He isn't always the most vocal about it, but his actions speak so loud! One time that sticks out very prominent in my mind is the weekend I got divorced. That was one of the worse times in my life, and my Dad cared enough about me to fly up to Alaska to be with me during that awful time.
M - Mountain Biking. My Dad definitely enjoys going out and mountain biking with my brothers. However, there are some times (usually) when at least one, if not all of them come back with battle wounds!
N - Not Half Bad. This is one of my Dad's favorite expressions. Years of therapy have taught me that this is his way of saying he likes something!
O - Outdoors. My Dad loves being outside. When we were younger he would take us hiking, camping and would spend a lot of time outdoors. Now that we are older, he loves to be outside running (he HATES running on a treadmill) or hiking or snowshoeing in the winter.
P - Parent. My Dad is the best dad! The 4 of us kids (me and my 3 siblings) are so very lucky to have him as our dad!
Q - Quick Witted. My Dad has a very quick wit. One always has to be on their toes with him. Whether he is joking and teasing or involved in a debate, we always try to keep up with him. Because of that, now that I am an adult, people regularly ask me how I learned to argue and debate so well!
R - Running. My Dad is a runner. He has always been very athletic and active with running. He has helped to instill an obsession with me in running as well. Some of the best times and conversations I have had with my Dad have been out on a run. That is one of the times where both of us have our guards down and we are able to really listen to and communicate well with each other.
S - Steeple Ashton. My Dad's Berrett family comes from Steeple Ashton, England. He was able to visit there a few years ago. When I went to England myself a couple years ago, he suggested I go and see where my family is from. I really enjoyed being able to see my family history.
T - Traveler. My Dad loves to travel; doesn't matter if it is by car or by plane. The last few years he has had more opportunity to travel outside of the country. Now, he is living in Hong Kong and going to be able to travel through Asia!
U - Undefeated. When it comes to Western movies, my Dad is "Undefeated" in his enjoyment and movie collection. If a movie involves John Wayne, horse back riding, Indians and Cowboys, or good shoot out, or any combination thereof, he's probably seen it!
V - Very Good Looking. My Dad is a good looking man. We had family pictures taken a year ago. When I was showing my friends the pictures, a couple of them suggested that he should be a model for golf shirts and golf clubs because he looked like such a good looking golfer! That was without them even knowing that he golfs!
W - Wise. My Dad is a very wise man. He always seems to know the answer and how to make things better. I don't always like his advice but he usually is right.
X - X-Ray. I don't ever recally my Dad breaking any bones, but there have been a few times where he did get hurt pretty badly, usually when running. One time when we lived in Denver he twisted his ankle pretty bad. That sucker was pretty black and blue for quite a while. The second time was in SLC. He tripped over a fence and had to go get x-rays and stitches from the Dr's.
Y - Yawning. My Dad always works hard during the week and gets up early to run. Regularly he can be seen yawning, and frequently "resting his eyes" during Sacrament meeting. He has even been known to fall asleep conducting FHE when we were younger!
Z - Zebras. My Dad's favorite Dr. Seuss book is "On Beyond Zebra". One year my sister searched high and low to find this book to give it to him.
I LOVE YOU DADDIO!!! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
