Daddio

When everyone was home this past Christmas, Jacob had a band concert that we all went to. About halfway through the concert, Kelly, who was sitting next to Dad, and I, who was sitting next to Kelly, switched places. It was at my request that this switch took places. And I requested it because my dad is the funniest person ever to watch any kind of performance that is put on by kids. The man gets older every March 9th, but he still has some good jokes left in him!

When we were little, we would run down the stairs to greet him every day when he got home from work. Obviously we sometimes tackled him too.

Now we're a little bit older, so we don't tackle him anymore, but that doesn't mean we're any less excited to see him. It's so cute whenever he's about to come visit because he will get all excited and mention it every time we talk on the phone. I remember when we were little and he would go on business trips, and every time, he would give us his peanuts from the flight. Now that I fly more frequently, I appreciate this even more. I love my plane snacks!

My dad used to do this all the time. Then he started having back problems because he was always carrying us around. :( Poor Daddy! At least he has an awesome back-massager that I gave him for Christmas.

My dad danced with me at Kelly's wedding (where I was the MOH). One time when we were younger, our ward had a big Pioneer Day activity. We did all sorts of pioneer activities and at some point, there was pioneer music that we all danced to. We all wanted to dance with my dad, since we didn't have any brothers and no way were we going to dance with anyone else, and he just took time to dance with each one of us. Just thinking about dancing with him at my own wedding makes me cry sometimes, and yes I know that is ridiculous.

My dad is pretty much perfect, but sometimes I look over and his eyebrows poke me in the eyeball. So being the awesome daughter that I am, I try to help him out. I admit that I have tried to help him out in church before. And at Sarah's basketball games. He appreciates it, secretly.

I like this picture because look what my dad said on facebook: "Heather your eyes look so blue in this picture. What a pretty girl. Love, Dad." My dad is always so nice to me and all of us. He is constantly telling me that I am smart or nice or funny or pretty or spiritually minded or awesome in some other way. He is so proud of his daughters and his kind words mean so much to me.

And it's not just me that he's so nice to! One time, this guy asked my friend Winnie to Homecoming. I told my dad about it and he just went on and on about how great he thought Winnie was. Every time my friend Caitlin comes over, my dad will sit there at the island in the kitchen and talk to her about everything in her life. All of my friends love my dad.

My dad is a family man. Sometimes I think he likes having a big family because it means he is the king of a bigger castle ;) but in all reality, I know he just knows how important family is. He wants to have a good relationship with each one of us individually, but he also cares about our relationships with each other. Before I went home for Christmas this year, he called me very concerned.

"Heather," he said. "When you come home, I want you to do something for me. I want you to tell Nicole that you think she should get the car more than you do."

I was a little hesitant. But he convinced me that if I did that, our break would be a lot happier. And he was right, and it was.

One day when I was a freshman in college, I took a test. And I didn't do that great. And I started walking home, and I felt all crumbly inside. So I called my dad, and for some reason, when he picked up, I got tears in my eyes.

"I was just thinking about you today," he said. Then he started talking about how impressed he was with me. And I would have appreciated this any time, but feeling as unimpressive as I was right then, those words sounded especially nice right at that moment.

My dad sometimes gets flustered when my Mom goes out of town. Sometimes he gets so flustered that he makes us all take inventory of all the things we own (everything from clothes to books to knick-knacks). He also sometimes gets flustered when people pick at his eyebrows, or when the car is making a funny sound, or when someone sings at the table, or when his wife asks him to go buy some bras for their poor awkward 12-yr-old daughter who needs one by the next day because she has gym and all the girls change together in the girls' locker room. I guess that last one is understandable....

He never gets flustered when he is asked to give a talk in church. This is because he is great at it. Sometimes when he's up there, I think he is thinking, "Ohhhh yeah, back at the pulpit!" It's like he actually enjoys it.....

He never gets flustered when he meets boys who are about to take his daughters on a date. Speaking of things he enjoys, I think watching those boys squirm is something else he enjoys.

He never gets flustered when his wife is in the middle of giving birth. Sometimes he gets so un-flustered that he takes a nap in the chair or works on his laptop in the delivery room.

They are so dang cute.

I love you forever, Daddy! You know I'm always your girl :) Happy birthday!