belated birthday blog mention, dad!

my dad celebrated his birthday on november 7th. (i actually did celebrate with him around his birthday as evidenced by that cupcake - just slow to write about it here). my scanner is still not hooked up and i actually can't locate the real gem of a picture that i recently found of him (i think i put it in a "safe" spot that i would remember. OI!! it will have to wait for another moment to be shared.) anyhoo, here are some pics from through the years that i had happened to previously scan into my computer. i absolutely love the one of my dad with gracie on the top left corner.

here are some of my favorite moments with my dad throughout the years that i do think show his character:

• my dad is very "book" smart (graduated from caltech, could've gone to MIT as a sophomore). he traveled a lot when i was growing up, but was always willing to help us with our homework when he was home. i have lots of good memories of my dad helping me, especially with my english papers. asking him for help with math or science homework was a little like playing russian roullette. he usually came up with the right answer, but took ways to get there that were far above my understanding. case in point: my dad often drove me high school which was located about 20 minutes from our house. one morning at the start of our drive, i made the mistake of asking my dad what a quark was. he lost me by the second sentence in his response, but yet still managed to talk about quarks for the whole 20 minute ride!
• as you can guess, my dad did instill in me a love for learning and the importance of an education. he often told me that he found it very helpful to read books twice when he was in high school! HA! i was proud of myself if i actually read all the required books.
• my dad is a hard worker. he gives his all to his job, yet still makes time for family and helps around the house. sometimes he is a little too helpful around the house and tries to fix things that should probably have been serviced out (remember i said he was book smart - not so much mechanically smart.) he has earned the nickname of "Tim the toolman Taylor" by doing things such as setting the kitchen cabinets on fire because he didn't notice a hole in the gas pipe he was using to weld some pipes together.
• my dad is a prankster. there's the infamous $200 water damage bill that his parents paid while he was in college for one of his pranks where he actually got caught and the time when i came home from college and he told me to wait in the car cuz they wanted to get a picture and then the whole family comes out with super soakers and yes, i pretty much got drenched - just to name a few. joking around with each other as a family made for some good family memories. we also had lots of water fights and i think there was a time when everyone in the family had their own super soaker.
• just for fun: i remember the time that my dad poured hot soup on his pants and then immediately started stripping out of them despite the fact that my best friend from high school was at the dinner table with us. (dar, do you remember that?)
• my dad has taught me to be honest through example. we share a love of mysteries and puzzles.
• thing that my dad most often repeated to me growing up: "tis better to remain silent and be presumed a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt." -Mark Twain. this is probably a testament more to my character than his, as i don't think all my siblings repeatedly heard this quote. when he taught me to drive, the phrase "your other left" was used a lot. once again, more descriptive of me.
• my dad has a big heart and tries to help when he can. i remember he once used frequent flyer miles to fly home one of my sister's friends so she could attend her father's funeral. when i was pregnant with evan, my dad would often come and help me (especially would go to church with me since pat usually sits on the stand and goes to early meetings since he assists our local bishop.) he stayed with me for a week and worked from my house when evan was a newborn so he could help me. my family has always been affectionate, but my dad has also shown he cares through his actions and service.
• my dad is a big kid. he loves to run around and play with my kids and they adore him for it. he truly spends time with them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A GREAD DAD AND WONDERFUL POPPA! WE LOVE YOU!!