happy father's day!!

So I kind of set the bar a little high with my Mother's Day production. I certainly did not want to disappoint for Father's Day. I had plans for a 3D video with cameos from Mitt Romney, Coach K, Billy Joel, and Tom Cruise (pre-craziness), all wishing my dad a happy Father's Day, not to mention an exclusive never-before-seen clip from the upcoming Transformers movie. However, yesterday afternoon I was asked to speak in sacrament meeting today and then I was called in for some last minute babysitting. There went my plans for the greatest 4-minute-long clip of all time! So Dad, you'll just have to settle for a 'Happy Father's Day' from me, your baby girl.

Why I love my dad:

• Because of all of his cute little idiosyncrasies that most people may not notice, like how his sneeze sounds like no one else's I've ever heard, or how he can fall asleep just about anywhere around the house (like in front of the computer), or how he wears t-shirts maybe 3 times a year (usually during Advance), and then wears a plaid shirt every other day (except white on Sundays), or how he likes the hard burnt part of brownies, and can make the best breakfast foods (including fried Cheerios, French toast, pancakes, bacon, etc.) known to man. These are just a few of the things about my dad that make him my dad.
• Because I got his nose, the bottom half of his ears, his long toes, horrible vision, and his love of naps.
• Because he's quiet, but when he says something it's usually pretty funny. I like to think that I got a little bit of cleverness from him. Consider a conversation we had a few months ago:
  Dad: What was the deal with Lot's wife anyways? She should have been content with what the Lord alLOTted her. Me: Yeah, then she wouldn't have been ASSAULTED!
• Because he's always been a peacemaker, and can stop any fight by asking if it's snowing outside.
• Because I can count on one hand the times he's lost his temper or raised his voice.
• Because he always fulfills his calling, and is an excellent and reliable home teacher, and then he goes the extra mile and fills in where it's needed, like being the chorister for a few weeks or saying the closing prayer when the bishop forgot to ask someone.
• Because he's a great handyman, and has taught me a thing or two about fixing appliances, cars, painting, and yardwork. He even does this kind of stuff for others, like our elderly neighbors and people in the ward.
• Because he taught me how to tie my shoes - the special kinda knot - and to this day my shoes still never come untied on their own.
• Because when I was in high school he let me wear his new shoes because they were in style and we have the same size foot and I wanted to look cool and he's just that nice and no one would believe that I was wearing my dad's shoes so I was able to pull it off.
• Because he does the dishes, sweeps the floor, and takes out the trash every night.
  
• Because he has always been worthy to hold the priesthood. He blessed me and gave me a name as a baby, he baptized me, he gives me a father's blessing every year and we occasionally had PPIs throughout my youth.
• Because he has always loved and respected my mother.
• Because he has always provided for our family.
• Because every time I meet someone who had him as a teacher at the LA School, they always say, "You're Dr. Wood's daughter?! He was such an awesome teacher, tell him I said hey!".
• Because he kind of maybe a little bit spoiled me...like when he used to give me money for concessions or the book fair or let me get away with things that Mom would have a conniption if she knew about them. :) Or when I asked him to cut my hair like a boy's he did it, and kept going shorter when I asked him to, even thought I'm sure he thought it looked hideous (because it did). And then Mom took me to a beautician, who assumed that I'd gotten a hold of the scissors.

So yeah, that's just a short list of why I love my dad. As a child, I assumed that every dad was like mine, and I'm only beginning to realize as I go out into the world that I am extremely blessed to have someone like him as my father. I know he's not perfect but you can see that he really is trying to be. Now if only I could find someone else just like him, but forty years younger, I'd be set for life!

And now for some pictures. Of course, I couldn't find that many because this is usually what Dad is doing when it's picture time:See how cute he was as a baby? Anyways, here's a little collage of some of my favorites (click on it for a better view). Hope you enjoy. And Happy Father's Day, Dad. Love, your Poodle