Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!

It is 4:00 on Father's Day and Doug just ran out to door to go to scout camp for the next three days.  I was up until 12:30 this morning preparing to prepare Father's Day dinner so we could eat really, really fast before he left.  This morning I made a Denver omelet casserole for breakfast - Doug really likes omelets, but time is short on Sunday mornings so it was all turned into a casserole last night and went into the oven this morning while I showered.  For lunch/dinner after church we had my great-grandma's recipe for pork chops, asparagus, and Doug's favorite spinach salad - a recipe from Rick's College, back when it was called that.  I made strawberry rhubarb pie (with wild rhubarb from the woods) and homemade vanilla ice cream.

Brenden made Doug a tool box, filled with hearts he cut out all by himself.  He had the idea on his own and knew exactly what he was making, but he needed my help for taping because he "doesn't have five hands."  Nolan made a super cute card with a picture he drew of Doug.  He "wrote his name," which looked oddly like a mountain range and then said, "Mountains are my name."  Ethan scribbled nicely on a piece of construction paper.
On the far left is a paper with 35 hearts drawn on it and at the top it says, "How meny are thar?"  Next is our family card, but Nolan decorated the front mostly by himself.  His very cute picture is on the inside.  Then there is Brenden's card - he even did block lettering on the inside.  In front of the bag on a blue piece of paper in red crayon it says "coclite" (chocolate) and has a picture Brenden drew of a chocolate bar.  The orange bag looking item is the paper tool box and last is a yellow paper that says, "I (heart) yes yes you."  All of the hearts were in the tool box. 

Doug is a wonderful father.  I knew he would be long before we had kids.  Kids are always fascinated with him and he is always in the center of the group of kids playing.  Doug always includes our boys in his projects and gives them their own jobs.  Doug LOVES babies.  He would have hundreds of babies if they would just stay little cuddly cute babies.  The boys sometimes have to go for days at a time without seeing Doug because he is out the door before they are up and home after they are in bed.  I think it is just as hard on Doug as it is on the boys.  Ethan's face never lights up so much as when Doug isn't getting dressed for work first thing in the morning.  Doug loves to take our boys fishing and just about any form of outdoor activity.  Doug makes sure I keep things in perspective and provides the tranquility in our crazy daily life.  We're all lucky to have Doug be the dad in our family.
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My dad has always been a really great dad.  Sadly, I couldn't find many pictures of him on my computer where he was facing the camera.  He was always either facing the grill, stove, or sink with his back to the camera or holding a kid, who is the focus of the picture and my dad was half cut off.  He's always kind of like that - the man on the sidelines who makes everything work.

The times I remember most growing up were the times that we were building or fixing something.  My dad and I built a floor in our attic for storage space in Texas.  My dad and I finished a bedroom and bathroom in my grandma's basement.  It was always a good time with my dad.  My dad is always very helpful, but also lets the kids help him out.  Brenden loves to help my dad shovel snow and work in the garden.  

Growing up, our favorite game was tickle monster.  My dad would tickle us and the only way to turn the tickle monster on or off was to push his nose.  I am quite sure we broke his nose a time or two.  Now, as a grandpa, he loves to entertain the kids and they think he is a hoot!

My dad is a great cook.  He is best, I think, at breakfast (oh, and Kline chicken - yum, Kline chicken...).  He would always make us pancakes in whatever shapes our little minds could come up with.  Brenden still enjoys this - and my mom likes to tell Brenden to ask for challenging things like skeletons, but my dad is always up to the task.  Dad, if I were there, I would have made you biscuits and gravy with sausage for breakfast this morning.

My dad likes to be active and he especially likes to go to the gym and play racquetball.  For as long as I can remember, my dad has loved racquetball.  He also likes to lift weights and be generally healthy.  As my sister said once, "You should see my dad's guns!"

My dad is very friendly.  He can strike up a conversation with anyone.  Sometimes we would be in the car waiting until finally one of us went to find my dad in the middle of a conversation with someone he didn't know.  My dad is always humming or singing silly tunes.  I learned the "itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini" song from my dad I thought it was such a scandalous song at the time.

My dad is also very supportive.  If it was something that we wanted and were working for, he was all for it and would do anything to help.  He is still a great supporter in my efforts today.  My dad was always my resource for my math homework.  I used to really dislike math, but as I played with numbers with my dad's help, I learned to love math and became really good at it.  I still like that kind of thing - finances and problem solving.  My dad is also great at sign and I think he was almost excited when he found out Brenden was deaf because he could use his awesome skills.

My dad is fantastic - every time I thought about what I wanted to say about him in this post, a song from my younger years popped in my head.  It went something like this:
My dad's the biggest guy, and my dad's the strongest guy, and my dad's the smartest guy of any guy in town. He can do anything --- he'll fix your bike or fly your kite 'cuz MY dad, MY dad's the greatest guy around!
I wish I could find that tape (yes, tape, no CDs yet).  I think my kids would love it.  I know I saw it once in Pocatello.  Anyway, back to how wonderful my dad is.  Well, he just is!  I love him and miss him very much.  I am so excited to see him in two and a half weeks!  
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As with my Mother's Day post, I can't go without noting my other father - Doug's dad Grant.  I am quite convinced that he can build anything, including entire houses.  This poor man came on vacation to Alaska last summer and ended up building me shelves for my storage room!  He made a lot of trips back and forth to Pocatello while we were there to fix things, tile, or build entire basement apartments.  He is Doug's number one fix-it man to call when there is anything Doug isn't sure what to do with.

Grant likes to fish.  He doesn't get outwardly excited about much, but I can sure tell when he's ready to fish!  He'll be here in a little over a month.

Doug's dad is a family man.  He loves his kids and makes sure they're all well taken care of.  He is a patient and loving husband to Doug's mom.  Beyond that, he calls his own dad every single night.

Grant humbly knows the gospel well.  He has binders divided into gospel topics with any information he might need at any given time.  He served as Bishop a few years ago and fulfilled that calling with all his might.  He is a great example.  I have to say, I married into a good family!
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Off of the topic of Father's Day - today is also a big day in Alaska.  It is the longest day of the year!  (From here, it's all downhill until December and the shortest day of the year.)  Yesterday there was an event to celebrate this special day.  It was called Family Fun in the Midnight Sun.  Doug had to work, but the boys and I went and had a good time.  I think the kid's favorite part was:
the green hair
(they have the same color spray paint, the kids just have different color hair to start with)
Nolan had a star on one cheek and a sun on the other.
Brenden got a cool shark on his cheek.
Look!  Brenden's hair is the same color as Ethan's cup!  
(and yes, Nolan's car seat is now green and the seat behind Brenden's head is now green - we made them bathe last night, but after sitting in the car on the way to church this morning, they both ended up with slightly green hair.)
And a darn cute picture of Ethan:
We went to Safeway after the event and I received several "what kind of mother lets her children have hair like that?" looks from other parents.  The kids were sad to shower the color out and Brenden wanted to know why Jesus wouldn't let him go to church with green hair.  His scalp is still green in places, as well as his scar above his right ear.  We had a great day.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brenden and Nolan, we thought that you were aliens with your green hair, we thought that you looked awesome! We loveeee you. Happy Father's day Doug. Love Grandma and Grandpa Boehme

Marinda said...

Great hair guys! It sounds like you made a great gift for your dad's father's day. You are fun, creative boys!