One month ago today, my father passed away. Needless to say this last month has been difficult for me and my family. I don't know if would be quite so difficult if he wasn't so involved in each one of our lives. He truly cared about every one of us and knew what we were doing. He always had great advice but never seemed "preachy". He knew how to make things just a little bit better or a little bit more fun. He always had the right tools and the right skills to finish a project. He was always helping...and on the day he died he called me and told me he had a plan all drawn out to help finish the basement. He knew just how many boards we needed and exactly how much it would cost. He was ALWAYS looking for a way he could help his family.
My dad was always so much fun! I have so many memories of him at the lake. I think this was where he loved to be the most...as long as his family was with him. I will always remember him teaching me to ski (and a lot of friends for that matter) and all the firedrills. I remember one morning at Lake Powell waking up really early. The lake was glass and I wanted to ski. My dad was always an early riser, and he took me out before anyone else. If you were lucky, you got to spend a day with my dad in the boat and you knew just how much fun he was. He treated everyone like family. My friends all loved him...and he loved my friends. He would still ask about my friends and their families...even if he hadn't seen them in 10 years.
He was such a great grandpa to my kids! We had the chance to live with my parents twice since Todd and I have been married. Not once can I remember him raising his voice at my kids. When Brady would wake up in the morning, my dad would be eating his breakfast at the bar. He would always stand up, say "hey Brade", and put out his knuckles. Brady knew this meant he should give him what he called, "knuckle sandwich, high five". He did special things with them to let them know he loved them and he cared. Brady would always follow him around when he was working on a project and he never seemed to mind the "extra" help. Brady loved to work with my dad in the yard. He loved raking the leaves with him, and somehow, each fall it always turned into a party as the grandkids would jump in the big piles of leaves. It probably ended up being more work for him, but if the grandkids were having fun he didn't mind. Brady loved sitting on grandpa's lap and driving the boat, hikes up to Bloomington lake, trips to the hardware stores, roasting marshmallows and hotdogs, and 4 wheeler rides. He always had a way with the littlest grandchildren. He would always pick them up, put them on his lap and tickle their little tummies. They seemed to be mesmerized, and he could always calm them down when they were extra cranky..JPG)
One of Brady's favorite things to do was to feed the birds and deer in my parent's backyard. He would take each of the grandkids and let them scoop up some seed from the shed and sprinkle it all around so we could watch the birds eat. One year we had baby quail build their nest in some of our bushes. We got to watch them grow from the time they were babies. I think my dad took especially good care of them that year. We could always tell which birds my dad was feeding because they were the fat ones.
We had Ava while we still lived in Oklahoma. We waited to bless her until we moved back. I'm so grateful we did. My dad was always willing and ready to use the priesthood. Growing up we always had blessings before each school year. He participated in every one of his childrens and grandchildren's ordinences. My nephew is getting the priesthood today and I'm sure he won't be far from that room. My dad always lived the gospel and we knew what he believed by how he lived his life. He is such a wonderful dad and grandpa! I still have to remind myself that he is actually gone. I know that it will only be a short time before I get to see, love, hear, touch, hug, and receive council from my dad again!
