First Father's Day

We love you E. Frank!

Scout's such a diva, she insisted on an outfit change. P.S. Those big, sharp wooden letters...probably not the best chew toy for babies. Scout may or may not have shed a little blood for this gift.

"Love at First Spike"

Doug's Van Nuys HS Grad photo

I think this may have been my first no-tears Father's Day. Part of me worries that I'm forgetting things. It's been 12 years, and although, I carry a lot of fond memories, I feel like every day they get a little more distant. It doesn't help that I have a terrible long-term memory.

Today I decided to "remember" my dad through other people's eyes by pulling out my mom's family history book.

From Mom (on meeting Dad for the first time on the vball court):

Let me describe my impression of Doug when we met for the first time. He was tall. "Almost 6'2"" he would say. He had been sailing and working in construction outdoors every day, so he was tan. He carefully combed his thick sun bleached hair up in the front. And he was "big". Muscular, from carrying heavy sliding glass doors up and down many storied buildings all day long. I can still remember when he walked into the gym that first night wearing a yellow and white striped terry pullover shirt and white shorts. I was really impressed. But more important than his appearance...everyone there really liked him. He teased and laughed all night long. His happy jovial personality totally won me over! Doug loved to make people laugh! 30 years later, while giving a talk, he described our first meeting as "Love at first spike."

Au Naturel Hot Springs

Eric and I had an interesting little roadtrip yesterday. We decided to drive 2 hours north to check out the cabin we have reserved for the Nelson reunion in August. Midway, we decided to stop at some natural hot springs. Turns out, those hot springs were a little more "natural" than we bargained for. After hiking our way up to the hot springs (maybe 15-20 mins), Eric and I were both a little winded when suddenly we spotted them - yes, the hot springs, but also 2 old, round, bare bums. Luckily, we were still a good distance away. There was a group of 8 or so people, most of which, graciously had swimsuits on, but for some reason, it's always the older, chubbier men who have no reservations about these things. They quickly gave us a friendly greeting, and we tried to play it cool and respond with a nice hello and wave while keeping our eyes on the trail. Unfortunately, these hot springs were on the "to do" list for a late night family reunion adventure. Good thing we checked them out beforehand because, as it turns out, they're not so family-friendly. I would rather our year for planning the reunion not be memorable in that way.

By the way, don't worry, I didn't snap any creepy pictures of the senior skinny dippers. I did take a few of the beautiful scenery nearby, however...

Mile Marker 4

Eric likes to dress for his surroundings

Hiking our way up to the hot springs

Here we are at the top of the 3rd level hot pool.

A fox we spotted in Tamarack.

Some nudity, some wildlife, and some beautiful scenery. 2 outta 3 aint bad.

My own father...

I'm pretty terrible when it comes to "opening up", and I'm not a very emotional person, but I usually get a good cry in at least once a year. Father's Day. My dad passed away the day before Father's Day in the year 2000, and to this day I still miss him on a daily basis. But I also still enjoy the memories...

Teaching me how to set a volleyball
Playing catch with me, even after a long day at work
His laugh (his hysterical laugh that always ended in coughing and a bright red face that always generated more laughs)
Watching him on the bishop's stand (dozing off a bit)
Helping me with that darn math homework

Always being there for my games

Teaching me to drive...uphill...on gravel...with a stick shift

Bringing us home goodies (Friday donut day at work & Rotary auctions)

Eating random things like graham crackers with tuna fish

Teaching me a good work ethic
Always building things for us: a beautiful art box for me...a deluxe tree house, with an elevator and zip lines!

Carrying me from whichever random spot I fell asleep all the way up the stairs to my bed.

His sweet, simple testimony

His unconditional love

"Father of the branch"

Eric feels a little strange when branch members refer to him as the father of the branch. He says he feels more like the annoying younger brother, but we all know better. Since becoming branch president, I've been amazed by all of the time and effort that Eric has invested into making the members' lives a little better and strengthening our little branch family...

The man is well-loved by everyone he meets, and I'm so grateful for who he is in my life and in so many others' lives...

Some of the members were so sweet and made Eric a head & ti leaf lei for Father's Day