Happy Father's Day

We're going to take a short break from our regularly scheduled programming - the 15-Day Challenge - for this Father's Day post! Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, especially the coolest one of them all...mine!

Dad and I were best buddies when I was little. He taught me how to climb trees and let me kiss the fish he caught before turning them loose (yes, I really did kiss the fish...each and every one)!


Here we are looking all fancy for Easter. See that stuffed animal I'm holding? I have NO doubt that it was a bribe - the only way I would have considered wearing such a frilly dress and WHITE panty hose...the horror!


This is more like it - just kickin' back, relaxin' in my PJs, and Dad in his 1970s gym shorts!



He taught me how to ski when I was in high school - he is so freaking good at skiing, I could never even begin to measure up! But at least he got me from lying down on the side of the mountain, crying in frustration, to actually making it through a run!


During move-in week in college, he worked hard to make my freshman dorm room inhabitable. He replaced all the moldy ceiling tiles (and found a REALLY old bottle of whiskey stashed up there) and put a fresh coat of paint on everything! Thanks, Dad!


For my wedding, he spent hours listening to the song I'd chosen for us to dance to (Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World by Iz) and even choreographed our dance! We looked awesome out there thanks to him!


Later, all choreography went out the window as we (somewhat drunkenly) danced and sang to one of our favorite songs - Elton John's Tiny Dancer!



My dad may be a man of few words at times, but he's always been there for me through thick and thin. He is a smart, funny, hard-working man, and I'm so thankful to have him as my dad!

Here are some of the other father figures in my life - all wonderful men with a very special place in my heart.

Here's me with Great Grandaddy! I loved to tell him long, silly stories that I'm sure left him thinking "what is this crazy little kid talking about?"

We also loved sitting down to breakfast together - I felt so grown-up because I would eat the same thing he ate, which was always Raisin Bran! I had a very serious conversation with my mom one time when I was very young, asking her if she thought he and my Grandaddy were OK with the names I called them. Because when I was little, my Great Grandaddy lived with my Nanny & Grandaddy. So in the same house, we had Great Grandaddy and...Plain Grandaddy! Ha! I had to distinguish them somehow, but I was always worried that Plain Grandaddy might get offended (he didn't...he just laughed)!


Here's Grandaddy (aka "Plain Grandaddy" for a short period of time)! He is one of the funniest people I've ever met - at 90 years old, he manages to crack me up every time I see him. You'll rarely find him wearing anything other than his signature snap-up coveralls, which he has in many different colors.


This is a rare shot of him in his formal wear for my wedding! So dapper, with his Navy Submarine pin on his tie!



This is my Pa, my dad's dad. They look so much alike - I know exactly what my dad will look like when he gets older!


Here we are circa 1998, before my NHS induction ceremony, and clearly before the advent of flat-irons...ignore my hideous hair!



I love how both of my grandfathers have always had a signature "look." Pa's was a bow-tie and suspenders. I don't even think he owned a regular tie, it was always the bow-tie. So much more festive and jolly, I think! Speaking of jolly, he used to be the Santa Claus at a Christmas store called 'Tis the Season in Ft. Worth. He was perfect for the job!

Happy Father's Day! Hug your dad today!