My Favorite Dad

It's Dad's birthday!  Yippee!!!










Last tribute for a while.  (Most of my family is born in January!)

Dad, I can't make a walleye out of frosting that looks this realistic, but if I could, I would.
(But I can Photoshop the words to make it say what I want.)

And since I did not inherit Dad's math skills, I had to ask Jesse Massard for help with this:

And here are three things I love and admire about my dad:

(I put all the photos together because it was too hard to decide which category to put them in.  Thanks to Rachel for sending a lot of these for both Mom and Dad's blogs.)

1. He is fun, creative, and a good sport.

Whether it was flapping his arms and pecking at the birdfeeder for us when we were small, or writing poems for us, or making cool stuff in his shop, or trying out a new recipe for guests, Dad is always up to something exciting.  I guess that's why I'm such a planner and project addict myself, and why I have a thing for performers.

2. He loves nature and doing things outdoors.

Dad's a real outdoors-man and many of our best times were had out in nature.  Beyond just enjoying the beauty of the wilderness, I think it's a very spiritual experience for him, and for me as well.  Even though I live in a city now, I still greatly value my appreciation of nature and enjoy it whenever I can.

3. He's always been very respectful and encouraging toward us.

 I know plenty of fathers who said things like "Don't throw like a girl" or who wouldn't dream of having their daughters help with projects around the house.  My dad was never like that and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him.  We got to help with building projects, we watched sports together, learned how to fish - and we're all very independent DIY girls as a result.  Yes, I carry a leatherman in my purse and I'm proud of it.  Thanks Dad!

 Snowman building at Cotton Lake.

Learning all the skills of camping.  I think this is a lesson in how to get comfy in a lawn chair after the hard work is done.

 

 More summer travel adventures - here we are exploring Glacier National Park.

Rachel, Becky and Dad, building the shop - as you can see, we all know how to use tools!

Here Dad supervises while Becky and I try to duplicate one of his projects - making whistles out of antlers.  Thanks to all my project experience with Dad, I had no trouble using the power tools in my sculpture classes in college.  (Or fixing stuff around the house in my 100+ year-old apartment in Berkeley.)

Dad likes to make people laugh and has a natural talent for it.  Whenever we have a big family party he plans some type of entertainment.  He planned several big musical numbers for my relatives at my Grandparents' anniversary party, and my little cousins liked it so well that they asked him to sing parts of it again with them springing out from behind like the Von Trapps in the Sound of Music.  So cute!

Dad started tracking wild asparagus a few summers ago.  Here he is last June with some of his "crop".  It's delicious!

Dad coached our basketball and softball teams in high school, and so we had some great talks and life lessons together through sports.  Here he is with Rachel's softball team.

Dad carved this pipe for my grandparents out of pipestone and diamond willow.  Then he held a little ceremony with it and all my relatives participated.  Here my uncle Michael shows it off.  Awesome, huh?

Quiet evening on the dock.  I really like spending one-on-one time with Dad, so I always try to get in at least one fishing trip when I'm at home.  It's very serene.

Thanks for being such a great role model, Dad.  I really appreciate you and I hope you have a fun and creative year ahead.  I can't wait for you to check out all there is to see and do when you get to Macau!  Love you!  xo