Happy Father's Day to My Dad!

My dad. What can I tell you about my dad? He is the greatest dad a girl could ever have. Because I am earning a business degree, I work best with lists. So, here is a list of reasons why my dad really is the best.

1. He drove my sisters and me to dance practice, piano lessons, swimming lessons, and just about everywhere else for about 10 years. 
2. He was at every dance performance, piano recital, and any other performance I had. 
3. He was always there when I became scared at night and was screaming his name. He would bring me a drink of water, say a prayer with me, and I always fell asleep at peace. 
4. He taught me how to mow the lawn. I used to have a bubble blowing lawn mower that I would push around after him when he would mow the lawn.
5. He taught me how to ride a bike. 
6. He pulled many a loose tooth. And tried to distract me from the pain.   
7. He would buy me little treats at the grocery store. I remember that during the summer (because he is a teacher and school was out), when he would go to the store, we would fight over who could go with him. He almost always let us pick something out. 
8. He taught me how to read. He spent hours and hours teaching me, but he was always patient with me.
9. He would dance with my sisters and me in the living room, kitchen, basement, outside, where ever we decided that dancing should happen. 
10. He is honest and disciplined me when necessary. 
11. He makes the corniest of jokes. But they still make me laugh. 
12. He taught me how to drive. That was a scary time for all of us. 
13. He gathered us together for Family Home Evenings (even when we were pains about it), and for family prayer. 
14. He always gave me blessings when I needed them. 
15. He once yelled at me for yelling at my mom. That was a great lesson. 
16. He would let me sit on his lap and sing songs with him. 
17. He would sit us down for father interviews, which were annoying at the time, but I now realize how important they were. 

I know that list is a random length. I could continue to list things forever. No matter how long or short my list is, he taught me the greatest lesson a dad can teach. He showed me what a real man should be. Because of his amazing example, I found a man who is equally as wonderful. I found Lyle, and I know he will be as great of a dad as mine is.

My father is a great example of love, patience, kindness, and perseverance. I wouldn't be the person I am today without his teachings and guidance. He has been one of my best friends from the very beginning and will be forever.





I love you dad! Happy Father's Day! 

Empty Nest Syndrome Already?!

Lyle and I just became empty nesters.... For those of you who don't know, we have been living with Lyle's sister and her family for the last 9 months (ish, give or take a little time). They just moved out of our rental home this last Saturday and boy do we miss the extra company! It is just crazy to me how lonely and big the house we are in feels now.

Just over a year ago, we packed up our little apartment in Rexburg, as I blogged about here....

....and moved to South Dakota to live with Lyle's parents while he did an internship.

(Yay, Sodak.....)

And when that was done, we moved into a rental house with Tyrel, Vandy, and Kemry. 

As Lyle and I sat together trying to dry any tears over the removal of our favorite playmate...

(Not the best picture, you can see better pics on Vandy's Blog, here)

...we realized that it has been over a year since we have lived in a house all by ourselves. This new found aloneness is exciting and frightening at the same time. We moved all of our things upstairs and now occupy the master bedroom, which is lovely because of the connected bathroom and huge closet (Lyle keeps walking into it and saying, "There's just so much room in here."). But, it is extremely empty and lonely feeling now. 

I'm constantly trying to baby proof everything (shutting the door when I leave the bathroom, securing the cabinets so Kemry can't get into them, automatically feeling for a baby gate at the top of the stairs....) and then I realize it doesn't matter. I think I know a little about how my parents felt when we all moved out. It is so sad to look around and realize that Kemry isn't going to come running out of Vandy and Tyrel's room just to give me a hug or to take whatever she thinks I'm eating. 

I miss hearing her yell, "Lyle, Lyle, Lyle...." at the top of the stairs (she says his name really well, and it melts his heart every time). I really miss chasing her around the house and her screaming and giggling while she is  trying to run away. 

While I am sad about all of that, I am very happy for Vandy and Tyrel to move to the next stage of their lives, and I am excited for us to move on as well. We only have 64 days left!

I'm glad that we decided to be crazy (as many people thought) and live with our in-laws for a little while. I'm grateful for the chance it gave us to love our little niece and to watch her grow right before our eyes. We were fortunate to be part of some of her really fun milestones like her first steps, her first words, her first Monkey Dance.......

I don't want to ramble too much. So, thanks Tyrel and Vandy for living with us for a little while and sharing your little bundle of joy with us. We will miss you! Good luck! And you'd better come visit us soon! And we need to skype with you guys soon so we can see the Kembot. :)

And to Bryan, who gets to live with them for a little while now, we need to send you a list of things we were going to teach her to say and do before they left.