To Dad:

I thought it would be fun to let the kids help write this! So I sat them down the other day and asked them about their dad... Man do these boys LOVE their dad! Jackson wants to be him and Harrison can't wait to beat on him! :) I don't know if he knows, but he has a fan club, and these fans are pretty dedicated! :)

Jackson:

(He was VERY enthusiastic and excited, he said A LOT, so I had to paraphrase! But talking to him really is this random.) "Dad is the best dad in the whole wide world! I am going to be like him when I get big. I am going to get married and be a dad and be a border troll. And I am going to be really really tall. He is really really tall and strong. I think that's kind of pretty cool. And I love him! A lot! I miss him when he is at work. I want him to be safe, and we say prayers. I love him to the moon and back to our new house!"

Harrison:

(Very serious face.) "Dad uh get bad guys... (Grunts and sounds I couldn't identify. Something about you being really big.) Dad uh wanna fight! (Fists and crusty look!) Dad stwong... (Showing muscles.) And dad sweeping uh a go to work. I wove you! I wove you moon and back to a house!"

Reagan obviously couldn't be interviewed, but it really isn't necessary! He is her favorite person in the whole world! And she lets him know all the time! :) Such a daddy's girl! The boys made him cards! And he got a new scope for his gun. (He picked it out and bought it himself! So naturally he loved it!)

We spent the evening with the Elams, celebrating Kerri's birthday and Father's Day. When we party, we party! And Patrick got to show the boys how to shoot! (They're bee bee guns.) Both of them took it very seriously! And they had a blast! :) We had a great day! He's not usually one to spill his guts and talk about his feelings, but there is no doubt when it comes to his kids, he loves being a dad! They mean the world to him! He works so hard for them. He prays for them. He worries and stresses about them. He likes to pretend it doesn't ruffle his feathers when one of them is sick or scared or hurt. But he's the soft one! Yep, he's the one who will lay down with Harrison on days when he won't take his nap... both of them on a twin bed! He's the one who gets excited to teach Jackson something new and sets time aside to take him out and practice! He also lets those boys beat the crap out of him on a regular basis! He's the one who jumps up first to go check on Reagan when she makes a weird noise in the night!... He kisses them before he leaves. And he loves that they light up when he walks in the door! It's kind of a big deal... being the center of someones universe! And he gets to have it times 3! :)

To our Dads: Thank you for always being the other kid! For all of the hard work and for showing us how to work, even when it meant lots of hours away from home! For our home! And for making it a safe place to be and blessing it with the priesthood! Thanks for being a teacher, a mechanic, a handy man and a road map! People make a lot of jokes about how many hats moms wear, but dads pile isn't much different! What would we really do without you!? :)

Happy Father's Day!