Yesterday was their 29th Anniversary, so we'll lead off with this picture. But check out that guy... looks the same as he does today. In fact, I bet he can do just as many pull ups as he could in high school - maybe more. He's my dad, and one of the best.
(I would say THE best, but now that Blaine's joining the Dad club, I think it'll be a tie)
Here's us at Disneyland - bonding from an early age
We've done many things together over the course of my 25 years with him and I will share just some.
But one of my fondest and earliest memories was when he took me to watch the Kansas City Royals for my first professional baseball game while we were living in Overland Park (probably around 3 or 4). It was a special daddy-daughter date - except in order to keep me on the date, he had to go buy me a new snack every inning. Oh, what a good time...
Except I don't remember any of it. It came up a couple years ago and he was so hurt that our special memory was only one sided... so now its a family joke. But I'm sure it was great at the time.
He has always been quite the talented athlete and has remained around sports his whole life, which is why his children are talented athletes who, too, enjoy sporting events. His mom (my grandma) always talks about how he was playing baseball at the park when he was really really young with all these older boys and a scout came up to her and was so impressed.
Growing up, he would take each of the kids on at least one business trip a year--and his business was sports, so I went to everything from crew meets in Boston to football games at Clemson, which doesn't even include all the Final Four basketball trips and Bowl Games over Christmas. It was always fun one-on-one time and I have a lot of special individual memories from each of them. Sometimes I quiz Dad to see if he remembers them as well. I have certainly enjoyed a privileged upbringing by being included on all these special experiences, many of which most people will never experience. And while we sometimes bought a souvenir, we mostly just brought back memories and pictures. Most of my older pictures are locked away on my broken laptop, so here's just a couple that I was able to track down.
Speaking of souvenirs, though, quick story:
I was on a trip to Washington D.C. with my dad when I was around 9 probably and the trip was coming to a close and he was complimenting me on how mature I was because I hadn't loved any of the souvenirs I'd seen so far, so I hadn't bought one. And probably mid-sentence of that praising, I decided that I had found my souvenir (since I couldn't come home empty handed). What was it you ask?
A t-shirt with a giant sunflower on it with a peace sign in the middle of it, that said "Washington D.C." underneath... Good choice, I know. It was on that same walk that we also bought some ice cream from a street vendor and then realized it was winter and that was a bad idea.
at Georgia's baseball field
Final Four in San Antonio
at the TCU @ Utah football game when he was in town representing the Orange Bowl Committee and he met Blaine for the first time (who hadn't shaved!)
the kids outside the Louisiana Superdome (went once with Miami, once with FAU)
The Coliseum at USC, where Miami practiced for the Rose Bowl
The Orange Bowl where Miami played all their regular season games in the good ole days
Louisiana Lafayette - home of the Ragin' Cajuns
after the Clemson game
Before the Stanford @ Notre Dame game in 2006. Even though we weren't affiliated with either team, Dad called one of his friends that worked at ND to get us tickets to the game because we loved Notre Dame that year because of Brady Quinn. Lots of fun memories from that trip, such as the bright yellow hummer dad got from the car rental lady, putting on tattoos at the tailgating party and Dad let me put one on his wrist, talking to Dad's friends wife about Brady Quinn and she saying how he would have no interest in a middle-aged black woman, Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija laying down in the back of a golf cart bed and riding right past us, and Alexis and I sharing a bed on silk sheets at his friend's house where we stayed and when they slid off in the middle of the night, Alexis woke me up to go pick the covers back up.
Dad also likes to travel and will look for a reason to do so. (And like me, he refuses to sit around and do nothing) So after I refused to go to Prom and Senior Night at Disney and all those other waste-of-money activities when I graduated from high school, he and I went on trip to London, England and Paris, France. We shared one hot chocolate a day, snacked on tropical flavored Starbursts, and only had real meals for dinner. But he let me choose all the musicals we went to and played along with my fun ideas, like when I got my face painted like a lion at the restaurant before we went to go see The Lion King. When we were on the tube from London to Paris, the waiter served us our drinks and instead of "merci" (or however you spell it), Dad instinctively resorted to his Spanish and said "gracias."
Here we are looking bored and less than amused at the Louvre. I really wanted to go after reading The Da Vinci Code, so we went and saw the Mona Lisa and a couple other famous things, but then agreed that our interests lie elsewhere... and quickly vacated. Probably to go enjoy another crepe.
Dad has also turned into a little shutterbug in the last couple of years. I would like to think that I influenced that. He especially loves it when the battery is dead or the card is full. Its "the bane of his existence."
Dad also enjoys a nice "goodie" and sometimes "cannot control the wheel" when driving past a shake place. He is the biggest fan of my big cookies and maintains that no one can quite make them like I do (a fair statement). He often tells me how he misses coming home from work and rounding the corner into the kitchen and seeing my chocolate chip cookies waiting for him in all their mounds of glory.
Dad and I also enjoy singing together and are family faves. In fact, he also just enjoys singing by himself. Like when we're on a family road trip and he has his headphones in and gets caught up in the moment and wants to belt it out, but only knows every 4th word, so he sort of skims over the rest of the words or tries to guess what they are supposed to be. From Joe to Wicked, he has become quite the musical man. Even though the extent of his musical background before Mom was this:
Dad and I also have a special relationship because I have a very soothing effect on him.
You laugh, but its true. Check out the comment on the right-hand side... my "calming spirit"
So calming, in fact, that it seems to put him to sleep lately
Dad enjoys my jokes, even when it makes him feel awkward, which then leads to his signature "embarrassed smile." But don't feel sorry for him-- he has embarrassed me at least once before - buying "serviets" without a shopping bag!!!
Fun fact: (by fun, I mean not fun at all) but I've been mistaken for my Dad's girlfriend SEVERAL times. A couple years ago we were all at a water park with my family and were in line for this big tube ride, so as many of us could fit got on the first tube and then just me and dad were left to go on the second one, so I said something like, "ready, Dad?" and I swear I was being normal but the whole time he teased me, "Oh sure. Make sure everyone knows that he's my dad, not just some old guy or boyfriend. 'Hey DAAAAAAD,' 'Here we go, DAAAAAAAAAAD'."
He's so cool in his Sugar Bowl letterman jacket. I would like to request that in the will...
He is also full of many quotes and instant church lessons that has supplied me with my own repertoire of teachings, such as:
-life's benchmarks
-when Alexis was sick and they wouldn't let her come on the family reunion cruise, so we all stayed behind with her --> Never leave your wingman
-"You can choose your choice, but you can't choose your consequence"
-"Fatigue makes cowards of us all"
-"Far better is it to dare mighty things and win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat"
Just this past Christmas he also taught me that "life is a waste of money." I, not unlike my mother, tend to be worried about finances and refused to be taken advantage of or waste money. So while I make a big stink about some things or take a stand to not buy something that I need because I feel it is overpriced, he insists that looking at it that way makes everything a waste of money and you can't live like that.
He also says that he's the smartest person in the world because he knows he doesn't know everything.
He also admits that he could never make it as a woman :)
Dad and I also enjoy a nice debate and being right, but never in a mean or angry way. In fact, it comes out more as funny, playful banter. So when Blaine says something I don't like or we get into some little argument, he says, "Come on, your dad would say that exact same thing and you never react like that with him!" To which I respond, "Well its just different with him!" :)
When interviewing for job a couple years ago, the owner asked me a couple of random questions that I didn't see the relevance of at the time. One of which was, "What is one of the most important things you've learned from your father?"
So the first thing I thought of was this: He treats everyone the same and encourages us to do so as well. No matter if they're a homeless person or the Queen of England. Plus, he's met tons of famous people, but treats them just like normal people, too. I have seen him literally give someone the shirt off his back. He treats everyone with respect and gives them the benefit of the doubt. A great example, but also annoying when I am complaining about Obama or a specific someone whom I particularly do not appreciate. Don't expect sympathy from Dad on that. He just tries to convince you that it's not a big deal, everyone has their own issues that we don't know about, maybe you just don't know them very well, just relax and don't let it get you so worked up. He once told me "You're not a garbage truck. You don't have to stop and pick up everyone's crap. Just keep driving. Not your problem. Like water off a duck's back."
He is also a great example of positivity. Life is certainly not fair, as we all know and as he has definitely experienced firsthand. But he doesn't complain or pout or feel sorry for himself. He is positive and level headed, which is why me and some other family members make up for his lack of explosion.
He's a great dad and I know he will be a fabulous grandpa, even though he insists that he won't be called "Grandpa" for a little while, because (to quote Father of the Bride Part II), "Grandfathers wear cardigans! I wear baseball caps and running shoes!" Very true, Dad. Very true.
For his 50th birthday, I made dad a video. Not just a 8 minute slideshow of pictures, but over an hour long worth of pictures, videos, inside jokes, voiceovers, etc. Even this appropriate clip from Modern Family, when Phil insists, "Look, I'm a cool dad. That's my thing. I text: LOL=laugh out loud, WTF=why the face? I know all the dances to high school musical, so..." Which was then followed big actual footage of Alivia and Dad dancing along with High School Musical 2. Can't wait to see him coach my little boy's football team! (Here's just a little preview of his HSM moves)
Ah, speaking of dance-- one last thing. He was also my assistant pom coach this past year while I was a first time coach of McLoud's Pom Squad. "Pom Pop" :) I'm joking but I'm also completely serious. We would have coaches meetings via cell phone to discuss how to properly handle different situations. My only regret is that he didn't get a team shirt.
Blaine's dad has also been a great friend and support to Blaine throughout his life and I'm glad and grateful that they have such a good relationship. Blaine often mentions how he misses just being in the woods with his Dad. They just like to talk and hike and wrestle around and lift. Blaine is his first born son and now Blaine's first born son is on the way! I especially love that Dave is excited to be a grandpa, as you should remember from a recent post about his new toy (big wheel) and why he keeps all of his elk horns.
Thats the "Dave" face in pictures
teaching Blaine how to fix the washing machine
And now the newest member of the Dad club: Blaine Baker. He's such a hot dad.
He's SO EXCITED. And loves holding babies and playing with kids. I was going through a bunch of pictures trying to track down some for this and I found tons of pictures of him and all my baby cousins. One of the big reasons he decided on the career that he did was that so he would have time to coach little league and go to lunch with his family. He is a good example of hard work and commitment. He is always honest. And he also has a good grasp on what he needs to improve on and always tries to do so because he wants to be a good example to his son. He loves him so much already and loves to feel him move around in my tummy and talk to him. While I'm more worried right now, he's definitely more excited and positive. He's been very supportive and has let me choose pretty much whatever I want for his room and stuff like that. Just one of the many ways that he loves me so much too ;) And while he's a big strong guy, like the picture below will show, he's also so so sweet.
Having Jake has also been a good preview to his dad skills, since they wrestle and play and just love each other. Blaine loves taking Jake on rides in the truck and to get an ice cream cone from McDonalds and introducing him to new things and watching his reaction. Just imagine once our baby boy is here!!! Blaine's going to be such a pushover... in the best way possible :)
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