June 19, 2011

Father's Day Tribute

I am admittedly a mama's boy. I always have been and I most likely always will be. If I ever have a problem or a question she is one of the first people that I call, although things have changed since I've been married, I now go to my beautiful wife first, my mom is still high on the list. All of that is probably due to the fact that until I was 6 I was able to spend every morning with her as she did her errands. She also spent a considerable amount of time as room mother once I was in school. She means the world to me.

But with that said, the older I get the more I appreciate what my Dad has been and done for me. From the time I was very young he was always there for me, even if not vocally. You see, my Dad and I were never buddy buddy like some kids are with their dads (at least how some Father/Son relationships seemed to me) but that's not the kind of guy he is...and in reality, it's not the type of kid I was. I never lacked a Dad when I needed him the most. His opinion always meant so much to me...so much in fact that for most of my childhood I had a shaved head and when I say shaved head I mean SHAVED head. According to my Dad the football players at the high school all shaved their heads and so because my dad wanted me to be a football player so did I.

In fact, I'm probably where I am right now because of my Dad. Sports were something we always had in common and that definitely rubbed off on me. It was with my Dad that I'd sit and watch Cowboys games in the early 90's as they rattled off championship after championship. It was with my Dad that I'd go down to the old Arlington stadium to watch Nolan Ryan pitch. It was my Dad who took me to the church and taught me the principles of basketball and how to actually use the backboard. He wanted me to excel so much and was ALWAYS at my games more so than even my mom (she always had some Relief Society thing to go to). My Dad is my biggest fan and I can't thank him enough for that.

My Mom was always at the forefront of my attention and I only wish I would have noticed my Dad's contribution earlier. Thankfully, I still am pretty young and can make up for all the times he sacrificed for me like the multiple times he hopped into one of my many cars, with and without air conditioning, in the middle of Summer to drive to and from Utah. On this Father's day I wish to honor him for that; For being the best Dad a kid could ever have. He did everything a good father is supposed to do. And now, as I'm closer to being a Father than I ever have been in my life (and no, she's not pregnant), I know that if I'm as good a dad as my own that everything will turn out just fine.

And for the first Father's day ever I'm blessed to have not just one great Dad but two. Our relationship is still just beginning but I couldn't have asked for a better father-in-law than the one that I have. He's just one more great example of what a good Father is supposed to be.

With that said, I want to wish both of my Father's and Father's everywhere a happy Father's day. I can't imagine a world without you (and wouldn't want to anyway).

June 8, 2011

I'm a Mormon

So to prove that I'm not a complete waste as a contributor to this blog I thought that I would update you all with a little bit of what I've been up to over the last...well, I won't try and quantify how long it's been since the last time I posted something.

There's been a lot but I'll stick to one of the things that has been the most enjoyable to work on. About a month ago, like usual, Beth volunteered me to do a project for her dad who just so happens to be the Young Men's President of their ward. You see, every year they have a tradition of doing a little dinner for all of the graduating seniors where they give their parents the opportunity to say a few words about their son or daughter. That sounds lovely doesn't it? Well Beth's dad and his Bishop had a slightly different idea in mind for this year's dinner. That's where I come in.

You may or may not have seen one of the church's latest publicity campaigns entitled, "I'm a Mormon". Well, it's quite the intriguing little campaign that follows around ever day "normal" people, all of whom are a little more than normal if you ask me, that do a variety of things but all of one thing in common, they're all Mormons. I explain this to you because this is exactly what I had been enlisted to do for the Seniors in the Hillcrest 1st Ward in American Fork.

Overall it was a really fun experience. I followed around Beth's dad as he interviewed all of the Seniors. It was surprisingly really fun being there and learning all of their stories. I had never met any of them but after each 45 minute interview I felt like I had known them for years. I think that mostly had to do with how well my father-in-law did at interviewing them and making them feel comfortably with a camera shoved in their face and a stranger (me) behind it. They all opened up and, although different, each had a compelling story about how their membership in the church has affected their lives.

In the end, and after hours of work sitting at my computer editing, all of the projects turned out brilliantly and the best part is that they all seemed to like it. I think that's pretty impressive seeing how amusing a bunch of 18-year-olds is not the easiest thing in the world to do. Anyway, I guess it's time to stop talking about the project and just show you what it was and let you be the judge.

Enjoy!




























I hope you liked them. Feel free to let me know what you think.