a tribute to the father of my children

Once upon a time, long ago--when I was single, dating and looking for a mate--I made up my mind that one of THE best characteristics my future husband could possess would be those traits that would make him an excellent father!

When I started dating Gene some of the things that I liked best about him were that he was very fun, personable and interactive with his nieces and nephews, my nieces and nephews and kids in general. He had 'Awesome Daddy' potential oozing from every pore.

Sure enough, 10 years after becoming a father he continues to prove my theory correct! He is the counter-weight in our Family Balance. Where I'm too cautious, restrictive or logistical Gene is daring, adventurous and spontaneous.

So, in honor of father's day, here are 5 totally random things that I love about the father of my children:

Gene and Morgan, Oct. 2008

1. He is a great story teller and is always teaching our kids about finances, science and history. He teaches them through his example to be inclusive of everyone and to be generous with our things.

Gene with Morgan, Sarah & Emma, 2010

2. He gets up early on the weekends (letting me sleep in) to make our children pancakes or crepes or eggs for breakfast--which inevitably is followed by setting up some play thing in the backyard or taking them to the park or teaching them how to skate or ride a bike.

Gene teaching Emma to skate, Feb. 2010

3. He has an endless supply of patience to let the girls jump, climb, crawl, slide, ride or hang all over him during 'Jungle Gene' time.

Gene after a hairdo session, 2009

4. He lets our girls play with his hair, put makeup on him, paint his nails and play dress-up. He doesn't get embarrassed at all, but instead takes pride in this. He LOVES it when the girls want to wear one of his t-shirts as a nightgown for bed.

Gene and Sarah dancing, July 2009

5. He teaches them how to dance. He brings them flowers, sings to them, takes them out on dates and calls them each his 'Princess'. And he means it!

He's such a good father, and an even better daddy! Happy Father's day!

summer lovin

The month of June has been filled with lots of backyard fun, cute pets, fresh soil and lots of rain. In fact, believe it or not, it even snowed at the beginning of the month--that's Spring time in Utah for ya! Gene has been busy getting the play things ready for the kids and being my 'pack mule' for outdoor projects, I've been busy gardening. And my kiddos? Lots of lovin on our animals, bike rides and popsicles. Gotta love summer!

Our beautiful lab, Simba.

Simba waiting anxiously for Emma to throw the ball already!

Morgan and Emma playing with Simba. Look how he's crouched ready to jump any second. Emma wears the glove because she hates the dog slobber.

Emma with our newest pet, little bunny Foo Foo (which she earned as a reward for getting the enunciation of her 'R's down).

Stinkin cute little bunny (Dutch dwarf).

Foo Foo is only 6 weeks old here and thankfully can't hop out of the laundry basket when inside the house.

My summer hobby. Gene built all new--larger--grow boxes for the garden, we just need to finish laying the paver stones. (In the distance is the outdoor bunny cage.)