7QTs: Daddy Edition

In honor of Father's Day this Sunday (and the fact that I don't really talk about my pops too often on here AND I won't actually be with him this year...), I thought I would dedicate this edition to all things Dad.  Funny memories and pictures. :) This is just a snippet of what's in my head.  I could go on and on, but that's not really fun for a lot of people.  Just me.  So, skip if you want, but you'll miss some cute baby pics of me! *see below right there*

1. One of my fave pics:

This just makes me smile.

2. Just hanging out in the snow...

Oh, dad... that hat.

3. Halloween one year...

Um, my dad thought it would be HILARIOUS to act like he was stabbed.

He went all out: waited until my mom was walking back to the house... cracked the door open, laid down, ripped a shirt, stuck a knife in there and smeared ketchup all.over.the.place.

Um, being 4 or 5... it was TERRIFYING.  Oh.my.gosh.

My mom was angry, my dad thought his planned worked brilliantly.

Thanks, Dad... 

4. Best cheerleader

I was on swim team growing up... from about 4ish all the way to college.

I looooooved it.  Maybe not all of the time, but it kept me busy, out of trouble and active.

And tan.  And my hair really, really blonde.  It was fab.

Anyway, I digress.

My dad was ALWAYS at my meets.  After I was 7 and he lived in VA, we would come every.single.Saturday.  He would lose out on Friday nights with me on his weekends, so he could come to my meets and cheer me on.  Sometimes he was pretty hard on me and I would get really annoyed with him, but it was all for my best interest.  He knew I could do it, I just needed an extra push.

5. Another fave pic:

I seriously think this pic sums up our relationship beautifully.
It makes me chuckle every time I look at it. :)

6. He rode on a bus for 8 hours in Honduras so he could see where I would be living.

This was the moment when I saw him for the first time after a month
in language school. We had a little vacay on Roatan before
heading to NPH.
One of THE best feelings of seeing family again.

After our vacay, we traveled to NPH where he just hung out and went with the flow as I was thrown into all things volunteering and learning about my new life.  He also hugged, listened, let me cry and offered advice as I was freaking out about this hugecrazymaybewrong decision I made about moving to Honduras for a year.

I know he was totally freaked out during my time in Honduras b/c I was getting sick all of the time and was struggling with quite a few things... he wanted me to come home, but never once projected his feelings onto me.  For a parent, that has got to be so hard: when you see your adult kid struggle, all you want to do is fix it, but can't do anything about it.

7. I love my dad.

He may drive me crazy sometimes...

But, he is my dad and I am so, so SO grateful for his unlimited love and support of all my ventures in life.  He is so silly and weird, makes me laugh, challenges me, encourages me and just wants the absolute best for his daughter.  I am seriously so blessed.

Daddy-o, I hope that you have such a wonderful, wonderful Father's Day!!  I wish we could hang out together, but darn life and jobs get in the way.  I will see you in LESS than a week, and I am just so flipping excited!  HUGS to you!!  I LOVE YOU!!!

And just a few more random pics...

We went swimming with dolphins when we were on Roatan!

Christmas 2012
We decided to bake cookies... it was incredibly random, but SO fun.
And, SO delicious. :)

Christmas 2012
Us, looking all cute and stuff. :)

Happy Father's day to all the dads out there!!  Have such a wonderful day with your kiddos doing what you love! :)

And, thanks to Jen for hosting these 7 Quick Takes, as always. :)