Jake-lyn

I took this picture of Jaki today and her face reminded me of my dad's smile. I think its the eyes. I don't usually see other people's traits when I look at my girls, but this one stuck out at me today.

I am so grateful for my dad. I miss him like crazy, but I am so grateful for the plan of happiness and to know that I can see him again.

A while ago Amy posted about memories of our dad and ever since I saw that I've wanted to record my memories of him and have not gotten around to it, but today is the day.

Going riding with him-

While the girls and I were in Snowflake last month I got to go riding with Travis because the cows kept getting onto the highway where they were and we needed to move them until Trav could get the fence fixed. We had to ride out to the pasture where the cows were and then we rode home afterwards. It reminded me of the last time I can remember going riding with my dad. I believe it was while Jeff was in Wyoming working on his grandpa's ranch. We had dated and were still talking on the phone every so often seeing if a long-distance relationship could work. My dad was going to go out to see how his cows were doing and I wanted to go with him. We rode in the same pasture that Travis and I had taken the cows to. I can't remember all the details about what we talked about, but some of the things were dating and Jeff and school. He would tell me stories about growing up and about his parents. My dad's influence on me is one of the main reasons I married Jeff. I knew I wanted a man who knew how to work and who liked to work around horses and cows. I knew I wanted a man who valued his priesthood and family and who had a good sense of humor. I think while Travis and I were riding home that day there were a couple times I would have cried, but my tears probably would've froze to my face.

Growing up on a ranch-

I loved when I was little and we would go riding and we would be moving big herds. We would have 10 or so riders going out to all the different corners of the pasture looking for cows and gathering them to the new place with more feed and water. Or sometimes bringing them to the center so that we could brand. I loved branding hundreds of calves. My job was usually to keep tally or else to give the vaccinations. I loved the ride in a pickup and trailer to go out to 9-mile or Monument Hill or Buckhorn or wherever we were going to move the cows. A few times, well probably more often than not, I was on a horse that I was a little bit nervous about. I would say a prayer in the pickup on the way to our destination that I would be able to control the horse and not get bucked off. I loved that when I was really little Rend and I would hurry after school to get the piano practiced and the jobs done so that we could catch the horses and go riding. I loved that my dad could tell me a place to go to get the cows and I could go do it. My dad always knew where his cows were. I loved that my dad taught me to move the cows slow and steady and not to rile them. I think I could go on and on about this subject. When I got older there was less ranch to run, mainly because there weren't as many people to run it. After my dad and his brothers split their parts of the ranch I was the only one at home. He still had Shon to go do a lot of the big things that needed to be done, but I got to be the one to feed the horses and try to take care of the barn. I learned a little about how to fix drinkers. He would let me go check on drinkers when he was away politicking. For a while there before I moved away from home the only horse left on the ranch was Chester. There were a couple times that my dad and I would go out to ride, he on Chester and me on the new 4-wheeler. That was quite the fun little experience. Travis pointed out to me that my dad probably could've moved the cows easier without me, but he probably wanted to keep me involved in the ranch. Whatever my Dad's motives, it was a fun memory.

The Gospel-

My dad was stake president from about the time I was born until I was 10. I remember during that time he was a really busy man. I believe our family was blessed tremendously for his services. We often had general authorities in our home. We had visitors come for missionary comings or goings or people getting set apart or other various things and I don't think I really understood all the spiritual significance of everything, but I do remember the excitement of always having a visitor at our home. I remember the bishops breakfasts and if I woke up early enough I could eat with them, and if not we still got good leftovers and it was another morning that we didn't have to have mush for breakfast. I am so glad that I gained a testimony in my home and that my home, even though it was filled with excitement, was also a place where the spirit could be found. I love the fathers blessings that I got each year before school and when I was sick and especially the one I got before I went up to Wyoming with Jeff (where we ended up getting engaged). I didn't quite know yet how strong my feelings were for Jeff or how strong his were for me, but I knew that with that blessing I could make the right choice concerning him and my future and I did.

Family-

I love the ties I have to my family, both immediate and extended. We are a loving family, even if we have little spats every now and then. We love to visit and talk and share funny stories. I loved the stories we would tell late at night when the kids were in bed and the rest of the neighborhood was probably asleep, especially the stories that would make my dad laugh so hard he was crying. I love the closeness I feel with my ancestors, especially on my dads side. My dad was a great storyteller and knew a lot about his ancestors that he loved to share with us. I loved stories that began with "Daddy used to..." or "Momma used to..." I loved that my dad honored and respected his parents and taught us to honor and respect our own mother, and for that reason, among others, we honored and respected him. My dad lost his dad at a fairly young age and I didn't really understand how hard it was for him to miss his dad so much until I lost my own dad. But I know that he felt, as I do, a lot of gratitude for the values that his dad instilled in him.

Going on walks-

I often took advantage of opportunities to go on walks with my dad. When I would see him putting on his walking shoes I hurried to get ready to go with him. Just like when I would go riding with him, we would talk about anything and everything. While I was still at home we would go on walks around the neighborhood, and when I lived in college we would go on walks around the block where our condo was and down to the park (sadly enough I can't remember the name of the park now). Sometimes we would go watch the baseball games in the fields down by the freeway. My dad tried very hard to take care of his health. I wasn't around for this, but at one point he was training for a marathon. But then he got called to be a stake president and didn't have the time and his knees got to where they couldn't carry the weight when he was running. You might not know how hard he worked to take care of his health by how he looked, but that was probably due to his love for food! That must be where I got my love for junk food. Well, him and my mom.

Politics-

I loved that my dad was a legislator. I got to go on some fun trips with him, both around the state and other parts of the country. I got to go to Chicago and on to South Bend to watch USC play at Notre Dame. I don't know all the ins and outs of the story, but the reason was something about one of those two teams coming to the Fiesta Bowl, even though neither of the teams came to the Fiesta Bowl. I also got to go to the Republican National Convention in New York as a page. My dad was a delegate and he, my mom and Amy stayed in I want to say the Roosevelt Hotel in New York while I stayed at the Pennsylvania Hotel with all the other pages. There I got to do some fun and now that I look back at it, dangerous galavantinig around Manhattan late at night. (We walked around looking for a night club one night and then to my parent's hotel. Ask me the story later.) I got to go to some great events because of my dad's involvement in the House and Senate. But my appreciation is not only selfish. I believe my dad was great for the State of Arizona. He worked very hard for rural Arizona and was a great supporter of schools among other things. I feel that being his daughter I should be a little more politically savvy and hope to be so in the future.

Sports-

My dad was very good at sports and loved to watch his kids and grandkids as they played. He didn't get to come to a lot of my games, but did come when he could and I always was proud to play for him. He was quick to give praise after each game, even if it was praise for how well I sat on the bench! If he had any words of advice for me, not only in sports, but almost all areas of my life I was all ears and would try very hard to incorporate his advice.

Music-

My involvement in music probably more from my mom's influence, but my dad was also a great supporter of music. As was the case with sports, he couldn't come to all my concerts and recitals, but was there when he could. He would even make special arrangements to be there if he could since there were fewer concerts than there were sporting events. My dad was a very good singer and I loved to hear him sing.

Naps-

My dad could sleep anywhere and everywhere. I swear he could even sleep while driving (and not get in wrecks). It was quite the experience driving with him on these nights. I now get mad at Jeff for doing this, but he used to fall asleep quite often in church and I would just lay my head on his shoulder and have a nap right along with him. Sometimes my mom would join in too.

Friends-

Both in college and in high school my friends always loved my dad and he loved them, usually. With anyone I dated I would always look for my dad's approval and that made a huge difference on who I hung out with. I remember one time in college I felt kinda bad because I had said a little bit of a fib to not go out with a guy, but my dad (probably because he didn't want me to go out with him) said, "It's not a lie, she said you weren't here, and really you weren't right where the phone was at the time." Speaking of not wanting me to go out with certain guys, the summer Jeff was in Wyoming I was at work one day and a guy my dad had gone to college with asked me on a date. (Yes, the guy was old enough to be my grandpa.) It was quite wierd and I told him I had a boyfriend to get out of the date. I told my dad about the story later and my dad was quite angry and told this man so. I am glad that I had a protective dad.

Cutting my dad's toenails-

Amy ended up being the one who did this, but I also got to do it quite a bit. It was quite the experience cutting his horse hooves, I mean toenails. I cut him once. Maybe thats why Amy ended up doing it.

Teaching me how to drive-

My dad taught me how to drive on our old red and silver GMC pickup. I don't remember how old I was, but probably somewhere between 10 and 13. Not as young as a lot of my siblings, but younger than most kids. The pickup was a stick shift and I remember being worried that I wouldn't know how to drive an automatic.

My girls-

My mom was nice enough to watch Rachel for me so I could finish my last semester of nursing school and when I would take her over early in the mornings before I went to class I got to say good morning to my dad. I loved how he loved Rachel. Even though he had 49 other grandkids I felt like he had a special place in his heart for Rachel since she was his baby's baby. I'm pretty sure my siblings felt this way about their kids too. I am so grateful for the memory I have of Rachel sitting on my dad's lap at Jewel's reception watching the slide show. We had moved away from Arizona and most of my family members before Rachel learned to talk or walk and when we went back to visit she was (and still is a little) pretty nervous around all the other kids. But she always loved my dad and still loves to hold my mom. Anyway, I think Rachel felt a little bombarded with attention and was pretty clingy to me and Jeff, but she felt right at home sitting on my dad's lap watching that slide show. Also, it was while I was pregnant with Jaki that my dad died. The day he got thrown from the horse I called him and was bawling talking to him and told him I was ready to fly home and take care of him if he needed since I was "his nurse." He told me they were taking good care of him and he was okay and that I needed to stay home and keep "incubating." Then two weeks later we had plans to go up to Snowflake for Shiloh's wedding, which meant we would have been there the day he passed away, but again, he had told me to stay home and keep incubating. I had a really hard time knowing that I would have been there when he died if I had gone, but now I look back and am just grateful that I have a beautiful, healthy daughter and I have a little feeling that he brought her to me.

There are a million more memories I have of my dad, but at least heres a start.