I love my Dad.

My Dad lives about a 3 hours drive away from us, and I don't get to see him as often as I would like. This past weekend, we went for a visit. Here are some pictures from our weekend, taken by Gail, my stepmom.

At the zoo...

Maiya & Me.

Dave & Haven

Our fam...

My Dad & Maiya...

About my Dad....

• I can have a different opinion than his and he neither backs down nor tries to change my mind.
  
• He cooks delicious food for me (with the exception of the eggs with scotch while I was pregnant, which he will never live down).
  
• He laughs easily and often and loud.
  
• I've never felt like I had to try to impress him - just being me is good enough.
  
• Through his life he's taught me that time together is the best gift, I hope to pass this on to my children.
  
• When I was growing up, he worked long and hard with little to spend on himself. Although he enjoys buying himself some toys these days (that is, fancy knives), I don't hear him complain about the years he raised us. He calls us, his four kids, his investments.
  
• When we were growing up, he always concocted some herbal potion for us to drink when we were sick. Since we were homeschooled I never realized that most girls, when they had menstrual cramps, took Aleve and not a cup of crampbark tea.
  
• How did your Dad embarrass you when you were a teenager? Mine practiced sword fighting in a dimly lit family room. Beat that.
  
• He proudly identifies himself as a redneck. How a kid who grew up in Queens calls himself a redneck, I don't know, but he will always be 99% hippie to me.
  
• He's strong, solid and reliable. And he attended all of my dance recitals with a bouquet of flowers in hand.

This would all be written more eloquently if I didn't have a baby squirming in my lap. In closing, I love you, Dad!