I have no idea what number this is so I'm just going to write down some things:

1. You live by example. You never just told me what to do in life. You always demonstrated it by your actions and the way that you lived day to day. Your life is a testimony of your belief in Christ and your devotion to His cause.

2. I will always remember the vacation that we never went on and got paid for the vacation that we could have gone on.

3.  I am grateful for you being patient with me in teaching me how to work.  I admit, I was a pain in the rear at times and I deserved it. Now that I'm older, I see why you taught me those things and I hope that I can live up to the example that you set for me.

4. I remember the time you made me shovel a path to your 4runner in the snow and I took the shovel and did one straight path from the door to the door of your truck and was done.  Well, at least I thought I was. You told me you wanted a wider path and for me to shovel all around your truck.  I thought that was dumb and we argued about it I'm sure, and I ended up doing it.  Years later, the priests all showed up one night after it snowed and buried your truck and I wish I could have seen your face when you went out.

8, 7, 6

Ok Mitch,
Now it's my turn to say my three memories of you........

First off

1. Barf dip
I can still remember the first time you offered me this weird concoction. The first thing that came to my mind was disgusting! Can't quite remember how you persuaded me to even take a bite. Now I have to admit even though your attempts as a Chef might not always look the most appealing they sure are good!

2. Beating you at racquetball and finally earning a steak dinner
So the first time I ever meet you, Rachel had mentioned that you were pretty good at racketball. So when offered to play against you at the BYU athletics gym I was happy to have the opportunity to beat her old man. Well... Several years later and an off game for you and a great one for me I was finally able to earn that promised steak dinner for beating you at racketball.

3. Having the opportunity of working with you.
Mitch I feel very blessed that I had the opportunity to work with you and to get to know you on such a personal level. You were an excellent teacher of my "owning a business 101 class". Your faith and trust in me boosted my own confidence. You were there with a listening ear ready to give advice and then go to bat for me when I needed it. You taught me many valuable lessons that I continue to use in my career! Thanks!

Happy Birthday Old Man,
Give it a few more years and I might be able to beat you at racketball again, but then I might have to put your part of the steak dinner in a blender for you to swallow!

Steven

4

Christopher:

1. Chicken fight after I asked for your blessing to marry Bethany.  (You won first round but only because I had no idea was what going on...)

2.Making fun of my hammering skills at the 2008 reunion

3. Playing racquetball and getting my tail whipped.  I would consider (accidentally) hitting you with the ball a moral victory.

5

Sending you off

Snuggling little Tate

Hanging with Tate

A chance to serve

First Christmas with Tate and Rowan

Celebrating Tate's first birthday

Teaching Tate to use a hammer

Thanksgiving

Building a snowman with Carson

A quiet moment at the reunion to snuggle Parker

7

I feel very grateful to know that all along my life, through the easy and the challenging times, you have always been there for me.  35 years.  You have taught me to work and to serve, to sacrifice and to play.  Thanks Dad.  

8

AURORA: Loves Hiking with Grandpa!

9

You have always set a clear example of a righteous priesthood leader.

26, 25, 24

Ok Dad, 

Now I get to share 3 of my most favorite memories with you! I will have to admit, it was hard to narrow down to only three. So I decided on those that I feel had the most impact on me during my life with you and now as I am raising my own family.

Number1:

First and foremost is your testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your commitment to raise your family in righteousness has by far had the most impact on my life. You taught me by your example of obedience. Never once did you wavier, you served in all of your callings without complaint and with a love for those whom you served. You honored and magnified your priesthood by placing your hands on my hands countless times filling my life with peace and understanding. You along with Mom made it clear that attending church, seminary, and our church activities is just something we do, it's not a choice. Thank you! because of your knowledge that true happiness lies in living the Gospel, my life and the lives of my children are continuing to be blessed. 

Number 2:

So my second favorite memory and one that means all the more now that I am older and married myself, is that you truly love my Mother. 

Never once in my entire life have I ever doubted that. When we were younger you both worked so hard at not disagreeing in front of us and I will admit I was a bit surprised when I got married and found out that sometimes married couples do not always agree. But I can still vividly remember watching you and mom kiss on the steps in our many different homes and just giggling and smiling. I loved having a babysitter because you were taking Mom out on a date, friday night date night, and we all counted down the days until we were 11 so we could be in charge and babysit.  

So now my Third and Final Memory..... Well ok so I am going to wrap up a whole bunch of memories all into one big one and that is your love of life. Dad you just have the most positive attitude. Whether is working hard or playing hard you are going to give it your all and you DO!!!! You are just an upbeat fun guy to be around. I loved going hiking with you, I loved that you made me wash the car over and over again until it was perfect. I love that you grounded me because my grades weren't where they were supposed to be. I love the good times and the bad times because you taught me that no matter what, I needed to always do my best. Try my hardest, work my hardest and be proud of what I have accomplished. 

So these are my three favorite memories. I love you so much Dad, thank you for so many countless things!

Happy 6-0, (to a man who doesn't even come close to looking it)

Happy Birthday Dad!

Rachel

So here are a few photos over the years that I thought you might enjoy :)

Thank you for making the sacrifice to come and see us no matter where we were

I love that you love to play with my kiddos

And put up with them no matter what they do (Yes that is a spider on your chest)

Find the fun in everything

Still not afraid to be a kid yourself

So cool that he even can wear sunglasses in his sleep :)

Not afraid to smile

Not afraid of hard work and finding the fun in it!

Love to play

Thank you for helping me to see so many beautiful places in this world that we live in!

hmmmm........ do I need to say anything :)

Love that you not only taught us to work hard but you were always showing us by example too!

Just love being a Grandpa!

Have to laugh because your wardrobe over the years hasn't changed at all :)

Dad, I love you with all my heart and just Thank you for being the wonderful man that you are. I am so privileged to be your daughter!

10

 I appreciate your example of always prioritizing and finding joy in family life.

22, 21, 20,19, 18, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12

(Bethany)
22- I will never forget the summer you spent waking up early teaching me tennis with Jessica, Joslin and Brittany.  It was SO fun to spend time with you and just be together.  I also loved watching you come home from a personal match with Bishop DeMartini.  I couldn't wait to see how it went and that smile from a victory or your determination from a loss.  I was always inspired either way.

21- I remember dislocating my pinky finger playing basketball at young womans.  They called you and you said you were on your way "come pop it back in place."  I couldn't help but laugh and be terrified at the same time because it knew it was oh so likely.  Luckily for me, you saw it and the break was worse than you expected so you carted me to the doctor.  They decided to cast the metal piece my fingers were strapped to because there was a break along the growth plate.  I can't remember how long I wore it, but I do remember I was scheduled to return and have the cast removed two weeks after volleyball tryouts.  I really wanted to play so you offered to saw it off.  I can still remember you going to town on my cast while I kept saying slow down!!  You ended up nicking me with the smallest cut and we were both pretty happy.

20- I remember you taking me to the gym to go and practice volleyball.  You would throw that ball SO hard while I would work on returning.  I really appreciated the time you took to help me and your support in my goals.

19- I have always appreciated your desire to set goals and dream.  You really believed that hard work could get you anywhere you wanted to go as long as the Lord approved the direction.  I have loved watching you continue to purse learning.  It really has inspired me.

18- I can't tell you what a special memory it is for me to recall watching you sweep the gym floor after every activity.  Naturally that meant we were the last ones to leave because everything had to be cleared out by that point.  Sometimes I couldn't wait to go, but there you were walking up and down that floor.  It's something I will always treasure and have come to appreciate deeply.

17- I will forever cherish the expression "Work hard, play hard."  It brings a warm smile to my face every time.  I am so grateful you taught us how to work often through working alongside us.  I was SO proud growing up that you had the reputation for working hard.  I remember the youth who worked for you constantly commenting how hard you worked, and worked them.  I was proud and always wanted to emulate my father who knew how to work.

16- As I have become a mother, I have come to really appreciate your tenderness.  You have written and expressed some of the sweetest support anyone could ever hope for.  I have been so touched by your concern for my welfare physically, mentally and spiritually.

15- I love that you love the arts.  You love to create, dream and do.  I love the times we have walked Nashville to admire the artisans and get inspiration from their work.

14- I love that my dad knew how to have fun.  Rubber guns, "fast on the bump", hikes to blue hole, pulling us on the tube behind the boat doing your best to yank us off, organizing frisbee, watching you interact with the young men, and SO MANY MORE.  Thanks for teaching me how fun life can be.

13- Desserts.  I have many fond memories of our talks around malts, milkshakes, dunking oreos, microwaving chips ahoy, whipped cream, cherries, and roasted almonds.  And of course, forcing myself to stay awake on car trips so I could enjoy a hostees cupcake with you.

12- Your faith.  Thank you for teaching me the joy of serving others, the priceless value of righteous traditions, and a testimony that God lives.  You lived the gospel always.  Your example had enriched my life in ways I could never express completely no thank adequately.  Your faith has and will continue to bless generations of my family. THANK YOU

39 and 38... Again

So it has been awhile since I have been on Blogger and I was experimenting with Steven's account. Now I can't log back on to edit Samantha's posting so here it is ... again :)

My favorite memories of Grandpa are:

1. Playing Go Fish with you and Grandma

2. Playing with Grandpa and Having fun with him