Sun Day / Son Day / Father's Day

Happy Father's Day everybody!

My day has been great thanks to my amazing, thoughtful wife. Thanks darling!

1. I got to go running last night after stake priesthood meeting (instead of folding the laundry)
2. I got to sleep in this morning
3. I got German pancakes - one of my very favorite breakfast foods. Plus delicious smoothie.
4. I got presents! Individual single serve microwavable home made desserts to take to work! Two different kinds of cookies and a brownie mix. Yum! I also got Chocolate Meiji Pandas and Vanilla Meiji Pandas. Taste like animal crackers with a hint of frosting (which is on the inside). They are shaped like little panda heads and have a picture of a panda printed on the front. Fun! I got a nice note, drawings, and a shrinky-dink picture from the daughters. Also, Rocksmith was an early Father's day gift, which has been excellent.
5. I got to go on a walk most of the way around the block with the girls, then J came and picked us up, which was perfect because the girls were struggling in their velvet dresses in the heat. 
6. I got to hear C sing "My daddy is my favorite pal" during Sacrament meeting, which was very nice. I got delightful hugs from my daughters as well as another of the boys in nursery (Luke), who is my pal. Today he insisted that I walk with him to his car (not his mom or dad), which was funny.
7. One of the young men (Andrew) taught part of the lesson today in Aaronic Priesthood meeting. He had us read a bunch of scriptures, which was really good. And then my portion of the lesson also went well. We talked about things they had done better during the week after last lesson. Then they (our one active priest and two active teachers) drew a stair step picture on the board with 5 different drawings of "bad guys", one on each step. Then they listed some of the challenges they face in life. Then they drew another stair-step containing the five common levels of priesthood office (Deacon, Teacher, Priest, Elder, High Priest). Then they wrote down some of the duties / ordinances that you can do in various offices. Then we drew some lines and talked about how some of those things that we can do with the Priesthood can help us overcome some of those challenges in our lives. Take home lesson: you can exercise your priesthood to level up your spiritual power enough to overcome even fierce bad guys / challenges in your life. 
8. I got to play and sing some of the hymns made easy on the piano after church. I think it brings a nice spirit into our home. J was very nice and took care of the girls while I did that. Plus, they are all nice to not mind my slowed down, mistake-laden playing.
9. Fantastic dinner: spicy blackened chicken. J made three batches - unseasoned for the girls, 1/4 as much Cayenne for her, and then her amount plus some extra Cayenne for me. She thought hers was very spicy and had a bit of a hard time finishing it. I thought mine was pleasantly spicy. I thought hers was flavorful and not spicy really at all. So we thought it was interesting how differently our mouths react to the spices. She also made home made Parmesan cheese bread. So good! Asparagus and zucchini as sides. Chocolate sheet cake for dessert. *drool* (this despite the fact that I ate too much and am still super full even hours later).
10. Watermelon. We recently got a really good watermelon. Juicy, sweet, seedless. So today I chopped the half we hadn't eaten up into a few layers about an inch thick each. Then I used a bear shaped cookie cutter to cut shapes out. Now here's the best part. Set up the watermelon so it is standing up. Now the cutout piece looks kind of like a little person. Tuck your arms up by your chest and roar like a T-Rex. Then, in a fluid movement, bend down and chomp into the watermelon person. It's best if you can bite off the entire head and part of the torso, but any amount will do. Try it. It is amazing. It's just so satisfying. You get a huge (sometimes overly huge) mouthful of juicy, delicious watermelon. The "chomp" is just perfect through the soft but still crunchy watermelon texture. You get juice running down your chin. You know what it feels like to be the world's top predator (you know, without any of the carnage or raw meat). You can also pretend to sneak up on your prey, which is great, because it doesn't take any skill to sneak up on a watermelon cutout. J is very kind to me and lets me do this and lets the kids try and she even tries it. I've gotten a couple of friends to try it (I know, good friends, right?). I think they all enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as me. This is definitely my preferred way to eat watermelon now. If you don't have good cutout shapes, you can just do a thick column of watermelon, which is also excellent. Anyway, you should try it and see what you think. Am I crazy or is this going to catch on?
11. J put the kids to bed, including letting me talk with my brother for almost an hour. Seriously good spouse points.
12. My dad, who is particularly amazing. He's always self deprecating at Father's day time, but he is a righteous patriarch who worked / works very hard to support and bless his family and clearly loves us and taught us and encouraged us. All of that adds up to awesomeness. Thanks Dad! For being strong and fun and smart and hard working and for good advice and for trips (camping, road trips, vacation trips), and for your faithfulness. I hope someday when I grow up I can be more like you. 
13. Thanks Jack! He's my father-in-law. He's a smart, patriotic, faith filled man who raised an excellent family (I get along well with all of my in-laws) through various difficulties. I'm particularly grateful for all you did to care for and raise my beautiful, amazing wife. Thanks!
14. Beautiful weather. It's been overcast and quite warm, but when the breeze blows it's great. 

Wow! You just cannot beat that kind of day. Unfortunately, none of you are blessed to have my stupendous spouse. So the best I can do is recommend that you count some blessings and chomp some watermelon. It won't be as good as my day, but you'll probably still enjoy it : )