Daddio

My Dad is certainly a man worth looking up to. With Father's Day just a month behind us and celebrating his birthday on Saturday, what better excuse to brag a little about how lucky I am to have him in my life? He is fantastic and does SO much , so he deserves to be bragged up a little(read: a lot). My family is, in a word, huge (fun, awesome, exciting, dramatic, loving, supportive... also good words. We'll stick with "huge" to simplify). My parents were both previously married and my Mom had 4 children and my Dad had 8. Yes, that makes 12 (Go you! You can add!). So with combining their families, they already had a pretty good size crowd! So, right after my parents got married... SURPRISE! Julie is on the way. I was lucky number 13. Not exactly planned... but definitely the best mistake they ever made ;) After I was born, they just knew they had to have more-- I was that great (I'm not even making that up! Straight from my parents mouths!). So, three more little ones followed. So, all you math geniuses, what are we up to? *counts on fingers* 16 children! My Dad always said he would have 12 kids... he's a determined fellow! 12 of his own and 4 BONUS! Lucky man. As crazy and mixed up as a family of 16 can get, we are all pretty close. I feel pretty lucky to have 15 siblings that I know I can go to if I need anything. I loved growing up in a big family.
When my parents met, my Mom was finishing up a bachelor's degree at Southern Utah State College (now Southern Utah University) and my Dad happened to be teaching Agriculture classes there. A few short years after they were married, I was nearing two years old, my Dad packed up the family and we moved to Logan, Utah, so he could pursue his Doctorate degree. He had already worked hard for his bachelor's and then a Master's degree in Agriculture, and he wanted to pursue his Doctorate degree in Nutrition and Food Science. I have many early memories of going into the university lab with my Dad  for whatever various errands he had, and running around the halls of the university, or getting to see the rats in their cages. Dad always stressed the importance of education and somehow, with as many as 12 kids living at home, my Dad managed to complete his Doctorate degree. I always knew my Dad was the smartest person in the world. He knew EVERYTHING! And he's still impressing me today!

Thanks Dad, for always being there, supporting me in all my endeavors, picking me up when I'm down... and always having the answers for everything. Love you, Dad!

I believe this was high school graduation. 

What a stud

Our big ole' Family. I'd guess this was taken around 1990. The two youngest boys were not yet born.

The WHOLE family, 2006. (Mom is the only one missing, she was deployed to Germany with the Army at the time.)

Me and my Daddio.