Happy Father's Day to my Main Man (Except Really, He's My Only Man)

Zach and Lucy-2003

"Dear Dad,
     These are some of the reasons I love you: I love you because you play with me, I love you because you help me learn, I love you because you teach me the gospel, I love you because you love me, and I love you because you love me!  (Again because I couldn't think of anything else.)  You are the best dad ever!  I Love you."
                                  Love, Lucy

Zach and Kye-2003

"Happy Father's Day.  Love, Kye" 

(eloquent, isn't he?)

Zach and Isaac--2005

"HAPPY FATHERS DAY  I LOVE YOU" from, Isaac

Zach and Adam-2009

"                 " from, Adam

I had the kids fill out a Father's Day Questionnaire for Zach, and here are their answers (listed from oldest to youngest):

1) What is Dad's full name?  Zacharey Brent Bradshaw, Zachary Brent Bradshaw, Zachary Brent Bradshaw, Sackawee

2) How old is Dad? 34, 36, 33, 5

3) Where did Dad serve his mission? New Jersey, New Jersey, California, 1

4) Where did Dad go to college? BYU, BYU, BYU, 8

5) What does dad do at work? works w/ computers, Imagin Lirning, on the computer, build

6) What does Dad like to do? watch TV or play with me, cocolate, play computer games, build a box

7) What is Dad's favorite food? pizza, chocolate, pizza, eh, a sammich

8) What is Dad's favorite sport? baskeball & football & golf, baskit ball, football & basketball & soccerball,  football

9) What do you love about Dad? He lets me mow the lawn with him and he plays with me, that he sometimes plays with me, that he plays wii with me, because a box

10) How does Dad show you that he loves you? He plays with me and hugs and kisses, he does chors for me, he hleps me do my stuff, because footballing

And so ends our clever father questionnaire.  Some of the answers were correct. 

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, ZACH!  WE LOVE YOU!

Our Fathers

My dad-in-law, otherwise known as Gpa D.  (And a shout out to Gma D. who shares one of the only pictures we have of Gpa D.)

One of the things I have appreciated most about joining the Bradshaw family is seeing the examples of service in Mom and Dad B.  One of Zach's favorite memories growing up is his dad coming home and dragging taking his boys to help someone in the neighborhood or in the family that needed help.  There would be no way to list all of the times I've seen Dad B's example of service, so I'll share just a few: sleeping at his mom and dad's home once a week for 4 years to make sure his mom was okay during the night; helping various children build shelves, mow lawns, remodel houses, tile floors, install cabinets, move in and out of homes, arrange finances, fix cars, etc.; serve in various church callings; mow his neighbor's lawn every week; and countless help to brothers, sisters, in-laws and friends.  Thank you for being such a wonderful example to us!  We love you.

My papooski, Gpa Ron

I've learned so much from watching my dad about service and devotion and love and patience.  In fact, I want to write so much that I'm limiting myself to just one memory.  When I was 14 or 15, Dad thought it would be a great adventure to take a few of us kids canoeing down the Big Sioux River one summer day.  It was definitely an adventure.  Great?  Not so sure.  We started in the morning, launced the canoes in the river and planned on going just a few miles down the river to meet up with the car.  Those few miles turned into miles and miles AND miles.  We had to navigate through swampy areas and try to keep the mosquitos off and get the canoes up and out of the river every time we came to a cattle fence.  There are a lot of cattle fences in the Big Sioux River in South Dakota.  Just comes with the territory . . . but we didn't know that then.  I don't remember much else except there was a lot of laughing and probably a lot of whining, especially when we started to notice just how sunburned we were getting.  I remember someone slapping me on the shoulder at church the next day and I wanted to die . . . or cry . . . or cry and then die.  (I was very melodramatic as a teenager.) Thanks for the memory dad.  And thanks for the example of patience.  It's one of my favorites.  Guess it was a great adventure after all.

These two great men have helped shape Zach and me into what we are today.  And their influences will be seen through generations to come.  HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

I've Done Your Homework for You

If you happen to be in the market for a brand-spanking new vehicle for your happy little troopers, look no further.  When Zach and I have a spare $30+K in cash, I'll be getting me one of these babies.

Our Fourteenth on the Fourteenth

In our fourteen years together, Zach and I have

14--cheered at each other's graduations from BYU (Mine a BA in American Studies August 1998; His a BS in Business Management in Apri l999)

13--survived 5 bouts of the clomid crazies

12--boxed up our home to move 9 times

11--heard ocean waves from the lanai of our room at Turtle Bay

10--heard whales sing in Kona Bay

9--signed papers on 3 homes

8--driven several all nighters to Arizona and South Dakota

7--watched ice skating in Central Park and at the Rockefeller Center

6--fought over the remote (I always lose)

5--served in the Primary 13 years (collectively), which we loved

4--eaten cake at 6 siblings' weddings

3--pulled a handcart across a few miles of the Wyoming high plains

2--laughed and cried together at the birth of our four children

1--married each other for time and all eternity in the Mesa, Arizona temple

Just a few of the memories we've made together.  Happy anniversary, Zach.  You're my always and forever. 

Top Ten--May 2010

10—Things I never anticipated having to say:
• A, please stop dipping your pickle in the apple juice.
• K, please stop beating your brother with a monkey.
• A, please take that stinky fly swatter out of your mouth. (Ew!)

9—Isaac’s descriptive abilities abound. Observe:
M: Who else came to play at W’s?
I: D and some kid I don’t know.
M: Well, what did he look like?
I: Ummmmm, he had a square head.

You’d think that would have narrowed things down a bit, wouldn’t you? Still couldn’t figure it out.

8—FHE favorites: Isaac conducting our songs like he’s landing an airplane, Adam’s joyful shouting through our entire lesson, Lucy playing musical seats to avoid having to sit by her brothers and her brothers hopping right around after her. There are more, but frankly, if I think about it too much I start to wonder what the point is.

7—Adam’s finicky ways: the kid eats the equivalent of one grain of rice at dinner and expects snacks as soon as we clean up. He doesn’t get them so he resorts to pleading. “I am bewy, bewy hungwy and I want some cheelos, pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaasssssssssssssssssssssse?” Not happening, son, but props for trying.

6-Kye: Can I have a friend over?
Zach: No.
Kye: Please?
Zach: No
Kye: Give me five good reasons why.
Zach: I don’t need to give you five reasons. I need to give you one reason, and the reason is “no.”

5—Hannah (my niece): I’m so glad I’m being babysat by someone who appreciates bologna.
Glad you like it here, Han. I’ll keep the bologna in stock if that’s what it takes to keep you coming back.

4—M: Isaac, do you even LISTEN to the words I say?
I: Uh, huh . . . but I don’t want to do them.

3—Good thing you can’t get drunk from whine, or I’d be three sheets to the wind for the majority of my waking hours. *Sigh*

2—I: Aaaaaack! I swallowed it wong. It’s in my hawt . . . . (pause) but it’s still beating!!! Whew. (complete with hand swiping brow.)

Man, I love that kid.

1—Yeehawzers! Summer break is here again! Had I any foresight for the last day of school, I might have gone to L&K’s classrooms to pick them up so we could get a picture of them with their teachers. . . . Except that I was at home instead, planning a super summer fun party for that afternoon because I was so stinking excited for summer vacation. Eh. Maybe next year.

Aunts

Lucy told me today she never knew if she should say "Ant" or "Ont" in front of her aunts' names. Zach suggested she use "Ant" for the Bradshaw aunts: Luanne, Alisa, Lindsey, Katie, and Allie, and "Ont" for the Fesler ones: Becky, Becca, Kaylee, Camille, Katie, Katie and Catie (soon-to-be). It gave us no end of delight to say the list of Fesler aunts ten times fast. Try it. It's fun.

So Far This Summer, We've

Exercised, gone on a bike ride, looked for shapes in the clouds while eating lunch outside, had a sleep over with cousins, set up the tent in the basement and slept down there (Lucy, Kye, and Isaac), gone to some garage sales, fixed the brakes on Zach's car (I helped by keeping the kids out of the way), gotten antibiotics for Adam's strep throat, gone to the library and signed up for their summer program, picked weeds, gone on a 4 mile hike (which I don't think I'll do again till all my children can walk it), played in Stewart Falls at the end of the hike, watered the garden, mowed the lawn (Zach again), started Super Summer Mom School, read books, and played some board games. 

I love summer.  Have I said that yet?