Throwback Thursday: For the Best Dad

Happy Half Birthday, Dad!!

{A little something you'll enjoy knowing about our family is that we celebrate half birthdays. The golden sisters actually celebrate "monthdays", and us humans celebrate half birthdays - admittedly some more than others. Ahem, me!}

Dad, it seems like just yesterday we were out on the porch grilling up your birthday dinner in September while you, mom and Bailey waited for me to snap photos for the post about it. I know that you don't like thinking of yourself as 6 months away from a speed limit - but think of it instead as days you can count down to your retirement. A  countdown to when you're no longer limited to the time you can spend at the beach, the mornings you can wrestle with the puppies or trips you can plan to go visit Mattman. For the next few months you can start to count down to a life of choice and freedom - just like mom's been rocking happily for a few years now.

I want to take today to thank you for a few things that I don't think I've thanked you enough for:

• Thank you for driving me to countless softball practices and pitching lessons


• Thank you for taking many of those pitches in the knees / shins over those 10+ years of practices


• Thank you for teaching me how to drive a stick-shift


• Thank you for encouraging half birthdays!


• Thank you for doing my taxes year over year (I swear I'll do them someday)


• Thank you for understanding when I wanted to stop playing basketball my sophomore year of high school


• Thank you for teaching me how to check my oil and the importance of auto-maintenance


• Thank you for being a loving husband to mom and a loving son to your parents


• Thank you for allowing/suggesting that Dan move in with me


• Thank you for protecting our country


• Thank you for always working hard to support our family


• Thank you for being a handy fix-it/do it all-man around the home and recently at the beach house.


• Thank you for doing everything you can to keep mom happy


• Thank you for always volunteering to help however you can to make our lives easier


• Thank you for finding my newest sister, Bella


• Thank you for giving Matt and I your height!


• Thank you for doing all you can think of to help me feel safe in my home


• Thank you for your wit, sense of humor, playful attitude and surprising silliness


• Thank you for passing on your gentle, humble, quiet and observant nature


• Thank you for making me proud to call you Dad

Today's Throwback Thursday is brought to us by a father who has always been a great role model, a wonderful father, a loving husband, a thoughtful son... and previous owner/rocker of a classic 'stache.

Thanks for being the best, dad!