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I love your dad!

Girlies, I love your Dad. I want you to know that. He is awesome.

Today as I was walking into work I thought about a trip we took a few years ago to Prescott. It was the first time we had left you alone (and if I remember correctly it was just Kaybree at the time). While we were there we walked to a book store by the square, picked out a thriller, and then read it together, silently, for the whole day. It was really romantic and cute--even though the book was kind of scary.

This time of year I always think back to when we were dating. Our first date we went to DI, bought each other outfits, rode a double bike to the park and then went back to his house to play sidewalk Pictionary. It was a double date. We won the game. We have photos to prove it.

A few weeks later for my birthday we went to Schnept Farms in Queen Creek and your dad gave me a Suns jersey, tickets to the season opener (my first Suns game ever) and a photo he had photoshopped of the two of us in Hawaii together--because that's where I would be over my birthday that year. That photo is on our kitchen counter right now and still makes me smile. How creative and cute he was. And that night was so fun. I just love being outdoors and doing simple things--like riding kid rides and eating bad chilli.

More recently your dad has been buying me flowers--just randomly. I love that.

I also love the way he demands a clean house. Sometimes it annoys me, when I just want to relax and he's complaining things are a mess, but really, I love it. I love having a clean house and I need that extra encouragement to do it sometimes. And by "encouragement" I mean I do it to get him to relax with me. He doesn't actually force me to do anything.

He's a righteous priesthood holder. He takes that responsibility very seriously and he takes time to minister to his loved ones. He patiently listens and calmly explains his side of things and why things are the way they are. He does it with you but he also does it with me and with other family members when issues come up. He's also not afraid to say sorry to me when he's wrong.

He's going along with my crazy foster care idea. I love that. It's not always easy to get him to open up to an idea and this one is huge, but I'm proud that he's accepting it with me. He even agreed to volunteer at a foster care day at the zoo, taking a group of group-home kids around at the zoo. I'm excited for that.

I think I'm writing this right now because this time of year makes me fall in love all over again. The weather is perfect. The fall festivals have begun! My birthday is coming up! It's when my whole romance with your dad began. It's a beautiful thing!

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