Our Father’s Day celebrations started on Friday night when Chris and I went downtown and tried the Thai Restaurant down on the Hauptstrasse. We sat on a table on the cobblestone right beside Heidelberg’s old bridge and enjoyed the weather and the food. So fun to know we have a good Thai place now. We walked down the Hauptstrasse, bought some shirts at our favorite Esprit store for Chris for Father’s Day, got gelato and then headed home. When we got up to the door we found sign saying…
Dad, we love you a lot, but to prove that you are worth loving you must follow this treasure hunt. Your only help will come from Mom. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is this: LOOK IN THE FRIDGE.
We entered the house and couldn’t see or hear any kids I yelled upstairs and Katie’s muffled voice said, “Just do it yourself.” Ok… we followed the clues from one to another finding clean rooms at each turn. The fridge to the dryer to the computer… At the computer our next clue was typed up on the screen along with a note to enjoy our favorite crystal light drinks which were made and sitting on the computer desk for us. Then on to the piano, our bed… On our bed was Mom’s cell phone with a note that said, “Call this number – which was our home number. Chris called it and Ryan answered. With a deep voice he said, “Your next mission is to go into the bathroom. This message will self destruct in five seconds.” Then he hung up. It made Chris and I laugh. We found our next clue in the bathroom which was a poem about green is go and red is stop. We approached the hallway and noticed the red tape on the downstairs banister and the green tape on the upstairs banister and like amazingly smart agents decided we’d better head upstairs. When Chris walked through the door all the kids shouted “Happy Father’s Day!!” They were so excited. Then there were a big pile of cards to read. It was so fun to come home to.
On Sunday after church we gave Dad some relaxing time while we hurried to finish up our Father’s Day questions. Then we set up his presents on the table in the living room and invited him in. He got all kinds of treats, snacks, and cards, three new shirts and some nice walkie talkies. Then we read the Father’s Day Questions and answers. I know they are probably not this funny to anyone else but every year when Dad reads the answers out loud and the kids hear each other’s answers for the first time we laugh so hard that we cry. Ryan and Katie’s answers are getting a little boring (or meaningful and endearing) but it seems like we always have a little 4 or 5 year old to make the answers hilarious.
FATHER’S DAY QUESTIONS JUNE 2012
1.What does Dad do at work?
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Matthew says… “ He works. Does he play at work? No. Does he dance at work? YES!
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Luke says… “He goes on his skeleton computer and works on it. And he checks the bones inside the skeleton inside the skin of some people’s bodies. And that’s it of the work.”
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Megan says… “He checks people’s bones. He tries to help people and their bodies. That’s it.”
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Emily says… He’s a Radiologist and he like looks at people’s bones through computers and he has three or four computers on his desk and he has this thing that he talks through because I’m been to his office before.
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Katie says… At work Dad is a Radiologist and he checks x-rays to find out what’s wrong with patients and more.”
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Ryan says… He looks at x-rays and helps people and all that cool stuff.
2. What does Dad do at home?
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Matthew says… “Not play Wii. He cleans. He turns to sand. He sleeps in he’s bed. He plays Wii. Does Dad play wii? No, just Lukey do and me do. He does work.
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Luke says… “He plays a game with us like Chess. He tickles me. He throws me on the bed. He hugs us. He jumps on the trampoline with Mom and all of the kids. Mom… “I don’t remember that.” Luke... “Just write it.”
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Megan says… “Usually he does stuff on the computer or plays games with Mom and Ryan or goes on a date with Mom and plays with his kids.”
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Emily says… “Well, sometimes he wakes up earlier that me because he has early meetings or work or something. And when he’s just home he sometimes jumps us on the trampoline and reads us books and sometimes he just goes on the computer and does something by himself.
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Katie says… “He does everything at home. Dad checks Cougar Fan and eats meals and he spends time with his family and stuff.
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Ryan says… He watches movies and plays games but you have to convince him.
3. What are Dad’s favorite sports?
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Matthew says… He likes soccer. Daddy has a soccer ball. He builds a soccer ball. It’s red. Do you like soccer? I LIKE soccer. Are you going to play soccer when you are bigger? I AM bigger. I am bigger than you.
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Luke says… “Baseball and Football and soccer ball and BYU.”
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Megan says… “FOOTBALL, golf, basketball and soccer. I think of him being a soccer coach and watching football all the time.”
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Emily says… “Of course football because, well, on the BBQ BYU thing that we have sometimes he screams really loud and it hurts my ears. So I can tell he really likes it. Anyway, he also likes golf and soccer and I think that’s it. That’s what he spends most of the time doing of sports but I think he likes most sports.
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Katie says… “Probably soccer and golfing to play. He plays basketball and football sometimes too. When I think of Dad and sports I think of Dad and all his friends on a golf course.
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Ryan says… All sports but he likes coaching soccer and playing soccer the most.
4. What does Dad like to watch on TV?
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Matthew says… “Soccer Ball! Mario! Can I play Wii?”
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Luke says… “Captain America and he likes to watch Harry Potter #4 and Kung Fu Panda because Daddy watched it on my Birthday when I got that for my birthday. I saw him watching that. He likes to watch the movie with all the pirates and the guy with the red thing over his head and then the real hat.”
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Megan says… “Mission Impossible and other scary movies with Mom or the kids.”
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Emily says… “Football. Well, Movies like Mission Impossible, Sherlock Holmes and Mommy and Daddy movies.”
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Katie says… Modern Family with Mom, White Collar, Mission Impossible and a bunch of other movies and Football and sports things.
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Ryan says… “He likes watching BYU football. White collar. Any mom and Dad movie that I haven’t seen yet.
5. What does Dad do after you go to bed?
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Matthew says… Daddy go to work.
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Luke says… “He tucks me and tickles me and he doesn’t do the rest but you do the coochie coochie coo and the kiss. Then he gets me and Matthew a drink. Then HE goes to sleep. Actually SKIP that out. He watches a NIGHT movie with all the kids and his wife and then he goes to bed after that.”
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Megan says… “Drinks Mountain Dew and sometimes watches movies. He eats popcorn. He plays games on his iPad.”
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Emily says… “He watches movies with Mom and he has popcorn because sometimes when I wake up there’s empty bowls of popcorn. And he sometimes goes to bed early if he has a meeting.
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Katie says… “Dad stays up and makes popcorn if he hasn’t already had popcorn and watches another movie with mom or he plans a vacation or something with Mom in their room.”
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Ryan says… “Well, that’s not for long any more. He either watches another movie or plans vacations or hangs out with mom.”
6. What does Daddy like to eat?
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Matthew says… “He like to eat cheese.
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Luke says… “ He likes to eat the Daddy cereal in the white Mommy bowls and the red Daddy bowls. He likes everything, well, most things but not the real baby cereals.
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Megan says… “He likes to eat spaghetti and noodles (actually spaghetti is noodles) and crepes on vacations and other yummy foods.”
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Emily says… Hmmm… he likes lasagna and popcorn and he congratulates you on everything you make for dinner so everything.
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Katie says… “Dad’s favorite foods are lasagna and peas but he never complains about the food because mom is the best cook ever.”
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Ryan says… Lasagna, anything mom makes… just like me. He likes Diet Mountain Dew.
7. What does Daddy do at church?
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Matthew says… He has a computer at the church? Daddy sits back there and I sit way down there. I want to sit way up here. Does Daddy go to nursery with you? I have blood on me. Oh, it’s fine. I’m going to fall. Mommy, I want to eat.
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Luke says… “He sits at the VERY front where the real persons go and they talk on the microphone and Dad did it a few times at church. After church he sees us and I hug him and he goes to his Daddy work and Mommy goes to her Mommy work part of the church and I go to my 4T old class.”
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Megan says… “He conducts and talks to all the people and helps them if they need anything done or if they’re having a hard time he tries to work it out.
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Emily says… “He sits up on the stand and sometimes conducts. At the beginning of church he walks around and shakes people’s hands and talks about something.
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Katie says… “Dad is in the Bishopric and so he has lots of meetings so he has to go to church early and stay later. He conducted today.”
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Ryan says… “He goes way early and then once we get there he conducts a 1/3 of the time. He’s actually a pretty cool conductor. And then he has priesthood meetings and has to stay after for tithing and stuff like that and then he comes home.
8. Does Dad like to clean the house?
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Matthew says… “ya.”
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Luke says… “Ya. He likes to help me clean it and he likes to play Wii.” Mom… “He does?” Luke… Ya one time he was playing Wii with Ryan and I wasn’t playing that day but Dad was trying to start it but he couldn’t start it like is was ‘resposed’ to and I heard him and I said “Daddy what are you doing?” and he said “I couldn’t start it” . Write all of that.
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Megan says… “Well, he likes to get it clean but he just kind of likes to clean it. Mostly all the kids and Mom are cleaning and Dad is just like going somewhere or sometimes when he is driving home from work then we try to get the house clean so that he will be happy when he comes home and he will say, “Oh, this house is so clean… I want to give you all a hug!”
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Emily says… Not really. He acts like he does. He might. I don’t know. He might enjoy it just you tell him to and because he wants to make you happy.
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Katie says… “Is that a yes or no question? Um, he likes getting stuff done so he doesn’t have to do it again and that’s all I’m going to say.”
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Ryan says… “I think not, but he likes a clean house will work if it’s for mother’s day or something like that or for some important reason.
9. Who does Dad love?
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Matthew says… Daddy loves Megan and Katie and Emily. All the kids. He likes all the kids so I want to get down.
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Luke says… “ Lukey and Matthew. And Ryan and Katie and Megan and Emily. And he loves Lisa Mom. Daddy calls you Lisa and you call him Chris. And I call Daddy, DADDY!”
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Megan says… ME! And Mom and Ryan and Katie and Emily and Luke and Matthew and his self. And Heavenly Father and everybody on the earth and everybody in heaven.
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Emily says… “Mom and all his kids and all his family and extended family and friends and a lot of people. But he doesn’t talk to them on the phone and say, “Love you, Bye”.
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Katie says… “All his family and extended family and friends and ward.”
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Ryan says… He loves mom. He loves his family. He loves BYU. He loves BYU Football. He loves Diet Mountain Dew. He loves food. He loves Dominion. He loves movies. He loves movie night with Mom and Katie and Ryan. He loves his birthday.
10. What does Dad like best about living in Germany?
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Matthew says… “Yep.”
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Luke says…”He likes that were going to take all our furniture to the place that we’re going to next. The truck takes out furniture to the boat and the boat takes it to the place that we’re going to live. He likes to live in this house. He likes Germany and he likes the couches in the living room.
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Megan says… “He likes to go to the park and seeing all the fun places that we’ve never seen.”
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Emily says… “He likes that he’s gotten to travel more around with his family and know more German.”
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Katie says… “Dad likes going on vacations the best because we can’t go to these cool places in America.”
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Ryan says… “He likes that we can see everything. He likes how nice the schools are for us. He likes that we can ride our bikes around this area. “
11. What does Dad not like about living in Germany?
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Megan says… ”That he has to go to work everyday. – not really every day sometimes he gets to stay home and sleep – which he loves.”
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Emily says… “Sometimes he says he doesn’t like something when it’s not working but he doesn’t really mean it.”
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Katie says… “He doesn’t like how far away it is from family and that’s pretty much it.”
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Ryan says… “Dad doesn’t like that we have to use a slingbox and that sometimes that slingbox doesn’t work. And he doesn’t like how far away we are from extended family.
12. What does Dad like about being a Dad?
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Luke says… “He likes being Dad because his hair is black. Because he likes his body of skin and he likes the hair growing out of his arms so he can almost be like an animal… like an monkey. He has like longer black ones that we can really see. Hey, I’m hungry. Dads work really hard so there work is really easy.
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Megan says… “That he gets to have kids and a wife and that he can get money if he works and that he can make everyone happy and that he gets to be a good example to everyone.”
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Emily says… “He likes that he can have a big family. Why I am supposed to talk about this. He doesn’t tell me what he likes and doesn’t like. How am I supposed to know everything! Well, anyway, he likes having a big family.”
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Katie says… “He likes having kids to come home to. He likes having a goal in life: to make his kids turn out right.”
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Ryan says… “Dad likes that his little girls call him Daddy. He likes that he gets to be the leader. He likes telling us what to do, probably. I think I would like that. He likes having a wife to help him and to love him. That’s a good part about being a father. He likes that he has six kids who can all do nice things for him on father’s day.
13. What does Dad need more practice at?
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Luke says… “He needs to get faster with cleaning… like almost like Sonic.”
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Megan says… “He needs more practice at kind of being nicer and trying not to leave his kids home because I don’t like when he leaves.”
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Emily says… “I don’t know. Is he perfect? No but I don’t know what he does wrong cuz he’s awesome.
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Katie says… “He needs more practice at doing girls hair because he just gets it all wet and puts it in a big ponytail. I remember that from when Mom left once.”
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Ryan says… “He needs more practice at playing Dominion and he’s never going to beat me at Hinderlands. He doesn’t need much practice at anything because he’s pretty awesome.
