Dads 60th birthday

 



I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who participated in this gift for my dad. 

Every Christmas and birthday I have the same problem of what to get my dad.  He is a very practical man, but at the same time not...I got him what I thought was a great gift last year, a t-shirt with a John Wayne quote on it, and it said on the front "old guys rule".  Do you know how many times have seen him wear it? None. Getting things like that is just not my dad, but the shirt was in my price range.  The newest ipad is not.

So I have to dig down deep to think of what to get him.  He loves to reminisce about the old farm days in Utah, and people he has met, and the fun times he has with friends.  For Christmas, with the help of Melissa we made a photo book of some of his hiking trips he has taken. 

Back in Oct. I remembered dad was turning 60 this year and wouldn't be wonderful to get 60 years of memories.  After Christmas I put my plan in to action.  With the help of Kathy, my dads Secretary we got a list of emails of his friend, and with the names of his family members we had well over 60.  I received quite a few right away.  Closer to his birthday I may have needed to send a few threatening reminders.  The best thing was it was to be a secret, and it remained that way.  He never found out.  Dad was very surprised and touched that so many would go out of their way to write him a letter for his birthday.  His speech and debate coach from college made a scrapbook of all the newspaper articles, we really hope that some of the pants he wore in the picture are not hiding in the back of the closet waiting for the right time to make another appearance.  My cousin Wayne made a dvd of some old family videos he found at his parents.  Home movies from when he was younger and of his parents too.  That big stack of white envelopes in the second picture is all the letter I received.  Then we got tired of watching him read the letters, so I got the cake going. 

 

If you look close enough, and have been in my dads house before, you will remember that the wall were purple and green, and they had oak cabinets.  The walls are now orange, the cabinets are now black and new granite.  The house will be done shortly.