The End of an Era.

Today we had the opportunity to attend my parent's sacrament meeting as my dad was released as Bishop of their ward. He has faithfully served there for over 6 years! We all knew it was coming, but man, it seemed like time flew by.

In the last 6 years...
8 grandkids were born
Scot & I were married
Kevin went from elementary school to high school
My grandfather passed away
their kitchen was remodeled
their pool was demo'd & re-dug
2 different kids moved back in...and eventually back out
3 kids/in-laws graduated from college
Ryan graduated from law school
and a myriad of other things I can't think of!

I'm so proud of my dad. He was an amazing Bishop. I am most grateful that we were able to live with them for 18 months of that time & see firsthand the intricacies & blessings of his calling. Our family was watched over & blessed on so many different levels & for that I am grateful.

So many kind words were spoken in today's meeting. I suppose I will never fully understand the impact he was able to have on so many lives while serving in that capacity. It is a calling with such far reaching effects. On Father's Day the ward presented my dad with a map pin pointing all the missionaries that have been called under him...49 in total, which is so amazing to me. Some came from uber-faithful families, others were recent converts. Some went to Africa & Singapore, while others went to Salt Lake & Boise. Regardless, they were all called to do the work of the Lord, just as my dad had been.

I am so grateful for the examples that have been set before me & the opportunity I had to witness & feel the deep love of a ward family.

Love you dad. Now go relax!

Last Night

Post SYTYCN Finale found me & my dad doing this...
Why? I'm not certain. Perhaps we had the need to show our own physical prowess after watching such gifted dancers? I have to say my dad is rockin' some serious yoga form. Has he been secretly practicing while no one was watching? Watch out McCall...Max is coming.

Yes it was late. Yes we were a bit loopy. Yes, I won. {haha...my dad will love that comment!}

Happy Father's Day

My favorite "dad" thing about Scot is that he is a "hands on" dad. He doesn't take a back seat on any duty! He bathes, changes diapers, rocks to sleep & plays wrestle mania. He'll cook dinner, fold laundry, mow lawns & enforce punishments.

It is not uncommon for Scot to get up in the middle of the night while I'm feeding Livs just to come ask me if I need anything...a water refill perhaps? While there usually isn't much he can do {unless he starts lactating} I do appreciate the effort & concern.

I so appreciate all the sacrifices he makes on our behalf...there are many & I am sure I am not even aware of them all.

And to my dad...
Today in Relief Society the question was asked if you had to pick one word to describe your dad what would it be. The word that instantly came to my mind was steadfast. Which I immediately thought was a boring word & tried to come up with a better one...more fun & catchy. Until I realized it describes my dad in every faucet of his life & that sometimes boring is best. Career? Steadfast. Family? Steadfast. Gospel? Steadfast. As a daughter that is an awesome safety net to have. In life there has never been a problem or obstacle I felt too great to overcome because I know I have my dad {and my mom} standing behind me.

While it may seem boring, steadfast as never felt so good.

Happy Father's Day.

Happy Birthday Shout Out...

This guy deserves a major Happy Birthday shout out. Do you know what he spent his birthday doing? Working, client lunches, etc, etc, then taking Kevin to wrestling, then playing softball with the Young Men of his ward. He ate a 5 minute dinner & shared his treats that Scoobs brought him, with Scoobs. I think he might top the evening off with a Bahama Bucks though.

He's the one that really holds us all together & he rarely gets any credit for it. He must just know that we know he's the coolest.

Thanks dad for all you do...it really is incredible & I'm so blessed to have you as my dad.

Happy Birthday Daddio...

In case you hadn't noticed May is the birthday month in the Boyer household. 4 of the 6 of us were born in the glorious month of May, including the head honcho Max. Now there are lots of different aspects that I love about my dad and not all can be covered on one silly blog post, but I will try to give you a random sampling.

- He is most definitely the funniest of all the Boyers. I know it may be difficult for you to imagine someone wittier than I, but alas, it is true.

- He plays the hardest & works the hardest too. In Newport he is the first one in the water, the last one out & on every bike ride or other crazy adventure.

Grandpa & Emma in Newport

- He is fabulous at designing pools (he's 2 for 2) and he can still dunk on Kevin's head in water basketball!
- He always made sure we had a family vacation in the summer...sometimes these vacations included some extra excitement of broken down cars & rescues in tow trucks. Those were some good times!

- He was paying for college from the day he started until the day I graduated. Seriously, he paid off his student loans the month before my brother started his freshmen year & there wasn't a break until I graduated. That is some serious dedication, that we all probably took for granted. His rule for receiving the Max Boyer scholarship was we had to be getting good grades & have a good job. Easy enough.

- I'm so grateful for the MANY sacrifices both my parents made to provide for us. Really, they outdid themselves in this department. None of my siblings or myself have had to sacrifice like they did. They paved the way for us so it was easy to go to college, easy to make good decisions & so forth.

- My dad is very soft spoken when I would probably be screaming. I could probably count the times on one hand (ok two) when he has raised his voice in my direction...and trust me, I deserved it!

- My dad takes my sister & I to lunch once a month. We trade each others kids so we both can go on our day. It is super fun to pretend like I don't have a kiddo & just spend time with my dad & eat something better than my usual PB&J!

- My dad can totally laugh at himself. As funny as he is on purpose, he is even more so on accident! We've had TONS of laughs at his expense & it doesn't take long for him to be laughing along with us. For example, yesterday for Mother's Day my dad made us all some fabulous steaks. We were all sitting outside chatting & about done with our meal when my dad sat down. By the time he came to sit down there wasn't another seat at the adult table, so he sat at the kid table. We all thought this was hilarious, so of course instead of making room, we laughed at him. He pulled a face in our direction & then continued on with his conversation with Emma about how Emma likes to save her favorite thing to eat for last. We all thought the whole conversation was too funny & finally made room for him at the table. It would have been easy to be mad, but instead he just laughs along with us.

- Best of all, my dad really loves my mom. I love this about him. He'll sometimes make funny remarks about the things my mom does & we'll laugh at her, but really, he loves that she does them & he doesn't try to stop her.

Happy Birthday Dad...love you tons!

Happy Birthday Dad!

My dad has never been known for his photogenic qualities, and it was apparent as I was going through my pictures. This was the only one I could find that was just me & him! We'll have to remedy that in the future. I was tempted to post some pictures of the whole fam from the good ol' days, until I realized that I looked more embarrassing than anyone else. No need to glorify those 'ugly duckling' days!

While my dad hasn't been known for being photogenic he has been known for his humor...especially when it comes to wedding dinner roasts! I remember before mine, he cautioned me that there were going to be a few pokes in my direction & maybe some blood, but hopefully I'd remember it was in good fun. Let's just say it was a bit bloody. And like the carnage of a car wreck, sometimes you just can't bear to watch. I literally had my head in my napkin under the table through portions...I knew I had provided them plenty of ammo, but MAN they dug up some good stuff.

My dad is also known for his kindness & soft-spoken voice. Mind you, there were times I pushed him over the edge to shouting...but for the most part he'd prod me along in a soft voice, even when I am sure he wanted to yell & scream. On one occasion, I put a big, nice dent in his brand new car...this happened while I was waving to a friend, with the radio blaring & thinking I looked so cute in my dad's new car...ugh...I did not want to go home. I encountered my mom first & she might have had a shout or two in my direction...and then she simply said, "Go talk to your dad." I was bummed that she wasn't going to accompany me. When I told my dad, all he did was look over and say, "Well, I guess next time you'll know to be more careful." That was it?!? Unfortunately, as much as I tried to be careful...I was the most accident prone, expensive child. To name a few: Almost sank our waverunners & let water get onto the engine...they sat for the winter & by the next summer, they engines had to be rebuilt. Bumper to bumper collision...and not with an old beater...with a Mercedes! Oops! Luckily, for me, my dad didn't beat me! He just explained what I should do next time. I have always been very grateful that he allowed me to make some mistakes without having to pay ALL the consequences. It allowed me the opportunity to not be afraid to learn through experience, because I knew that he'd always be there to help. I think my relationship with my dad personifies my relationship with our Savior. He too, allows us to make mistakes,without having to pay ALL the consequences and I am eternally grateful for a dad that understood that principle and put it into action in our relationship.