Happy birthday Pops!

Today is my wonderful father-in-law's birthday and since we're not with him to celebrate as we have been the last two years, I figured the least we could do is throw a little party on the blog and share a few of the many things I love about Dave.

Pops is, without a doubt, a family man. His family is his pride and joy and he never hesitates to share that love and affection with all of us. I still remember how friendly and welcoming he was the first time Chuck took me to Elko to meet the family - he immediately insisted that I call him Dave . . . unlike Chuck's mom, who let me call her 'Sister Izatt' for a couple months while she warmed up to me :). To be fair, we caught them off guard since Chuck never specified he was bringing down a 'girlfriend' (we'd only been dating a month) and Terri loves and adores me now . . . hopefully still, haha!

Pops is also an incredibly hard worker - a trait that he (thankfully) passed onto Chuck. Pops works long hours and frequently picks up extra shifts (meaning days off can be few and far between) so that he can support (and spoil!) his family. He's also the first one to volunteer to help with projects - remember when he used vacation time last fall to come up and help Chuck extend our patio? And last February when he and Chuck got the Saturn back into working order? He also helped a great deal when we bought our house; he and Chuck (with additional help from brothers and brothers-in-law) painted every room.

As evidenced in this picture from Chuck's baptism, Pops is clearly responsible for Chuck's ability to grow facial hair like nobody's business :).

Dave is hands-down one of the smartest, most knowledgeable people I know. He does the crossword in the paper (even Sunday!) in pen . . . the entire thing. The one time I can remember him losing in Scrabble was when Chuck and I played as a team . . . and we cheated (it's all good, we confessed like three hours later). When we play Trivia Pursuit, he can not only tell you the correct answer, but also expand on it with additional information.

Pops has also been a vital resource for both Chuck and myself in our current church callings (I'm in Cub Scouts and Chuck's in Boy Scouts). Chuck's parents have both been heavily involved in Scouting and they are always happy to answer questions or give us ideas - or buy me an extra Scout shirt!!

As I mentioned, Dave (above with Clyde and below with Will) loves his family but finds particular joy in his grandchildren - he currently has eight, with two more due in the coming months (one in the coming weeks, actually!). He's famous (or infamous . . . ) for passing out Smarties during church, helping the kids 'plant' donuts, making pop bottle rockets, reading books, finding batteries for battery-operated toys (usually to the parents' chagrin), and lots and lots of hugs and love.

I am so, so grateful to have Dave as my father-in-law. We are admittedly very different (which is why we deliberately don't discuss politics!) but I love and respect him so much and I'm sure I don't tell him that enough. I love you Pops, happy birthday!!

(P.S. Happy birthday to the other two Izatt extended family members born July 17th - Lee and Bri! We love you!!)