happy fathers day

oh, how i love him.

(especially when I find pictures on our computer like these)

fyi: the holly/happy birthday balloon is in a series, closely related to those of the first day of school pictures, but, instead of being outside in our brand new clothes in front of our house before walking to the bus stop, were us walking out of our rooms on the cruise, one at a time.  

and the picture with the turtles. .  . um. that was something like, go over there and act like turtles and I'll take a picture

yes, pictures like this are semi-normal when living with my father.

oh, he's a good one.

...that santa

(or satan, as samuel calls him)

because this upcoming january we'll be here -

and the january after (maybe) we'll be here -



and i can go shopping here -




and now i don't feel at all guilty about buying this.



thank you, santa (s).

(i'm pretty sure that i have three santas that come to my house)

Recollections

I love how

Oranges make me think of Lost,
When I listen to Gorillaz, I just want to play Ticket to Ride,
Listening to 'Brothers on a Hotel Bed' makes me think of dying my hair,
The smell of candles remind me of the Wilson's house,
Exercise balls make me want to pee,
Unshelled peanuts and orange candies remind me of Christmas Eve,
The word 'Lunkers' makes me laugh really hard,
Watching Scrubs makes me want to play tetris 64,
Playing Rock Band reminds me of Dewey's house,
Seeing berries on shrubs makes me think of that one time when Amber and I fed them to Sydnee.
Fireballs remind me of lies, Holly, my dad, and church,
Eminem makes me think of my cousin, Richard, who isn't my cousin anymore,
Classic skating reminds me of fifth grade,
The game 'signs' brings me back to Nikole's slumber party where we played for six consecutive hours,
Sees candies remind me of my grandpa,
Frisbee reminds me of the beach,
Playing racquetball makes me miss Greg,
When I play Balderdash, I wish that Tanner and I still played it at every family gathering,
Rage Against the Machine makes me imagine Greg and Fred working at Shelf Reliance,
Hugs, Tears, and Smiles makes me think of everyone that I love.

And I love when that happens.
And I just smile.
And look forward to the memories that are yet to come.

Mc. .. Mc. . . Michael Jackson

Three things.

Thing One.
We were watching the news today.
It's pretty sad that Michael Jackson died and stuff. . .
We were all pretty worked up,
Except for my dad.
Who we kept entertained by saying 'Freak' throughout the program.
But the BEST part of the night was when the news reporter introduced their attorney, 'Mc. . Mc. . McMullin'.
This was funny because it took us back to McDonalds three years ago, when we were hungry and traveling. and my dad ordered a 'Mc. . Mc. . Mcnugget'.
So when the news reporter stumbled on his mcs, naturally, we laughed for like ten mintues.

Thing Two.
In mission prep this morning, a man said that he went to seoul korea on his mission. I turned to Christine, and said, "Michael Jensen is there!". She turned to me and was like "He died, Lauren." I couldn't believe it. And was extremely confused as to why I hadn't heard this. Tears were almost coming out of my eyes, and I asked "Like on his mission, as an elder?" She looked confused and really slowly said, "M i c h a e l J a c k s o n d i e d." Oh. . . Michael JACKSON. Then I laughed, extremely relieved.

Thing Three.
Michael Jackson was great. I wish that all music videos were as cool as his were. Way cool. It's true, he was a bit of a freak, with his umbrella and everything else. But great.



My Favorite:
YouTube - Michael Jackson - Bad

It's Fathers Day Today

---------------


And my father wins!

because he is the funniest person I know.

The other day I got a random letter from my good friend's mission companion. Haha. Enclosed with the letter, was a picture. Him and a Tongan companion. On the back it said, 'I'm on the right - not the Tongan'.

My dad of course had to come up with something way better to send back. In the morning I woke up and found on the counter two photo shopped pictures with me and various Tongan women, explaining to this guy which one I was. Not the Tongan, that is.

He loves Seinfeld. And Jerry sometimes reminds me of him. Especially this episode.



He always talks about how he is going to be so scary when someone picks us up from a date or something, and jokes about sitting on the porch with a gun, which would never be found in our home. But, for some reason, when the boys get to the door he just smiles and laughs and the threatening words never come. Which I think is funny.

Also, he nicknames people a lot. Which makes me laugh. Rylee Jo Swandive, McHenry, Ereeka, Asquexis, Elixer, Squash Monster, Tanya, Sister Blackham, Austonian, Bailey, Shad, Charles (Manson). And all my friends right now he just groups together as Donald Duck's nephews: Dewey, Huey, and Lewey and sometimes adds random rhymes.

Thanks to him, I'm a little bit funny sometimes.

I just love my daddy.

I'm Proud to be a Sparks

My Great Uncle Bunk is a wonderful person to look up to.



With his loving, kind heart.
His optimistic attitude after his accident
His patience with having people understand him
His hugs
How I could tell that he cared for me
As a child, I loved sitting near him. He was my favorite.

I have so many reasons to be so proud to be a Sparks
First of all.
Who wouldn't want their last name to be a Sparks?
When you are a Sparks, like my dad, grandpa, and Uncle Bunk, you

never tire
are always working
selfless
loving
gentle and kind
yet tough
and hard
have high expectations for your children
religious, but far from self-righteous or showy
real

and I love that at the Sparks' funerals there are
Pepsi colas, swearing over the pulpit, and some of the greatest people to ever know.




I'm Proud to be a Sparks and hope I can live up to the name.

weird.old.creepy.stalker.

"How does he do that?",
my dad asked on my phone this morning while I was pulling out of the driveway, still able to see me.

"I have NO idea,"
I replied.

Let me explain.

My next door neighbor is old.
And lonely.
And grouchy.
And a little creepy.

Because for some weird reason knows exactly when to come outside and 'bump into' one of us.

Not even joking.
EVERY time I walk outside, he's there.
EVERY time my dad wants to work on the garden or work outside, he's there.
EVERY time anyone comes over, he's there.
EVERY time anyone ever goes out the front door, he's there.

This is why I pretend to be on my phone every time I walk from my car to my house,
See my dad peeking out the window all the time,
See my dad inside during his lunch break,
Pretend like I don't hear what he's saying,
Run into my home,
Spend all my time on the left side of my house, hidden from view,
And much more.

Well, he's a stalker, that one.
Because as soon as you walk out the door, you're no longer safe.
You are now warned.

i love my daddy because

he helps me with my car when it's not working, even when I'm two hours away

when I was little he wouldn't let me go to the girl's bathroom alone, because of creepos, so he would make me go into the boys bathroom with him, so he could keep a lookout

when we go to costco, he lets me stand on the big cart and act like I'm surfing. . . even though I'm 20 years old.

he is the funniest person I know

he treats my mom like she is a queen and shows me that I deserve nothing less

he is the most service-oriented person I know. And gets the least amount of credit.

he knows how to grow the best tomatoes

in high school, he let me take over our van 100% and never complained

every night, he helped with the dishes, no matter whose night it was, or how snotty we were or how many times we had to 'go to the bathroom'.. .

he calls me when I'm sad and knows exactly what to say

he is never lazy

he taught me how to be nonjudgemental towards people who are different

he gives the best hugs

he loves me

he is the best daddy in the whole world

happy birthday, father.