Happy Birthday Dad, Part 1

I wanted to do a little retrospective for my Dad's birthday, but I've only run into snags:

- First, it was going to have to be late (between work, Jon being out of town, and my Mom having a friend visiting, there was no way to get it done for his actual birthday).

- Second, as you'll see, I didn't have any photos from 1951 - 1972 or 1978 - 1998! (Mental note: I really need to get possession of all the family photos.)

- Third, Picasa started acting up and refusing to upload any pictures. I had to upload them the old fashioned way from Blogger. Yuck! (Anyone else having this problem with Picasa? WTF?!)

So here is a much different (and much more lame) look back. Sorry Dad! :)

Before my Dad became an awesome, self-sacrificing, workaholic provider, he was just another college kid. Lovin' the hair, Dad!



Then, one day, my Mom happened to catch one of his softball games. I can't remember if he was playing shortstop or first base then, but I do remember she thought he had cute legs. So she lured him in with her feminine wiles and possibly the promise of a free haircut.

And so the two fell in love and got married. Oh, how I wish I had photo of my Dad on his wedding day. Let's just say you would have been awed by his lavender tux with black trimmed lapels. :)

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Shannon in the baby carriage! (My Dad does look pretty cute in his softball uniform!)



Much fun was had between father and daughter. Here's me, at Rylee's age, playing beautician like my Mommy. (Incidentally, this was the photo I mentioned back around Christmas when I posted the pics of Rylee fixing Jon's hair.)



So now we're entering the photoless years, but here's what you have to know. My Dad was my greatest champion. He attended every recital, every tennis match and gave me pep talks at my dance competitions. And when I went to college, he made sure I had everything I needed and sent me "good vibes" for all of my tests. They were some good "good vibes" too. I did graduate with a 4.0!

But being the wonderful Dad he is, he knew that his job (and his financing apparently) weren't done when I graduated. :)



Tune in tomorrow for more...