Jennifer's Random Memories

• He had nic-names for me: Smooch and Little Slugger.  Smooch I think came from me always giving Mom and Dad a kiss before I went to bed.  I would try to delay it as much as possible so I had to kiss both of them.
• He was so good to take care of the single/widow ladies that lived near us.  He was always their handyman.  Stories I hear about President Monson remind me of Dad.
• He was never the disciplinarian for me-- he was super quiet about that stuff.  If I was in trouble Mom just took care of it.  She would tell Dad about I think but I don't remember him ever getting after me.  I could tell when he was disappointed in me and that was something that I tried always to avoid.
• Dad home taught an inactive guy who had done unspeakable things and was sent to prison.  Dad was just like the Savior;  He didn't shun him.  He went to visit him in prison and fixed his leaking roof for him, multiple times.
• It wasn't until I was 19 that I found out he was in the Air Force.  All the stories about that and his mission had been told time and time again with the other kids so by the time I came along they were no longer mentioned.  I hadn't really thought about it much but I knew he had lived in Alaska and knew he served in New Zealand so I just thought he served part of his mission in Alaska for some reason.
• I was taking a semester of college off and Darryl had just returned from his mission.  We were the only college kids in town and were friends so he called and asked if I wanted to go to Richfield with him to get some fabric for his mom.  Dad said, "Oooo you're going to start dating Mr. Bosshardt."  I quickly informed him that was not going to happen and that Darryl was a rude guy that had nothing to offer me as a partner. ***  A year and a half later when we told Dad we were getting married he repeated back to me everything I had told him that night that I went to Richfield.  He was so good at teasing.
• Speaking of teasing.  One night after about the 2nd date with Darryl I came home and Dad asked how it went.  He joked about kissing and I said, "I haven't even kissed him."  Dad said, "You haven't kissed him yet? You better kiss him so he won't leave."  He I'm sure he was joking but serious at the same time.
• Dad had a dry sense of humor and was very jokingly sarcastic.  If you ever said, "Hey."  He would jump in with, "Hay is for horses."
• When he was in his 50's and 60's you would have never guessed he was that old.  He had a full head of thick dark brown hair and he acted so youthful.
• We went boating with Buzz in 2004 and Dad tried the wake board.  He got up on his first pull and rode it like a champ.  It takes most people many tries  to get up, and some many trips to the lake.
• Dad was so good with wood work.  Around 2003 he made decorative boats that were cuter than those in the stores and gave one to each of us.  Before Wayne was born he made a cradle.  That cradle was passed down from every baby in the Brown family--most grandbabies included. Growing up all the dressers in hour house were made by Dad--I remember being so proud of that.  I remember saying to my friends that my dad made this.  I don't think they were as impressed as I thought they should be.
• Everyone loved teasing dad about he and mom's 9 year age gap. We'd joke that when dad was getting baptized mom wasn't even thought of, or when dad graduated from high school he checked out the 8 year olds and thought, 'I'm going to marry her.'  Dad just laughed at it too.
• Dad was such a great teacher. All my friends loved Mr. Brown. I always just thought it was weird to have my dad teach me. I only had him for spelling during 5th grade. I remember he made "awesome brownies" (I didn't care for brownies but all the kids at school loved them) and would give cans of soda pop for prizes. I didn't like to ride the bus so I would go early with dad to school and stay late after school and sit in his room and play the computer while he did paper work and got ready for school.
• I always thought it was so fascinating that Dad lived in Richfield while he went to high school since they didn't have a school for the higher grades in Koosharem.  The thought of teens living together in an apartment seemed insane, but they did what they had to do and it worked back then.
• Dad was a great cook too.  I didn't appreciate it much when I was young-- I was a picky eater so I didn't dare try most of what he made.  He'd see a recipe in a magazine or in the newspaper and if it sounded good to him he'd save it and try it.  Most dishes were Chinese or Mexican.  When I was young he loved to make a quiche which I couldn't even bear to try.  When I was older I started to venture out a little and try his concoctions   He found a recipe for Chili Rellenos that was amazing and so we make it every summer with our fresh peppers.