I must have been 7 or 8 years old. I was at school and it was time to be picked up. I went outside to see if my mom was there. Well I did'nt see her but there was my dad's truck. So I went to get in and I asked "who are you" and "where's my dad"? He said "I am your dad". I asked for his full name so I could be sure. When he told me his name I knew it was my dad. Funny things is my dad always had a full beard and mustache. That day he had shaved it all off and he looked so weird. I was so glad when it all grew back.

In 8th grade we had a homecoming dance, but I did'nt want to go. My dad was racing that night so instead I went to the races with him. He won the feature that night. I fell off the trailer and hurt my ankle. My dad asked "Don't you wish you would of went to the dance now" ? Of course not, I got to spend time with my dad.






My wedding rehearsal~ My dad being the clown that he was. He had to act up again. I would come out of this room and meet my dad and then we would start walking down the aisle and there was a door that took you outside, My dad would always go to the door like we was leaving. He made a big deal about not wanting to say anything at the wedding and he didn't want to stand up there very long. He never really dressed up that often. He was a blue jean and t-shirt man. So I told him I didn't care what he wore to walk me down the aisle. He made my mom go get him dress pants and a dress shirt. He looked so handsome.






My Wedding Day~ I was very nervous walking down the aisle. My hands were shaking so bad. My dad was right there at my side. We made it half way down the aisle when my dad said "do you want me to carry you the rest of the way". I smiled really big and that just helped me calm down so much. My dad stood there and when the preacher asked "who gives this woman to be wed" ? My dad spoke so proudly and said "Her mother and I" . Little did I know he was standing on my dress. At the end of the wedding when everyone comes to the bride and groom. My dad came up to me and gave me a hug and said "I Love You" and looked at my husband Troy and said "I'm not kissing you".






Giving birth to Kristi~ My water had broke and we went to mom and dad's house. He was lying in the bed with the window open. He said "what's the matter"? I told him I was in labor. He got up and let us in the house. We went to the hospital and after 12 hours of labor my dad had his only granddaughter. He was so proud you could just tell. He asked "If I was alright" I told him "yes". He and my mom argued over what outfit I would be bringing Kristi home in. I got to bring Kristi to my room, she was only 6 hours old and I told my dad to hold her, He said "No". Well I wasn't taking No for an answer, so I took Kristi and put her in his arms, he held her for only a few minutes and said "take this baby". He loved her very much just didn't like holding little babies. I had Kristi on a Friday, so my dad had my brother Wayne make a sign that he put on his racecar that said "It's A Girl".

Kristi and my dad~ My dad would come home from work and would play with Kristi for about 20 minutes before going to the garage to work on his racecar. My dad taught Kristi to give 5. He would come home from work with grease all over his hands and go to Kristi and say "give grandpa five" She would just look at him kinda funny. He would laugh and wash his hands and tell her again, then she would give him 5. He got the biggest kick out of that.

In November, Kristi was 4 months old. My mom was watching Kristi and Justin (my nephew). I was gone only a couple of hours. When I pulled in the driveway Justin came running to the truck and said "Grandpa's hurt, he is bleeding and needs to go to the hospital". I went into the house there he sit at the kitchen table holding a rag on his nose and it was full of blood. I asked "what happened and when didn't they call me to come home and get Kristi so they could go to the hospital"? Dad said "cause I was in no rush to go to the hospital and I was in the on a latter and something fell and hit my nose". So I told him I was home please go to the hospital. So they left and returned many hours later. My dad's nose was all bandage. He had doctor's orders to be off work for 6 weeks. No lifting on anything more than 10 pounds. Well my dad, Kristi and I got very close those 6 weeks. One day I went to get the mail and I had told my dad, "Kristi was in her carry and she would be fine until I got back into the house". "Don't pick her up"!!! "Your not allowed". I was back in the house in two minutes. Kristi was in my dad's arms. I asked dad "how did she get there"? He said "she started to cry and he picked her up". He said "Lori I was sitting in my chair, it's ok". I didn't leave Kristi in the house after that.