31 reasons why Scott is Awesome

For Scott's birthday, the kids and I made a list of 31 reasons why Scott is Awesome.  One for each year of his existence.  Since I wanted to elaborate on said list, I'm doing it here.  That way those of you that know me through Scott can read about your buddy, and those of you who know Scott through me, can learn a little bit about him.  Hurray for the mushy crap!!!

31 REASONS WHY DADDY IS AWESOME

1. HE TAKES GOOD CARE OF JACOB AT CHURCH

I know I've mentioned this before, but Jacob is my most wiggly, agressive, and active child.  He is a handful, and not the easiest to look after.  Worth it, but not easy.  Church is when we have the hardest time.  Luckily for me, Scott takes over during church.  He holds him on his lap, walks him through the foyer and hallways, and takes him while I teach my class.  Last week he took him for the entire three hours and I got to enjoy relief society without being distracted every thirty seconds.  It was wonderful.  Jake and Scott get a long great and just when I'm burning out from watching the kids all day, Scott usually takes my most energetic one off my hands which makes a huge difference.

2. HE CAN DO COOL TRICKS WITH A YO-YO

Not a lot of people know this about him, and he doesn't do it often now that he's a grown man, but as a kid he taught himself all kinds of fun crowd pleasing yo-yo tricks and he can still do them today.  I love that he knows how to do something so random.

3.WE MISS HIM WHEN HE'S GONE

The kids came up with this one.  It's pretty self explanitory, and since it's tax season, this one was one of the first things they thought of.  It says a lot about a man when his presence is missed when he's not in the room. Some people are relieved when certain people aren't around.  That's not the case with Scott.  His wife misses him, and his kids miss him too.

4. HE GOES RUNNING EVERY MORNING

Running takes discipline   Any runner can tell you that.  I love running too, but for me personally, when I'm not pregnant, I run in the evenings, or whenever I find time during the day...but waking up early to do any exercise is immoral in my personal bible of "Lisa."  He is amazing to me for doing this.  He says he has no choice because it's the only time he has to run, but seriously, working 12-15 hour days, every day, it's easy to just consider yourself too busy and call it good. Not for Scott.  Ever since last year he has committed himself to a healthier lifestyle and is honoring that commitment  and it shows.  He looks great.

5. HE SUPPORTS HIS FAMILY
In this day and age, a man being the sole breadwinner is becoming more and more rare.  Not only that, but he's the sole breadwinner of  more than the average 2.5 kids that most Americans have.  He is a wonderful provider. Not just for financial support, but moral, spiritual, and physical support as well.  He's a great Husband and Father for our little family.

6. HE'S A SUPER DUPER PROBLEM SOLVER
Scott loves to solve problems.  Whether it's figuring out what's making the computer glitchy, or why the vacuum is making a weird sound, or how to organize things, or making plans, or fixing things around the house, Scott sees every problem as a challenge.  He will stay up at night thinking about whatever current problem  is on his mind until he figures out a way to solve it.  This comes in handy for me, because I have a tendency to get frustrated and give up with some challenges, but I can usually count on him to help me figure things out, and he likes it.

7. HE LOVES TO LAUGH
This is one of my favorite things about him because we have this in common.  We both know that we can always agree on a good comedy when we're trying to decide what kind of movie to watch together, I love that I can show him things on the web that I find funny, and he's got a wicked sense of humor.  He's made me spit out my drinks, snort, and laugh so hard I cry.  He makes the kids laugh so hard that it echoes through the house, and when we all laugh together we make the best memories.

8. HE IS A GOOD TEACHER
Again, the kids came up with this one.  They love it when Scott takes time to teach them something new, whether it's sports related, or schoolwork, or just facts of life, the kids are all ears when their daddy has something to teach them, and they don't forget the stuff he teaches once he teaches it.

9. HE KNOWS HOW TO FIX THINGS
You could probably say that this goes along with problem solving, but problem solving goes a lot more than just physical things to fix.  He fixes the computers both here and at work whenever they're acting funny.  (He speaks computer)  He's fixed the garage door, the vacuum, the treadmill, the ceiling fan, the clocks, the DVR, the rocking chair, the kids beds, the wiring in the house, the televisions, you name it.  He almost always finds a way to fix things.  When we were first married, he would fix people's X-box's for money through KSL whenever their X-box would break down.  He would also buy broken ones, fix them and then sell them for more money.

10. HE DRIVES US EVERYWHERE
The kids thought of this one, but it's a good one because he really is the chauffeur in our home.  I hate driving, but I do it when I absolutely have to.  I can't imagine having to always be the driver whenever our family goes anywhere.  Carpooling and taking the kids to their lessons is enough for me.  He also always fills up both cars with gas whenever he notices that we're running low.  Both things are appreciated.

11. HE HAS THE SAME BIRTHDAY AS WILLIAM SHATNER!!!
This just makes me happy.  Who doesn't love William Shatner?  It just proves that people born on March 22 are Shatastic!!!  Hahaha!

12. HE LOVES FOOTBALL
Okay, so this isn't my absolute favorite thing because I don't really care about football, but every man should have something they love and are passionate about. I am thankful for it in the sense that it keeps him emotionally healthy and gives them a good break from the everyday pressures of life. Not to mention he's talented at it.  He played on the varsity team way before he was a senior, and was also the captain of the team, and also had a brief stint on the Utah State University team during his freshman year in college. Scott credits football a lot for keeping him out of trouble growing up in high school. He was always so busy waking up early and staying after school for practices that he says he never had time to get into trouble.

13. HE LOVES VACATIONS
I will never have to pressure him to take a vacation with me.  Like me, he needs to get away every once in a while and I love that I have this in common with him.  Every year we make sure to take time to make memories together as a couple and as a family, and in my opinion, some of the best memories you can ever have in life are through vacations with people you love.  Some of the best memories of my childhood were family vacations, and I love that he's feels the same way, and wants to give our kids those memories, not to mention enjoying something out of the ordinary together.

14. HE HAS BIG, GREEN EYES
Interestingly enough, I always said my ideal man would have dark hair, olive skin, and green eyes.  I love green eyes, and I was always partial to them in my dating life.  Not only does he have those eyes, but they are huge. With the longest all natural eye lashes I've ever seen in my life.  I'm always tempted to put mascara on his eyes to see how long they would look because women all over the place pay good money to have eyelashes like his.  Seriously, it's like looking at an animated Disney character.

15. HE HAS A  DAUGHTER WHO LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM
Crystal came up with this one.  Haha!  She has a good point though.  At least someone in this family inherited those amazing huge eyes.  She's actually a lot like him genetically and I'm very thankful for this because she's responsible, a problem solver, and a good student at school.  All of which I believe she inherited from Scott.

16. HIS BROTHERS ARE HIS BEST FRIENDS
Most guys have their buddies, their chums, their bros that they spend their weekends with and hang out with to do guy stuff.  It's pretty awesome that he has 5 brothers that are relatively close in age the he does ALL these things with.  When anyone asks him who his best friend is besides his wife, he always says his brothers.  I love that he's so close to his family because being raised the way I was, I was taught that family is everything, that your forgive each other, that you learn to get along, that you help each other, and that you love each other, because in the end, you will always be connected to them, and after this life, you will still be connected to them.  I love that Scott has those same ideals when it comes to his family.

17. HE'S A GOOD HULA HOOPER
Honestly...we used to complete at hula-hooping on the Nintendo Wii and he kicked my trash every single time.  It's impressive really.

18. HE'S EXTREMELY SMART
Again, this can kind of relate to his problem solving skills, but really, he is able to figure things out efficiently and quickly, his mind is just, organized.  He seems to always see's clearly when it comes to figuring out dillemas and it's like he's a computer, programmed to immediately find faster, cheaper, easier, and more effective ways to do pretty much anything.  Whenever his friends and family can't figure out something on their computer, they call him.  (He BUILT his own computer as his Christmas present to himself one year).

19.HE LIKES MUSIC AND CONCERTS
I'm glad I married someone who likes music.  He may not like singing or dancing, but he will always enjoy a good tune on the radio, and he goes to concerts with me.  We've been to several music/rock concerts since we've been married. In fact, he just bought us tickets to another one in May.  I love that we can share those experiences together.

20. HIS FAMILY LOVES HIM VERY MUCH
Seth brought this one up, and he's right.  It's not a small thing.  Both his extended and immediate family care a lot about him.  His children adore him, and I don't know what I would do without him.  The few times I've wondered what life would be like without him send me into a panic.

21. HIS NAME MEANS, "PAINTED WARRIOR"
Go Scott Go!!!  Actually, according to this website, " People with this name have a deep inner desire for a stable, loving family or community  and a need to work with others and to be appreciated. They are excited by change, adventure, and excitement.  They are dynamic, visionary and versatile, able to make constructive use of freedom.  They fight being restricted by rules and conventions.  they tend to be optimistic, energetic, intelligent, and to make friends easily.  They may be changeable  restless, untidy and rebellious."
... This is all true except for the rebellious thing.  Scott isn't really rebellious at all, and he enjoys playing by the rules.  This is something we actually don't have in common.  I had a little rebellious streak growing up.  Scott brings stability to my life.

22. HE PLAYS WELL WITH HIS KIDS
Again, the kids came up with this one.  They all got baseball mitts for Christmas and they are always asking him to have a catch with him when he's home.  He loves to wrestle with the boys when he's home from work, and he's the one the kids go to when they need excitement.  Especially with my pregnancy, my energy runs out fast.  I don't run around with them like Scott does.  I'm the one who lays by the pool and lets Scott play all the games with them.  When we were on our trip in Mexico, people at the resort would always look and smile and Scott playing with the kids in the pool as they walked by, he would get just as involved in the games as they were, and people could tell he is a fantastic dad.  He loves to play with them.

23. HE USUALLY COOKS DINNER
I will always consider it a blessing that I married a man who loves to cook, who makes excellent tasty meals, and who is happy to cook the whole family dinner when he comes home from work.  For most of our marriage we have a system where he cooks, and I do the dishes.  I hate cooking, he hates dishes, so this works out for us great.  I miss this dynamic during tax season.  Cooking is not my thing.  I'm not like most Mormon housewives in this aspect.

24. HES' A THROUGH PLANNER/RESEARCHER
If it's a product he's looking into, a vacation he wants to go on, or anything he doesn't know too much about but wants to, he will spend HOURS researching about it.  It's because of this that we've had awesome vacations as a married couple.  He will know what thing we're doing on which day, where to eat, where to buy the best souvenirs  and what to do.  He loves planning stuff like that.  Since we run most of our errands on weekends together, he usually has a game plan of how to handle our errands in which order every weekend.  He also knows which products get the best customer reviews and why when we want to buy anything.

25. HE ALMOST ALWAYS TIPS THE WAITER/WAITRESS AT RESTURANT, AND HE'S GENEROUS
I LOVE this about him.  When I was single, I spent two years working as a waitress.  I know how hard the work is, I would go home sore with my feet aching and smelling like food after a long shift.  I know how hard it is to handle multiple tables and carry multiple drinks without dropping them, and having a good memory to remember who needed refills on what drinks, and to be sympathetic to picky eaters.  It's hard work, and tips mean the world to you when you do that kind of job.  When I was single and would date guys, I always paid attention to whether or not they tipped and how much, because it told me whether or not they were selfish or generous, picky or easy going,  anal or understanding  cheap or willing to spend money, stingy or kind, absent minded or thoughtful.



26. HE'S AN EFFECTIVE AND GREAT FINANCIAL PLANNER
It's nice being married to an accountant.  He knows how to handle our money, what we can and can't afford to spend, and he's great at helping us stick to our budget.  He makes things work out so that we can afford vacations and still pay the bills.  It's because of his planning that we were able to afford our home, our lifestyle, and four children.

27. HE IS HONEST
I love this about him.  There have been times when going to the grocery store that someone has accidentally left something in their shopping cart after purchasing it, and even though it was something I knew he liked, he turned it back in to the customer service desk.  There were times when we were buying our own stuff at the cashiers desk when Scott mentions to the cashier that they forgot to charge us for something or that it didn't scan on the receipt and ask that we pay for it.  He does things like this all the time, because according to him, loosing his soul isn't worth a few stupid dollars.

28. HE GIVES WONDERFUL GIFTS
Scott is really thoughtful.  He has often surprised me over the years with things I've wanted but haven't tried to get for myself or attempted to ask for.  Sometimes the surprise is a short getaway for the day, or concert tickets, or a surprise stop at my favorite restaurant  or actual gifts from shoes, hair products, and trips to the spa.  He loves surprising me, and he always does it when I don't expect it.

29. HE GIVES PERFECT HUGS.
His hugs are the BEST.  Even when we were just friends I remember slow dancing with him at a dance and noticing how nice his broad shoulders were.  He has nice shoulders to put arms around.  Also, he smells good, and he feels good.  Always a good thing.  There have been times when I reeeally needed a hug, even though I didn't know it, and he has provided me with a perfect hug at just the right moment from time to time.

30. HE IS LOYAL
I've never had to worry about Scott looking at other girls.  He has the kind of mind frame/dicipline that he won't allow those thoughts to even enter his mind.  If a pretty girl walks by, he looks away.  I've never seen anything like it.  My whole singe life, I had accepted that guys were guys, and that even though they love one girl, they still notice other ones out of habit.  Scott never seems to.  I'm sure some of you won't believe me on this one, but it's 100% true.  I had no idea that guys like that existed until I met Scott.

31. HE IS A TALENTED WHISTLER
Not the most incredible thing to end on, but it's true.  Scott has a good, loud strong whistle, and it's got a specific tone to it that we as his family all depend on.  We have a system that whenever I loose him at the store, he knows to do the whistle because I recognize it's his and know he's trying to find me.  It also works on our kids.  His whistle is loud enough that he can hail any taxi anywhere we are.  He also whistles radio tunes, which gets songs stuck in our heads all the time, but it's nice to hear his cheerful whistle in the house during the day when he's home, because he also whistles when he's happy.


So those are 31 things me and the kids love about him.  In a couple of days I'll finally have time to post his birthday stuff up on here, but we had a great weekend with family and each other.  It was nice to have him home for his birthday.