60 Things About My Dad

My dad turned 60 on June 3rd. That's a big milestone! I planned on having this blog posted on his birthday, but it took a few different sit-downs to come up with my list of 60 things. (Not saying you're old, Dad...but 60 is a lot of things...)

So, in no particular order, here are 60 things you may or may not know about my dad:

1. He's 100% Dutch (if you ain't Dutch, you ain't much!) 
2. He was a good athlete
3. He is an excellent coach
4. He's a hard-worker
5. He likes having a dog as a pet (but doesn't always admit it)
6. He is afraid of heights
7. He is happy with all girls - never regrets not having a boy
8. He played basketball in college
9. He likes Italian sausage and pepperoni Godfather's pizza
10. He's tall
11. He likes his orange juice best after it's first made, when it's not too cold from the refrigerator
12. He once made up his own rules for scoring in soccer because there weren't enough goals being scored
13. He likes hiking
14. He likes palm trees
15. He loves bananas
16. He enjoys working in the yard landscaping
17. He snores really loud
18. His response to me the first time I cussed was NOT "don't cuss", but instead was "you better not let your mother hear you say that!"
19. He wears one contact lens
20. He's had a job and worked every summer since he was 15
21. He has extensively hiked the trails of Rocky Mountain National Park
22. He likes looking at the pictures of National Geographic but often doesn't read the articles
23. He kicks Sudoku's butt
24. He likes Northern Lights pizza
25. He is a Hawkeye fan
26. He paid for my college education
27. He spends his Sundays visiting his dad in Pella and has done so ever since his mom passed away 9 years ago
28. He doesn't like hot, humid summers
29. He has a wide range of knowledge of almost all sports
30. He doesn't like it when you walk on the lawn - snow or not. :)
31. He loves to spoil his children
32. He likes taking scenic drives in the Iowa countryside
33. He always won at the game Clue
34. He is good with money
35. He used to coach volleyball with cheat sheets on rotation rules
36. He paid for my wedding
37. He doesn't like shopping
38. He worked at the same job for 34 years
39. He likes exploring the natural areas of Iowa
40. He enjoys riding a bike
41. He doesn't like being the center of attention
42. He doesn't make good pancakes (ok once he burned the outside and the inside was gooey)
44. He loves visiting new places, dreaming of places to live after retirement
45. He loves Colorado
46. He likes seafood
47. He can drive for many, many consecutive hours in the car
48. He enjoys college sports more than pro sports
49. Shawshank Redemption is among his favorite movies.
50. He always said "if you have girls, eventually the boys will come around"
51. He doesn't like large crowds
52. He likes going on long walks
53. He grills a mean hamburger
54. He doesn't like cold, snowy winters
55. He would like to learn Spanish
56. He loves simply sitting by the ocean
57. He gets nervous to speak in front of people
58. He enjoys going to watch high school sports events
59. He loves dreaming of and planning family vacations
60. He has a big heart and loves his family

Love you Dad!