happy fathers day!

to say that the above photo pretty much sums up my father would be awesome (and i had half a mind to do just that and declare this blog donezo), but it would be oh-so-far from the truth. tomorrow is fathers day here in finland and i'd like to give an internet shout out to my pops. aside from being the physical specimen that he is, there are many things that make up the man that is brent van lott. i love his mostly laid back personality and his go with the flow mentality. we perpetually tease him for being goofy and he always takes it like a man, he even sometimes joins in on the fun. i truly fancy how silly my dad is and i even secretly like his terrible jokes (i mean rubber toe dad? really??). as the patriarch of our family dad has always set a good example of the kind of people we should strive to be. i can't recall a time when my father missed an early morning priesthood meeting on sunday or didn't show for his home teaching appointments. rather than the disciplinary, my way or the highway approach, he always does what he knows is right and hopes we will follow in his footsteps. and his knowledge of the scriptures unfailingly impresses me. going to school in my hometown was awesome. i miss seeing my family walk into my games, my dad always wearing cougar blue with my name and number on the back, (mostly because receiving free t-shirts, especially ones that are BYU affiliated and used to belong to me, couldn't make my dad any happier) embarrassing the family with his loud moose calls. even though he initially cried when i quit basketball as a youngster, he supported me all the way and genuinely enjoyed my volleyball career and i love him for that. it's not rare for my dad to spend a whole saturday working in the yard and ending the day with a lengthy bike ride (nine hours is a little too long though, especially when you come home with a bloody gash on your head and you can't account for 4 of those 9 hours). his love of the outdoors was passed on to his children and i am ever grateful for that.

i think you get the point. my dad is super. so here's to you, daddy. you're one hell of a father and i love you very much!

oh, and so you can all see just how rad my dad is, here's a little ditty i like to call "the essence of being brent". enjoy.