In commemoration of father’s day I thought I’d take a few moments to jot down some memories of the fathers in my life.

As a young boy I remember all the scout outings, meetings and activities my dad attended with me. We did big encampments and weekend outings. He steered clear of the 50 mile hikes we did each April in the Catskills, but other than that, he was usually around.

He even served in some time consuming troop and even district leadership positions while we lived in Houston and I was involved in scouting.

Also in Houston, my grandparents would come visit every other year or so. I have fond memories of my grandpa, Angelo Codella, as we would work on various projects around the house and he’d announce the project’s completion with the exclamation: “Another fine job by AMC!”

He was always so proud of himself and so funny. I thought it was great he took such great pride in his accomplishments. I remember looking forward to those projects together.

My grandpa Vance Vernal Jensen passed away when I was four or five. I can only remember a silver haired man who was always kind to me. My mom was the youngest of nine children in her family, so by the time she had her kids her parents were getting up there in years.

Once Vickey and I met and fell in love we made a weekend outing to her parent’s cabin at Strawberry Reservoir near Heber City, Utah. That was the first time I met her parents. It was obvious then and is to this day, how much they love her and support her and our family.

Gordon is a tinkerer. He loves to work on different sundry projects, usually out in his garage or shed at the cabin. He’s got pretty sweet set-ups in both locations. Gordon loves to play with the grandkids when Grandma Snow will let him.

One of my favorite pictures of my dad is this one taken when Eliana was little.

And here’s a similar one.

And here are some other photos of the kids and their grandfathers.

Grandpa Snow and Eliana.

Grandpa Snow and Dominic.

Grandpa Codella and Eliana back in 2003.

Grandpa Snow and Dominic.

We are blessed to have the support and love of two fine, upstanding family patriarchs.

Also, a few thoughts about my Heavenly Father . . .

I am so grateful for the life I’ve been blessed with. I was raised by good parents, given the opportunity to receive a college education, found a wonderful companion and have two terrific kids. What more could a guy ask for?

Each day I feel strengthened and renewed by my Heavenly Father’s love. I am amazed by the sacrifice of the Savior who made it possible for me to overcome physical and spiritual death.

I am grateful to live in a time with living prophets and apostles who provide counsel and direction to keep our families safe.

It is incredible to know that I am a child of God and this earth life is the time to prepare to return to Him, having become as much like the Savior as possible and relying on His grace to fill in the gaps.

Happy Father’s Day!