Jeny's Pets

I had a boring pet life. My pets were all quite contained, and died fast. I got an aquarium I don't even know when, but I tried to keep it full of fish and frogs that Amy could kill. It was what we did for fun. We didn't kill them on purpose, we weren't that mean or anything, just Amy would always walk by the tank before any of the fish died, so she must have been responsible for their death. I also had finch. They would try to build a nest and be all cute and family-ish, but then they would just die, too, so I kinda gave up on pets. BJ was supposedly Dad's dog, but since I was the only one that took care of her EVER, she really liked me best, so I consider her my dog (yes, Heidi, she liked me better than you).

Amy's Pets

I had lots of pets as a kid. My first was Cocoa I, my beautiful little white spitz that I got right before we left California. Next were her first 2 puppies, boy were they a surprise! They were born in the green-roofed dollhouse in the garage. It seems like she had another litter but I don't remember exactly. When we moved to Colorado I got another Cocoa because we had to leave the first one in Utah when we moved. She was also beautiful but when we got BJ she was banished to the garage because BJ didn't like her. I also had a gerbil whose tail I pulled off - don't remember his name. Guines pigs Amy and Butch. They also had babies twice. The first one died at 4 days old and the 2nd two I donated to my Junior High science teacher. Puffy was a family dog we had, I don't think she really belonged to anyone in particular. And I had (for a little while) a stray dog I named Muffy. Ducks Huey, Dewey, Louie, and ET. ET didn't live long and the others were killed the day before Thanksgiving one year. There was also a rabbit named Hunny Bunny that rarely got taken care of. I think that's it for when I was young.

Heidi's Pets

Last weeks responses were great! It just shows how much we all missed it the week before. I didn't have any pet that was "mine". Holly, Matt and I did talk Mom into getting a rabbit, though. We guessed it was a girl and named her honey bunny. She was very fun at first to hold and play with, but eventually she got big enough that her claws scratched way too much. I still have scars on my arms. She also got very dirty from sitting in her own feces, so she smelled bad and no one ever held her. I had to thaw out her water bottle each morning because it froze every night during the winter. That was a pain. I will never let my kids get a rabbit. Yuck. Cute to look at, but that's where it ends. Lucky for my kids we live where there is a family of rabbits living in the backyard. We can look at them and try catching them, but they take care of themselves!!

I will claim BJ as mine even though Dad and Jeny would say otherwise. I bathed her regularly (probably too much) and I have several early journal entries written about my day with BJ. She was my best friend for a long time. The longest life span of a bulldog on record is 13 years, and I think that's actually how long BJ lived, isn't it, Dad? Pretty impressive. I think it's all because of my love for her. She didn't get sick until I left home. Dogs are the best pets in the world and I hope to own a Great Dane, Boston Terrier and of course, another bulldog some day. Mindy, let your boy have a dog!

Teresa's Pets

I don't remember any pets when I was really young. The first ones I remember were in Wichita Falls. We had to give up our pets every time we moved because Dad hated us having pets. So first our Wichita Falls pets (not in order because I can't remember):

Lost One- the baby bird which was really more Heidi and Holly's pet

Amy- the turtle

The random litter of bunnies in our back yard

Tic Tac- was Aprils and I believe Amy got that for her for her birthday

Smoky- psycho cat that we got from the neighbors

Numerous fish but the only one I remember is Dotty

San Antonio was the last place we had family pets (besides fish)

Snowball- the crazy (literally) Persian

I had my go at a saltwater tank, but wasn't very good because the fish exploded

Dimitri- my Dalmation that I hid in my closet until he got too big so my dad wouldn't know I got a dog

Mindy's Pets

I only ever had one pet that I remember being my own. It was one of the guinea pig babies from Amy and Butch, Amy's pets. I don't even remember what I named it. But I didn't take care of it very well and it starved to death. Other than that we had Puffy, BJ, Cheeky, Penny (who BJ killed), the rabbit, fish, ducks, a turtle for a while, which "ran away". It's kind of funny, because I'm really not a pet person, even though there were always lots of pets when we were growing up. Jonah is desperate for a dog. He's coming up on his 6th birthday next year, which is the pet birthday in our house, and he's determined that he's going to get a dog. I've said I won't have a dog in the house, but in this mobile park outside dogs are not allowed. There's even a size limit. We've managed to talk the other 3 kids out of wanting a dog. We'll see what happens next summer... .

Question of the Week

Tell about pets you had as a child.

Lori's Thmells

Okay, I'm late, but I have a good excuse. I just got back from a medical conference in Dallas this past week and I had no internet connection!!

I think my favorite smell of all is clean baby, but there are many close on the heels. After a rain in the mountains that are covered in "shaking aspirins", clean sheets rinsed in Downy, Febreeze - anywhere, Chanel No. 5, CINNAMON, any fresh herb being minced, roasted garlic, the antiseptic smell of the O.R., the Pacific ocean, Rainbath body wash...the list is endless.

My kids (and ex-husband) knew they couldn't go wrong, if they couldn't think of a present for Christmas or birthdays etc, if they got me some "good smelly stuff" (April's term).

On another note, for those that are interested, José comes home on Sunday from Iraq.

J.D. has been cleared for the Air Force through the recruiter. He has to go for his physical on Monday. Keep him in your prayers because he really wants this!

Thanks!
Lori

From Teresa

I was wondering this since the holidays are coming up and I'm VERY new to cooking: Any neat, easy or fun holiday recipes be posted to our recipe blog with pictures (especially desserts!). I'm getting pretty excited about cooking now that I'm kind of getting the hang of it (and Derek loves doing it with me) I know most of you know all the same recipes, but if you could put things you ordinarily make (like the yule log thing and the chocolate ball thing mom) it would really help me this year so maybe I could make a holiday food tradition for my family. I was looking throught the recipe book grandma gave me, and there is SO much in there I don't know what to pick! It's like reading a french book when you know like 3 french phrases! :) Scary! It's would be fun to see what everyone else makes for this time of year. (If you can't tell, my family and I are HORRIBLY caught up in the holiday fever!)

One More fo Nickell Too...

I concur with Amy! The coffee aisle or Barnes & Noble!!! Also I realized another one while I was taking bridal pictures at Thanksgiving Point...grape vines.....delicious!

One more....

I forgot a very obvious and wonderful one. The coffee aisle at the grocery store. Now who doesn't love that?!

-Amy

OH the smells we smell....

There are a plethora of favorite smells below....

Nickell's Thmells....

There are so many smells that I love, but my most favorite is rain/storms/wet cement. I can't explain why, it just smells so good during storms. I also love Winter Candy Apple from Bath and Body Works, it's just good. I love the smell of pumpkin pie, chocolate, babies (unless they are poopy), fresh cut grasss (which seems to be a common one), being up in the mountains, mint, lavender, lilacs, jasmine.... oh man there are so many, I can't list them all. One I really love is Aaron's cologne "Unknown" combined with the smell of Spearmint Orbit gum. It reminds me of when we were dating, and I love it! Oh and dewy mornings when camping.

Jeny's Thmells....

I love my weird family! I like “thmells” in small doses. Anything that I can smell for a long period of time starts smelling bad to me, except the outside. So, with that in mind, I like the smell of outside (unless there is a skink in the area). I love to have my windows opened whenever I can. I like things that thmell like camping, too, as does Thmenther. I love the smell of grapevines with ripe grapes, lilacs, hyacinths, freshly turned dirt and that smell tomato plants leave on your hands. I also like the smell of rubber cement, gasoline, paint thinner and hairspray (is that bad?). Baking bread is one of the best, and that smell that comes out of the dryer vent. There are lots of great Christmas smells, like the smell of a real tree, the real gingerbread house, mandarin oranges, fudge melt-a-ways and the wreath (which I am no good at making. That’s why I need Mom to move out here).

Dad's Thmells.....

There are a couple of favorite smells from my younger days. I love the smell of new mown hay. The smell of a newly mown lawn comes close, but a freshly cut stand of hay is much more compelling.

I also love the smell of Russian Olive trees at the end of a still, hot day. We used to go play tennis in Albion when I was ten years old, and the courts were surrounded by large stands of Russian Olives. They smelled wonderful.

Of course, not much can compare with the smells associated with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner being prepared by the loving hands of a dear sweet wife and mother. That is one of the best parts of the holiday season.

Grandpa

Heidi's Thmells....

I think Mindy covered all of mine with the exception of my absolute favorite smell in the world...pine! Christmas isn't Christmas without the house smelling like the tree. I loved walking in the house after school and being assaulted by the smell of our tree. Jason and I have always had an artificial tree because we got it as a wedding gift and have never bothered to spend actual money on a real tree. (Those things are expensive!!) So I have improvised over the years with pine sprays, candles, oils, anything that claims it smells like a Christmas tree. The best one is the Salt City candle, of course, and I have really grown to love the Victorian Christmas Salt City candle as well. Having a great smelling home has always been important to me. It's the first impression people get when they walk in, so I like mine to smell good. I'll bake banana or zucchini bread just to make to house smell great. I also do Kristi's trick of simmering spices like cinnamon, allspice, and cloves to make it smell like the holiday season.

Peonies or lilacs are my favorite flower smells. I love lavender, spearmint-eucalyptus, pretty much everything at Bath and Body Works. Smells are great.

Tere's Thmells......

My favorite smell is after my kiddos are washed in the lavender baby wash. I think that is one most people can agree with me on. Most of my favorite smells are kind of off and always have been.

I don't really care for any flower smell except wisteria and sunflowers. The smell of the ocean also (atlantic coast, not gulf coast... yuck) I like the smell of slightly burnt food and the wiff of gasoline you get when you fill up your car. I love the smell of running spring water. (that's probably actually the algae, but oh well) The sand dunes in Colorado had a really awesome smell that I can't really describe, but i really loved it. Black powder smoke has a cool smell too. I like the smell of garlic, but not garlic breath. I like the smell of the hole in the wall restaurants downtown. I kind of enjoyed the smell of a field of hay, especially when it's just been cut and then it rains. I have to say my husbands cologne is among one of the favorites. He used to wear it all the time when we were dating, but now he only wears it when he's about to do something special for me, like take me out or cook dinner and clean the house, so I always know when something is up. :) I love that cologne best though, when Derek begs to put it on after his bath "like daddy". I don't really know why I like these smells.

Amy's thmells (try saying that 10 times fast)

I also love the smell of fresh baked bread and a roast in the oven. Really I love the smell of almost anything cooking, but the best is onions and butter. I love the scent of lavender citrus roses and Easter lillies when you walk into the grocery store and you can smell them right away. I will always like the smell of Drakkar, don't know why. I know Jeny hates things that are scented but I love to stand at the candle shelf and smell every one of them. Too bad it doesn't smell good for very long. Lilacs are always great. And who doesn't like the smell of gasoline - come on, admit it. I could go on and on but we'll just leave it at that.

Mom's Thmells.....

I love so many smells. I love lilacs, roses, gardenias, newly mown grass, spring, the Spanish cologne on babies, food of most kinds, chocolate, rain.,cherry vanilla soap, Spearmint Eucaliptus lotion. It's hard to describe why. I also like clean sheets that are dried on a line, Christmas pine, They are just pleasing to me. A lot of things remind me of events and people that I love.

Posting and Commenting

I have to say that I am loving the recent increase of comments on posts! Mostly we can always count on Jeny and Tere. But I love how many comments are happening! Keep it up! Plus, we don't have a lot of posts happening on the Food Storage or Recipe blogs, don't forget about them! Tere recently just sent me a recipe....check it out!

Brown Update....Kind of

I canned peaches, peach butter, and applesauce for 12 straight hours yesterday. Someone from the ward gave me some tomatoes today, so I'll can those tomorrow. Yay! I love it. Jeny, you have a gift of growing things. I can't believe how much you get out of that little plot of ground. How big are Spencer's pumpkins this year? Hardly any posts last week. Not even Tere! I check almost every day and get sad when nobody writes. I guess it's partly my fault because I forgot to send a question last Sunday. Love you all! Keep posting.

Mindy's Thmells.....

I love the smell of roses, carnations, and peonies, Jason's cologne, fresh bread and cookies, camp fire. Don't know why, I just do. The smell of leather makes me think of when Jason and I were dating because he usually wore his leather jacket. The smell of almond makes me think of Christmas because of the bread wreaths, and cinnamon because of the Christmas jelly Mom always made. I love to come home from church if I've put a roast in the oven before. I love how a baby smells after a bath.

Question of the Week

What are some of your favorite thmells, I mean smells? Why?

Beautifly

We hatched a monarch! Here are a few pictures, but check out the Payne family blog for the whole cycle.

The Price of Children

This is just too good not to pass on to all. Something absolutely positive for a change. I have repeatedly seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way. It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:
* $8,896.66 a year,

* $741.38 a month, or

* $171.08 a week.

* That's a mere $24.24 a day!

* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich."
Actually, it is just the opposite. What do you get for your $160,140?

* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs, and
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watching Saturday morning cartoons,
* going to Disney movies, and
* wishing on stars.
* You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,

* removing a splinter,

* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream or pizza regardless.
You get a front row seat to history, to witness the:
* first step,
* first word,
* first bra,
* first date, and
* first time behind the wheel.
You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long
list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.
In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits. So, one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost. That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!
Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren!!!!!!!

Our Bounty

I just wanted to share with you what I got out of my garden in the last few days. We picked the grapes and Sunflowers on Thursday, and everything else today (Saturday). Included are zuchinni, carrots, lettuce, rhubarb, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers (pickling and some long variety), green and purple peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, and potatoes. Not included are the peas, because they are only good fresh, so I already ate them. I was on the phone with Mom while I cut the rhubarb, and there was a snake at the base of the plant. He was about 2 feet long, and didn't move except for his tongue, while I sawed the stalks right next to his body. Weird animal!

-Jeny

I'm Really Sorry Ashley!!

Ashley's birthday was on the 12th, and I haven't been on the blog in a couple days. So I apologize that I missed it Ashley, but we hope you had a really fun birthday! By the way she turned 10 this year!

Nickell's Skills/Talents

As much as I don't want to have a brag-fest about myself.....I haven't answered the question of the week for a long time. And since I seem to be the representative for Kristi's family, I should probably do my duty and answer the questions. My talents and skills are.....
*I love cleaning, and I'd like to think that I am pretty good at it.
*Once upon a time I rocked the tennis courts, though not so much anymore, I still like to think that I have some athletic ability.
*I can do a lot of things ok, I wouldn't say I'm amazing at anything, but I can pick up on most things pretty quickly and do them ok.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Jeny! This is the only picture I had of you. And I am going to guess that you are also turning 30 this year......Anyway, happy birthday! We hope your day was wonderful!

Teresa's Talents/Skills

I don't have alot of skills or talents. I'd say my best talent has to do with sound. Im pretty good with languages and music. Not so much singing but music in general. Half I think I was born with (natural talent from my mommy) and half was meticulous training from my parents. Dad was always training me on my spanish and mom with my music.

The rest of my talents, I think, weren't handed down by blood more than anything else. For example, my wonderful ability to be a plant assassin. I don't know how I do it, but I'm very good at murdering plants. I got that from my mom. My dad gave me his rediculous sense of humor that no one understands (only my dad, my brother who also inherited it, and me get it- we're a club).

I can't can, or sew, or cook really (though I am learning, I just don't know if you want to eat it), but I will learn in good time- "Patience young grasshopper..."

A Joke or Two...

Nico is into the stage of telling jokes to everyone. These are his latest:

"Why did the toilet paper roll down the hill?"

"To get to the bottom."

"Why are 7-year-olds not allowed to go to pirate movies?"

"Because they're rated 'Ahr-r-r'"

ENJOY!

Heidi's Skills/Talents

Oh, the singing in our family! My favorite was whistling "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and seeing how many parts we could make. Music is easily the biggest hand-me-down talent in our family. You did well, Mom and Dad. I began learning to play the piano officially when I was eight, when Dad realized that teaching me himself was clearly not going to work. This is a skill that is coming in VERY handy right now. Residents are paid next to nothing for the amount of work they do, so to be able to fix my house, I'm supplementing our income nicely by teaching. I have seven students so far (I only started two weeks ago) and plan on filling four more time slots. I also teach my own kids. It's been a lot of fun.

All of my older sisters did some sort of needlecraft, so I picked up on that, too, but I have to add that I am the only Lauritzen girl who learned to tat. I find that it's now very difficult for me to sit very long without doing something with my hands whether it's quilting, crochet, or playing piano. I think all of the girls (and Matt, too!) are great with needlecrafts.

Canning is a lot of fun, but if you asked me whether it was 20 years ago when I had peach fuzz and sticky juice up to my elbows, I would have said no way. Things get more fun with age as you start appreciating the final product more and more. Even weeding a garden is fun now.

One last thing, as Jeny shows in her refinishing pictures, many of us are handy around the house because of Dad. I can't say that I am yet, but I'm learning. I think I could probably beat any of you in a mini-blind installing contest. I am great at that now. I can replace screens and tell you all about pool maintenance (which is no easy thing!), and I've even replaced a light fixture! (You're not aloud to comment on that one, Mindy and Dad). I know, this is all very amateur, but I'm determined to learn more. I want to be like Dad, only with neater caulk.

Hey, remember the willow whistles? That was fun!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Lydia and Katrina! I am not sure how old you are now, but we hope you had a wonderful birthday! Their birthday was yesterday. I didn't forget I was just waiting to see if Amanda would be able to send me some recent pictures. I got these ones off of her Facebook.

Mindy's Talents/Skills

I've been increasingly grateful to our parents for the things they taught us to do. First I'd have to say they taught me to try things I don't know how to do. I'm not afraid to take the pipes under the sink apart, or rip out a wall. I don't remember ever having plumbers, electricians, or repair men around because Mom and Dad always took care of things themselves. Sewing is a skill I've been very grateful for. I've been able to make a little business out of it and that helps especially now when Jason isn't working. Music is another talent that I've always been glad I've had. My kids don't seem to like singing as much as I do, and that makes me sad. I'm very glad to know how to can. There's a girl at the law school who has just discovered the joys of canning. She's fun to talk to because she gets so excited about it and how much money she's saving. It's a lot of work, but it's so fulfilling to hear the little pops of the can lids when they seal, and to see a shelf full of bottles of food after a day of canning.

Question of the Week...

Tell about handed down talents/ skills: foods, clothes pin dolls, willow whistles, pottery, quilting, whittling, canning, etc.

For those of you who enjoyed the ribbing regarding my privately famous singing career...Kristi found this one! As much as I love that song, I had a good laugh imagining her coming across this!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO-wPOgVtqg

Lori

Jeny's Furniture

Mark's brother, Dave, just had gastric bypass surgery. He needed easy things to do while he recovered, so he came to my house and painted the dining room (the color is called "chipmunk"). When I tried to move the furniture back, Spencer announced that we could not move it back until it was refinished, a job I have been putting off successfully for about 15 years. So Spencer and I went at it while Mark provided "refreshment" and hooked up my little TV in the garage. Here are the before and after pics of my furniture, and the finished dining room. Isn't it pretty!

Before

After

Before

After

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to Jeny and Mark! Today is their 21st wedding anniversary! Congratulations!!

Holly's Games

I pretty much played the same games as Heidi, but when I played with Barbies I was usually injuring them so that I could make a cast out of toilet paper and water. We had a few Barbie funerals as well. I guess I was a morbid child. I also remember loving Connect 4, Trivial Pursuit, Stratego, Skip-Bo, and all of the other games you have all mentioned. My favorite was playing catch with Matt and playing night games like Flashlight Tag and "Ghostbusters" (that was a sort of hide-and-seek game in the dark that we made up). We were actually pretty good at making up games. Heidi, Matt and I used to climb the oak tree out back and we each had our own designated spots where we would sit and pretend to be flying an airplane or we would spy on the neighbors, sure we were going to catch someone committing a crime. We had vivid imaginations and never wanted for anything to do!

Lori's Games

I don't remember ever being fond of games other than Trivial Pursuit, but I do remember some of our less structured, made-up games. There was "Miss America" on the half-fence in Newark. Also, in Newark, we played "snow" (throwing the pebbles from the swing set area in the air in the biggest hands-full we could hold) and "bury the baby" (similarly played with the same pebbles and burying up to the neck whoever was "it"). Kristi, Jeny and I played "electric can opener" with the big hanging lamp Mom had made in Livermore (of course, when that one backfired, we "never even touched it"). Then in West Jordan there was gymnastics on the exposed gas pipe (which we were sure would burst and kill us all once Dad caught us doing it). Then there was the all time favorite in any house we had with a mirror "Interview with the famous Lori Lauritzen". Much to my embarrassment, I got caught doing that one many times. Windmill was a favorite until Amy fell and cut her head open. Probably one of our favorites (because it tormented him so much) was beauty shop on David in which Kristi, Jeny and I put as many barrettes and ribbons in his hair as we could then made him go outside so the neighbors would see him. Have fun laughing with those memories...I know I did!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Heidi and Holly! Today Heidi and Holly turn 31. We hope you guys have a great day! Happy Birthday!

GRAPES

I wanted to put this on the main blog in case no one goes to mine. We have been making grape juice - really good grape juice - from some grapes that a friend of mine helped me pick from a friend of hers. And this is not all of them. They taste just like Grandma's grapes!

Amy's Games

We are a family that loves games - maybe not as much as the Parkinson's, but we do love them. Where do I begin? Jeny and I used to stay up all night playing games. We played Pit and Sorry and Throw the Ball back and forth, anything we could think of to keep us awake. We played the bird game a lot since we had bunkbeds. The one on top would stick their hand down between the bed and the wall to the one on the bottom and swing it back and forth and the one on the bottom would try and catch it (was that how we did it Jeny?). We played Dumb Dora as a family and a lot of Trivial Pursuit. Jeny and Stephanie would go through the cards during sleepovers and try to memorize them. When we went to Grandma Breckenridge's house we would always go down in the dark scary basement to the game closet. Usually it was Life or Mousetrap. We also played dress-up in the bedroom down there. At Grandma Lauritzen's we played dress-up with the ice-cream bowls full of costume jewelry. Always there was a fight about who got the Santa Clause earrings. And we learned to play Casino from Grandpa. Alex and I play that a lot now - he's pretty good! In our neighborhood in Utah there were a lot of kids my age so we played all the time. Lots of bike riding and roller skating. Kristin and Rachael and I used to go behind the Borba's house and play in the plum trees or the creek. Or we would go to Chadwicks and play Batman and Robin on the jungle gym (when they still lived on Clover Circle). When we moved to Colorado there were no kids my age and not a whole lot to do, so I don't really remember playing much, except Asteroids on the Atari and Jai Alai on the little tiny TV.

Putting the Kids to Sleep

This is a cute one.
-Dad