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AMERICAN FORK -- No matter how cool a teenager's mom and dad may be, few teens get through high school without their parents embarrassing them.

But an American Fork teen has had to put up with his dad embarrassing him the entire school year.

There's not much worse for a high school student than having your dad wave at you as you get on the school bus every morning. Just ask Rain Price, who is thrilled the school year is finally over.

It's a way of letting him know that we really care about him, but do something a little different ... It's a father's way of (saying I love you). –Dale Price

That's because his dad is there to bid him farewell every morning, but he's taken the embarrassment factor to a new level -- he's always wearing a crazy costume.

"When he did it the first day I was in shock," Rain said. "It's my first day of sophomore year."

The idea caught on for Dale Price and he wore a costume to wave at the bus all year long.

Dale Price wore 170 costumes -- no repeats -- to wave at his son's school bus throughout the school year.

"No recycling of costumes, that's the rule," Dale said. "I managed to adhere to that and for better for worse, we have some interesting costumes."

Or maybe embarrassing would be the better word.

"You don't want to see your dad dressing up in a wedding dress, waving at you on the bus," Rain said.

But for the students on the bus, it turned into a great way to start the day.

"Most of them like it and we roll down our windows and wave," said Rain. "It's fun."

Dale admits it did take a lot of effort to keep it up, but it's a crusade he believes was worthwhile.

"It's a way of letting him know that we really care about him, but do something a little different," he said. "It's a father's way of (saying I love you)."

You don't want to see your dad dressing up in a wedding dress, waving at you on the bus. –Rain Price

But don't expect Rain to be thanking his dad.

"I'm not going to reward him for this," he said. "His reward is seeing my embarrassment."

It's also a chance to create some unique and unforgettable memories.

"I hope this lives with him for the rest of his life," Dale said. "He can use it against his kids and tell them, ‘If you think you are embarrassed by me, you should have seen your grandfather.' That sort of thing."

Dale chose a pirate costume to commemorate the last day of school. He says he already had it from Halloween and wanted to take it easy on the last day.

You can visit the family blog to see all 170 costumes Dale wore while waving at the bus.

Email: spenrod@ksl.com

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