Oklahoma father remembers his two daughters

Phillip Vargyas lost two children in the Moore, Oklahoma tornado – Karrina, 4, and Sydnee, just seven months old. His daughters were at home with their mom and grandma where they tried to ride out the storm in a bathroom. Vargyas' wife and mother-in-law were injured when the tornado hit.  He wants people to know what his daughters were like and shared a few happy memories on AC360.

4-year-old Karrina would have turned five in two weeks. After seeing her favorite Disney princesses ice skating recently, her father said she was inspired to become an ice skater. The family never got the chance to take Karrina to a skating rink, but her father told Anderson the family wants to go one day and remember her. "Whenever we take the kids and the wife we know she'll be there with us. And we'll enjoy it all the more knowing that she's there," he said.

As for 7-month-old Sydnee, her father affectionately called her his "Okie." That's because  she was his only child born in Oklahoma. Sydnee's father said this past Sunday, during another tornado, she crawled for the first time.  He smiled while talking about this lasting happy memory of her fearless attitude during the stormy weather.

The Vargyas’ have two older children who survived the tornado while taking cover at their school. The family plans to stay in Moore and rebuild. "We want to stay as close to the community that we were at when this happened," Phillip told Anderson. "I believe that in order for my kids to successfully make it through this we have to make the transition as seamless as possible. And the best way to do that is to keep them surrounded by the things they know most," he added.