DOUBLE DADS GAY COUPLE ENJOYING FAMILY LIFE WITH ADOPTED BROTHERS.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

CASTAIC - Brothers Angel and Michael saved their money to buy ``Dad Jeff'' different colored wristbands, and ``Dad Scott'' pots and pans for Father's Day.

Scott Jacobson and Jeff Duteil - each sporting a band on his ring finger from a commitment ceremony three years into their relationship - have been together for 18 years and adopted biological brothers Angel, 11, and Michael, 8, five years ago.

Living in Castaic for more than a year now, the atypical family has settled down comfortably, finding acceptance among neighbors, teachers, principals and the community.

``It's great up here,'' Duteil raved about their neighborhood in the Northlake community, where their street is home to more than 40 children and families who look out for each other.

The house that Jacobson, an interior decorator, furnished with a Southwest theme has become a popular hang-out among the kids with its pool and media room that is equipped with soundproof walls, a large-screen television with THX sound system, plush leather seats and framed posters of movies like ``Tarzan,'' ``Valley of the Dolls'' and ``Dude, Where's My Car?''

``There will be kids piled on top of each other on the couch and in sleeping bags when the boys have sleepovers,'' Jacobson said.

Even neighborhood dads have found themselves wandering over to the house to watch Lakers games on TV.

There's been just one neighbor who didn't respect Duteil's and Jacobson's relationship and asked if they planned to raise their kids as homosexuals.

``The guy was tooling around in his garage and I went outside where the kids were playing, and said, 'Angel, Michael, it's time for your gay lessons,'' Duteil joked. ``And the garage door just closed.''

When Jacobson, 45, and Duteil, 50, decided to start a family, they believed one of them should stay home to take care of the kids.

``It doesn't seem right to adopt two boys and to hire someone else to take care of them,'' Duteil said.

With that pact, the men threw themselves into their new roles as parents, getting involved in the boys' school and extracurricular activities and finding themselves doing things they thought they would never do, like fishing and riding Jet Skis.

When the boys began playing soccer, Jacobson signed up to be in charge of refreshments and banners, while Duteil unwittingly signed up to be a line guard, not aware of what it was.

Each boy has a bedroom and computer room of his own that is packed with toys, games including Nintendo and a PlayStation 2, and a television set.

``Yeah, they're not spoiled,'' Duteil joked.

In addition to playing together, the family sits down each night at 6 to eat dinner. Walking into the home, it looks just like any other family's on the block.

``It's just cleaner and better decorated,'' Duteil said.

The boys, who are rambunctious and combative when playing, are well- adjusted. Michael always has a smile on his face and Angel poses a confidence.

``When you're mad or crying, Jeff finds a way to make you laugh,'' said Angel, the older of the two brothers. ``And Scott cooks us good meals.''

Looking back, Jacobson and Duteil realize that exposing the kids only to same-sex parents and their children in the first months after adopting them was an effective way to show them that their family is not unique. Then, they introduced them to their heterosexual friends.

``It grounded them to know that there are a lot of same-sex parents,'' Duteil said.

But the kids are comfortable with the family dynamic.

``When Angel was in the second grade, some boys said something to him like 'It's weird that you have two dads,''' Jacobson said. ``Angel told the kid, 'It's a part of life. Get over it.'''

Although the boys do get teased occasionally, and their dads have a lot of talks with them to help them cope, the concept of gay parents doesn't have the power to scandalize kids and parents as it did years ago, since many kids in the boys' classes come from single-parent homes, or they are raised by grandparents, Jacobson said.

``The stereotypical 'Ozzie and Harriet' family is not there anymore,'' he said.

Nationwide, California is considered to have some of the most progressive laws regarding same-sex parent adoptions and to be one of the best places for same-sex families.

While there is very little research on kids with gay fathers, researchers estimate that the total number of children nationwide living with at least one gay parent ranges from 6 million to 14 million.

And contrary to what the lone dissenting neighbor believed, Duteil and Jacobson don't have a preference as far as which lifestyle the boys will choose for themselves.

``Their life would be easier if they're straight,'' Jacobson said. ``But, it doesn't matter which way they go. We really want healthy, happy kids who are really good people. That's the way I was brought up.''

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Photo:

(1 -- color) Gay parents Jeffrey Duteil, left, and Scott Jacobson share the title ``dad'' with their two adopted sons Michael, left, and Angel Jacobson. Living in Castaic for more than a year now, the atypical family has settled down comfortably, finding acceptance among the community.

(2) Gay parents Jeffrey Duteil, left, and Scott Jacobson enjoy family life with sons Angel, left, and Michael Jacobson.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer