Pops got his dream truck

Pops came by to show off his new Toyota Tacoma.

This is a pretty rig and we can't wait to take it camping. 

Pops got his dream truck

Firkfest 2018

Been to all of these Beer festivals since the 1st one. The best brewers in Orange County take a house beer and condition it with adjuncts in a firkin. The results are usually bombtastic. Some of these treats weigh in at 13%+ ABV

This year, the festival fell on Tay's Birthday

Firkfest 2018

Tay & Ozzy Study Abroad

These kids decided to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain for the winter session of 2018. I couldn't tell you how many countries they visited or how many famous sights they visited, but they definitely made the most out of their time in Europe. 

It was an experience of a lifetime and I'm sure one day I can get her to update this Blog with more pics

Tay & Ozzy Study Abroad

44th Birthday

Ah yes, another birthday passes in the shadows of Christmas Eve. Wouldn't have it any other way!

See the silliness HERE

44th Birthday

Daniella's Christmas show!

This was Missy's last show at MEC as she will be moving on to another school in the fall of 2018.
We always look forward to her performances!

Daniella's Christmas show!

311 in San Diego

 311 final night of the Summer 2017 tour. Played an epic setlist

Hung out at my fave San Diego brewery before the show

311 in San Diego

SEKI 2017

Spent a few days in the Kings Canyon and Sequoia region of the Sierras. I really enjoyed the stay in Kings Canyon as it was far less crowded and amenities were clean and easy to use. I love campsites that are next to rivers and creeks, so that you can jump in whenever the urge strikes. Missy was a definitely a trooper because I don't know very many 5 year-olds that can keep up on a 2 mile hike, the way that she can.

Absolutely love the majesty of a Giant Sequioa

Can't go wrong with sitting in front of a powerful waterfall and enjoying the rush of the water and the smell of the wilderness whipping past.

SEKI 2017

Laughlin 2017

Even though we had no boat this year, we hung out in the beautiful area of Big Bend and enjoyed the relaxing waters of the Colorado. The tradition continues...

Laughlin 2017

Tay Graduates!!!

Super duper proud of my Bear. I'm filled with so much joy and excitement for this young lady. It's truly an amazing accomplishment from an amazing daughter! #sdsugrad #bachelorofscience

Tay Graduates!!!

Snow Play in Big Bear

Had a fun little day trip up to Big Bear mountain to do some sledding. Missy was a little anxious going down the slopes, so after two runs, I took her to the snack bar to relax and watch the rest of the family happily go up and down the tube run.

Snow Play in Big Bear

Thanksgiving at Dads 2016

Thanksgiving at Dads 2016

Day at the beach

With Mom in Mexico, we got bored so we decided to head to the beach on a rainy day.

Day at the beach

Pumpkin Patch 2016

Love the chance to shoot pictures of Missy at the pumpkin patch. This year we went to one in Yucaipa, CA and it was impressive. They had a large petting zoo and corn maze to go along with all of the other games and rides. We will definitely come back to this one.

Pumpkin Patch 2016

Daniella's 5th Birthday Party

The little princess celebrated her birthday with a Shopkins-themed party at Pumper Jumpers in Fullerton. She had friends from school and her cousins their to celebrate and have fun.

Daniella's 5th Birthday Party

Pokemon Go

This has been the summer of PokemonGo. The phenomenon has taken over Ethan and I. We take every free opportunity to get out and "catchem all"

    

Pokemon Go

Time to blog on this blog

After reading a few other blogs, I had realized that I hadn't touched my blog in some time. Also, are they still even called "blogs"?. I have no idea. Anyways, it's been over a year since my last post, and going back through time it looks like I started getting lazier with how and what I was posting. The onslaught of alternative social media outlets definitely played a part in my regressive blogging behavior, however, I got into this initially as an outlet for my inner thoughts and place to store them in cyberspace. Do they still call it "cyberspace" is it even a legitimate description of what the internet has become? OK, enough of the digressing.
Analyzing this blog and  how it progressed over the years, revealed some pivotal moments in my life. For example, when I was laid off of a job that I loved in 2008, I had time. I had time to reflect and absorb the world around me. This came through in blogs that were descriptive, opinionated and reflective of my feelings at the time. Much of this blog is related to pop culture and the things that I thought were interesting and tickled my fancy. Not a lot of it was deep and philosophical, just good old fashion fun and junk-food for the brain. As I started working again and having less time to be "reflective" and "opinionated", the blog became more about what me and my family did on our free time. Vacation pictures, sporting events, birthday parties, etc. I started to view this blog as a running diary of family events. This is great, and is a huge part of my life, but there is the other 20%. You see, I've come to realize that my identity is no longer 100% me. My family and the importance that they play in my life has consumed much of my identity as an individual. I'm probably 80% diffused into this family soup and only about 20% or less about myself and how I identify myself. Does that make sense? So much of what I am is related to my relationships and interactions with Tisha and the kids, that the person that existed pre-family has all but withered away into that little space left for him. That twenty percent. I'm totally OK with this fact.
I do have some concerns that time is moving very quickly and fast enough whereby I may not get to do all the things I want to do in this life. The most important thing for me is to satisfy and enable my children to be successful in a world that is much more challenging than the world I grew up in. As we get older (the kids included), I feel like we will be able to share more experiences in the future that they will be old enough to appreciate. This gives me hope that the best is yet to come and when they are grown with families of their own, the pendulum will swing back towards some "me" time. Hopefully, not all of my individuality is lost by then. Hopefully, I will continue to discover new things about myself and enjoy hobbies and maintain robust relationships into old age.
So, to make a long story short, I'll try get back into blogging with some substance and mix in some thoughtful insight to go along with the vacation photos and family milestones.

Time to blog on this blog

Camping in Mammoth Lakes, CA

 I had a serious hankering to do some camping. The last time I tent camped was in Yosemite back in 2012? I should check this blog to make sure, because it felt like it had been much longer than that.
Normally, on the week of July 4th, we go to Laughlin/Needles. Its been a tradition for many years (almost 11 to be exact). This year, things didn't work out as planned and I was hell bent on getting outdoors. I've been working on a startup project for the last year and really wanted to disconnect for a few days and get outside.
We packed up the car and headed up highway 395 towards Mammoth Lakes. I studied the area and was very certain we would find a campsite that was walk-up only as it was far too late in the season to get a reservation. Luckily enough, we found one on our second try.
We camped on Lake Mary at the Pine city campground. It had an amazing view and close proximity to everything. I really enjoyed our time up there except for the last night of the trip, we dealt with wind gusts coming off the lake that must have been 60+ miles and hour! the rattling of the tent made for a very sleepless night. Other than that, everyone was a trooper and I was very happy with being able to show the family yet another beautiful place in this world. The only thing now is that my appetite for camping has been ratcheted up a notch, and I'm already scoping out a new destination before the end of the summer/fall.

Camping in Mammoth Lakes, CA

Tay is 21!

Taylah celebrated her 21st birthday with a variety of shot bottles. It was her 1st time drinking, wink wink. No really, it was her 1st time and she was like a seasoned pro. No buzz, no hangover. The girl has some serious tolerance.

 

Tay is 21!

River 2015

 

River 2015

Mothers Day 2015

Spent the day in Santa Monica and then touted around other parts of LA, including Beverly Hills and Hollywood. It was pretty chill as we didn't have to fight long lines to get some lunch

Mothers Day 2015