Gearing up for Halloween!

I took the kids over to Party City last night to check out the costumes. We were in there for 45 minutes before I had to drag the kids out. We were just having too much fun. My favorite is the last photo. enjoy.

They say the darnedest things don't they?

For my birthday earlier this year Erin gave me two rocking chairs and a table to go on our front porch. Well, on Saturday morning we came outside to find that someone had left us a small replica of the other chairs we've had out there for months.

Makai was so excited. She wanted to be the first to try it out. I asked her, "where do you think this little chair came from?" After a moment of thought she replied, "Maybe the two big chairs made it."

**Home Depot: Fun for the whole family**

I don't know who had more fun, the other customers who were watching our zany kids, our kids who were getting a kick out of performing for the passersby, or Me and E watching their shocked faces when we told the kids that plungers like the ones they were putting on their faces are used to un-clog funky toilets.

~good times~

***NEWS FLASH***

We have an official Kindergartner in our house!!!

We went "school clothes shopping" a few days in advance. I remember this being one of the funnest things as a kid. My mom would take me to a store and point me in the direction of the Back-to-school sales-racks and say "have at it!"

"N" loaded up on some stylish graphic tees, a camo backpack, and some running shoes.


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All decked out about to make his grand entrance into the classroom.

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Once in his classroom on the first day of school, we had to hunt around to find his name tag on the desk.

All the paparazzi parents were going crazy taking pictures of every little event that happened. I tried to contain myself, but I had to take part. It was such a momentous occasion.

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It has been a while so here are a few updates:

My Cousin got Married and I went up to his reception on July 26th in Nipomo, by Pismo Beach. Here he is playing a song on the guitar and singing to his new bride.




At the end of May we got a new puppy. He is a "Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier". His name is Eddie Aikau:





We had a birthday. Our little girl is now 3 years old!

Cruising on the new Dora Bike:


The events of the evening went something like this: swim, eat grandpa's delicious bbq, swim, open presents, swim, eat cake.




I am training for a triathlon. On July 19th I raced in the "Playa Del Run". It was a 1000 meter swim followed by a 5k run. Last week I competed in the "Surf Monkey" at Oceanside, it was a 1 mile swim and a 5k run. Here is a picture of Brian Schrock and I just minutes before the race started.

Our Family Skateboarding

Noah made this today. It is called "our family skateboarding", and he's even got the dog in there. He also wrote the word "skate" all on his own. Then he threw a bunch of other jumbled up letters on there because he knows that art is supposed to challenge the artist as well as the viewer. Just kidding.




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Many of you know that Erin and I collect, sale and trade art. Today I was doing one of my routine checks of all the websites that we normally deal with and I noticed something peculiar. This website (pictured below) is an online forum for a massively popular "urban" artist (once a graffiti artist in London, now a world famous fine artist). Normally the links in the middle of the page advertise galleries that sell similar artwork. I usually never pay any attention to those links, but today something different caught my eye (see bottom image for detail).

Last saturday we drove up to Idyllwild, CA to go play in the snow. Noah loved every minute of it. Not being the least bit phased by the temperature outside he went sledding, snowboarding, threw snow balls, and attempted making a snowman. Makai is just like her mom, not wanting to have anything to do with the cold. She tried to have fun making a snowman and sledding and she lasted a good 15 minutes outside but was quickly ready to wait out the rest of the time in the warmth of the car with her mom and some snacks.

I love the kids section at Barnes and Noble and so do the kids. They can sit there for ever looking at book after book.

Fires in the sky





this picture was taken from our front yard



Picture taken from our bedroom window

I just noticed that my last post was in August. Where did September go? Did we even have a September this year? If we did, it went by so fast that I can't remember it. Well, except for Labor day, I do remember that.

The first weekend in October we went to this place up in the mountains called Riley's Farm. We picked apples and pumpkins. Check it:

"Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children."
~Pablo Picasso


The other day I came home from work and Noah came running up with some art that he had made for me. We sat down and I asked him to explain all the details. I was astonished. He has such an attention for detail. This became apparent when he showed me the surfboards that he made on the paper. They all had lightning bolts on them. Obviously He had paid close attention to my affinity with vintage surfboards, and particularly those of Gerry Lopez's "Lightning Bolt" brand from the early 70's.

Below you will see that I have scanned his original piece of work which is made with printer paper markers and cut pieces of more printer paper. I also added descriptive notes to a copy of the art. Enjoy!





Pablo Picasso is also quoted having said,
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”

Back in April I went to Annecy, France. There was a street market there that had all kinds of interesting things. It was like a swap meet, only everything being sold were antiques. I picked up this French hymnal from 1895. The coolest thing was that everything there was ultra-cheap. I got the book for 3 euros. I think that it is pretty cool. A lot of people have asked me "why did you by a French hymnal, what are you going to do with it???" I think that things like this make better souvenirs than your standard t-shirt or refrigerator magnet.

Nearly all of the pictures on my blog are my own, but since I am shutting down my myspace account I decided to put his here. It is not mine but I like it.

Ok, so I've been "tagged" by Mark Lee so here goes...

Jobs I've had:
1. Egg Carton Salesman (Coast Packaging)
2. Nuts and Bolts Salesman (Fastenal)
3. Photo Editor (Ke Alakai)
4. Dishwasher (Zoe's in Haula)

Movies I'd watch over and over:
1. Earth to Meekus (underground surf film)
2. can't really think of any others. help me out.
3.
4.

Places I've Lived:
1. California
2. Hawaii
3. Dominican Republic
4.

Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Office (season 2)
2. Lost (season 1)
3. NHL Hockey
4. Sportscenter


Favorite Foods:
1. Eggs (any style)
2. Lasagna
3. Burritos
4. Paradise Pie (from Chili's)

Favorite Websites:
1. Google
2. Craigslist
3. ebay
4. maps.yahoo

Five Places I'd rather be right now:
1. Annecy, France (only if Erin could go with me this time)
2. Haleiwa, Hawaii (only if there were waves to surf)
3. At home with my kids
4. In Uncle Bob's Jacuzzi

Tagged:
1. Austin D.
2. Erin F.
3. Nene
4. Kai D.

Well, as many of you know I have been on the hunt for a new surfboard. I finally made a purchase on Friday. Feast your eyes upon the newest addition the surfboard family.

Specs
Shaper: Steve Walden
Length: 9'6"
Width 23"
Thickness 3 1/4"
Fins 2+1

the seller gave me the board, the bag, two fins (Wingnut 8.0 and Walden 9.0), and a leash.

Here is what my desk looks like on a busy morning (above). This was last Thursday and it wasn't even 9:30am yet.

Here is what my desk looks like on a not-so-busy morning (below). This was taken a few minutes ago.

For some reason I save every single ID Card I have ever received. I figured it'd be fun to share some here. I'll post some more later