surprise

have you ever put your foot in your mouth? hold that thought. have you ever unknowingly put your foot in your mouth in a major way only to find out just a minute to late that you may have potentially just ruined a big surprise? yeah....well, that's the source of my post today.

a couple weeks back sharon was talking to me about how our good friend steve's oldest daughter was coming to california for a visit. steve hadn't seen his daughter in awhile and sharon was expressing how it was going to be so cool to meet her and see them reconnect. even mentioned how we may facilitate getting her from the airport.

well....at the time sharon and i had this conversation, i felt like i was the model of effective multitasking because i was sitting at the computer working on something incredibly "important" while listening to sharon's story ....or at least i thought i was.

in the days preceding her arrival, i had met with steve in his office. we were just jabbering away about nothing, and i mentioned how excited we were to get to meet his daughter in the coming weekend. he looked at me puzzled and says, "she's not coming for a few months???" seriously? but sharon told me???? i finally dropped it and chalked it up to me misunderstanding. two days later i made the exact same statement to steve's wife right in front of him again. yes, i did. again, i heard how i was mistaken.

i remember thinking....wow! sharon is really losing it! i need to let her know...

a couple minutes later i called sharon and told her how she was way off about the timing of steve's daughters arrival. after the words came out of my mouth, there was silence, and then....a screech/scream/verbal flogging that made me shrink into a tiny puddle in the front seat of my truck......"YOU SAID WHAT???!!!!!.....STEVE DOESN'T KNOW SHE'S COMING!!!!! IT WAS A SURPRISE! I TOLD YOU THAT!!!!!!!

uh......errrr......ehhhh.....you did?

texts and voice mails of apology ensued for the next couple hours....to finally discover that in spite of my massive stupidity, the surprise had gone off without a hitch and steve was completely blown out of the water as his daughter walked through the door.

whew!!!!! i guess i dodged that bullet huh? :-)

the moral of the story is....even if you think you know....you have no idea. oh, and don't type while your wife is talking to you.

i don't like being away

i found that out about myself this week. my good friend derrick and i traveled to socal this week to attend a conference for people that work at churches doing music stuff. that's us...so we went. it was a really great experience, which may or may not turn into a blog post at some point. but even in the midst of all of the great speakers, musicians, and content that we were both so interested in, i found myself longing to be home after a couple of days.

i used to dream of traveling the world in a rock band. seeing new things all the time. living out of a suitcase. but now...i don't think i would be able to take it. in fact, i know i couldn't. i like routine. i enjoy schedules. consistency.

so even though i returned home to garbage that needed to be taken out, chores that needed to be done and kids that interrupt my conversations...i couldn't help but deny that there's no place like home. take care.

less of me...

dad's day

so in stark contrast to 'father's day', though still highly confused in my household...my kids school has an event called 'dad's day' every year where all the dads get to come to school and share with the kids something about us. something we are interested in...that we think may interest them as well. my 5th dad's day was this last friday. it always falls on a friday which is super cool because i get a long weekend. the last 4 years i've done something with music. the first year i brought my electric guitar and amp....effect pedals, etc....let the kids make noise. they loved it. the following year i brought some percussion instruments and i taught the kids different rhythms. the next year i brought my computer and we recorded a song together. the year after that i brought my acoustic guitar and sang songs with the kids. so, i think i've made my point with the music thing.

a couple of weeks ago i started thinking about dad's day and wanted to do something different. not music. something else....hmmm.....but what else? what could i do? what else do i know anything about? and that's when my oldest daughter said....'why don't you bring your surf board?'

PERFECT!

so, that's what i did. brought in my big old board. my wet suit. a few issues of my favorite surf magazine. i even made up a multiple choice pop-quiz for the kids of different surf terms. it was pretty funny. we talked about tides and how waves are made. then i showed the kids how to catch a wave. all in all, i think it was a pretty fun day.

to be really transparent with you....i get a lot of anxiety about what the kids think of me when i come in the class. i get all worried that they aren't going to think i'm interesting at all. it's a lot of pressure. and they're only in the 4th grade!!!!

anyhow....i got through another successful year. and even got a couple of pictures. so. enjoy!

surf report: cowells beach

yahoo! good times today! the swell was a little subdued, but the tide was perfect. way out. and i was really picking my spot today. i kept finding the right wave and getting into the right spot. i caught 5 or 6. don't totally remember. but it was awesome. i felt strong today too. that's the best! there's nothing worse then really struggling to paddle out. but i felt like i could have surfed all day today.

amazing, it was beautiful blue skies inland and totally cold and foggy at the coast, but it doesn't matter. after we got out of the water we hit our favorite spot for breakfast burritos. love it! good day. i'm tired now....

oh....and i've decided that i'm going to start taking pictures. sharon has been sharing a few tips with me....so today, you get an actual picture taken with an actual camera. not from my phone! so, enjoy it. i snapped some more....but i'm going to leave you with this one sneak peek.

take it easy....have a great day!

one tick, two tick, three tick, four!

i hope you all had a fantastically relaxing memorial weekend. i did. we all just hung around the house. got some much needed yard work done, watched some tv, laid around....you know the drill. yesterday afternoon, right around 5:00pm, sharon suggested we head out to rush ranch. it's a real, working ranch that is open to the public. there are trails and animals....all sorts of fun stuff. sharon has been out there several times with the kids, so this was a great opportunity for me to see all the fun for myself.

and it was. fun that is. the kids ran and played. i got a photography lesson from sharon (more about that later), and we all just enjoyed the peace and quiet....that is until we got home.

when we walked in the door, everyone dumped their stuff and dispersed. i remembered a quick e-mail that i needed to send, so i hoped on the computer and began typing away. and then. i felt something. a slight itch on my lower back. i reached under my shirt to scratch, but it wasn't just my skin. i felt a bug. no biggie....i stood up and started walking to the kitchen to throw said bug in the garbage disposal (yes, that's what i do) and as i passed sharon, the peace and quiet came to a screeching halt.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A TICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sharon saw it on my back as i walked past her. so, i grabbed it and tossed it....and then, in a sudden moment of silence, we both realized as we stared at each other like two cowboys pacing off their steps for a duel, that if i had a tick on me....that there were more then likely ticks on all of us.

sharon screamed again, and we started ripping off our clothes (i know...just like a dream!!!). it was actually like that scene in the movie 'stand by me' where the boys took a dip in a lake only to discover that they picked up a bunch of leaches. remember that scene? that was us. sharon yelled upstairs to the kids to take off their clothes and bring them down. the next 30 minutes was sheer panic. screaming and crying. showers and laundry. total chaos.

in the end, i pulled 4 ticks off of me. 11 more from everyone else. crazy. a couple glasses of wine later, things had settled down. we ended up having a great evening later.....but i think it will be awhile before we head out to rush ranch again. too bad! and because a blog post is always better with a picture.....here you are.

i love....

1. my wife. more now then i did when we met. i see new strength and interest in her everyday and feel stronger all the time that we are a super power team destined and capable to tackle anything together.

2. old houses. love, love, love. i love old scratched wood floors. fences with peeling paint and wear marks. worbally glass. squeaky doors. i love it.

3. music. for years i never thought of myself as an artist, but rather just an entertainer. in the last year or so, i have shifted my view, and now long to create...and just as that happened, it seems i have no time. sucks. but every now and again, i get caught up in a moment of refreshment and feel it. like when i was fifteen, playing for the sheer joy of it. it's magic......some day.

4. hope. it makes the world tolerable. it makes you continue. it nudges you as you begin to slow down on the long descent up the hill. sharon and i get ours from our faith, and honestly, i don't know how you could get through tough times with out it. no joke.

5. the ocean. it's free. it's big. it's uncontrollable. it's consistent. it's mysterious. i feel comfort in it's largeness and it's willingness to let me think i matter to it. i don't. :-) but it's still amazing.....i feel closer to god when i'm in it. how in the world did he think of that!

ok....that's it for today. thanks babe for the encouragement! i hope you all have a fabulous memorial weekend. do whatever you want, with whomever you want. enjoy, relax, refresh. take care!

less of me...

it never ends

the story remains the same, only the names have changed....

the bright glimmer in my world today is mr. trautwig's LOST thoughts on last weeks season finale. be sure and check it out here! be sure and scroll all the way down to find the newest one.