Post-Passport Ramen

Passport Office

Gamma's visit down south

"The Fall Tree"

No time to edit photos or write a proper journal entry tonight but definitely wanted to get a preview pic up as we had such a fun afternoon.  

Love you Jo Jo!  What a great day and end to your visit!  

WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

Joe Hiller Longboard Classic

There is a surf contest every year to celebrate Joe Hiller. Joe was an awesome guy and the event really shows how loved and missed he is here in Charleston.  In total there were probably 100 people participating in this years contest.  We did really well this year!  I won the Master's division, got 3rd in the open division, and you got a super cool trophy for participating in the push and surf division.  Mom took this photo of us on the beach that I really like.

Gettin' ready to ride

Jalen Rides!

First bike ride sans training wheels.

Surf Instructor

Jalen followed through with his promise to teach Vera to surf.  

On Facebook Vera titled this one "My great teacher)"

Take your son to work day

It's very probable that Jalen told Vera "goodbye" sixty four times before they actually split ways.  Just before she left Jalen asked if he could tell me a secret.  He whispered "I'm gonna teach her to surf."

First Report Card

Grom Style

2FB -

Always a proud Dad but I was stoked when Jalen told me "I love burping salt water." We shared our first session today. Granted it was knee to thigh high but he had his board, I had mine. Stoked!

Read this, .... again .... and again.

I just found it tonight and it made me think of you.  don't know the author.  If you can remind yourself daily of every point made and try to live it you'll be way ahead of the game.  I'm still working on some of these, some I'm pretty good at.

love you!

1.  Quit procrastinating on your goals.

Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it.  Action and change are often resisted when they’re needed most.  Get a hold of yourself and have discipline.  Putting something off instantly makes it harder and scarier.  What we don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow.  And there’s nothing more stressful than the perpetual lingering of an unfinished task.

The secret to getting ahead is simply getting started.  Starting, all by itself, is usually sufficient to build enough momentum to keep the ball rolling.  So forget about the finish line and just concentrate on taking your first step.  Say to yourself, “I choose to start this task with a small, imperfect step.”  All those small steps will add up and you’ll actually get to see changes fairly quickly.  ReadGetting Things Done.

2.  Quit blaming others and making excuses.

Stop blaming others for what you have or don’t have, or for what you feel or don’t feel.  When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility and perpetuate the problem.  Stop giving your power away andstart taking responsibility for your life.  Blaming is just another sorry excuse, and making excuses is the first step towards failure; you and only you are responsible for your life choices and decisions.

3.  Quit trying to avoid change.

If nothing ever changed there would be no sunrise the next morning.  Most of us are comfortable where we are even though the whole universe is constantly changing around us.  Learning to accept this is vital to our happiness and general success.  Because only when we change, do we grow, and begin to see a world we never knew was possible.

And don’t forget, however good or bad a situation is now, it will change.  That’s the one thing you can count on.  So embrace it, and realize that change happens for a reason.  It won’t always be easy or obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.

4.  Quit trying to control the uncontrollable.

If you try to control everything, and then worry about the things you can’t control, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of frustration and misery.

Some forces are out of your control, but you can control how you react to things.  Everyone’s life has positive and negative aspects – whether you’re happy or not depends greatly on which aspects you focus on.  The best thing you can do is to let go of what you can’t control, and invest your energy in the things you can – like your attitude.

5.  Quit talking down to yourself.

Nothing will bring you down quicker than berating yourself.  The mind is a superb instrument if used right, but when used incorrectly, it becomes very destructive.  Be aware of your mental self-talk.  We all talk silently to ourselves in our heads, but we aren’t always conscious of what we’re saying or how it’s affecting us.

As Henry Ford once stated, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”  One of the major causes of why we fail is due to self-doubt and negative self-talk.  The way to overcome negative thoughts and destructive emotions is to develop opposing, positive emotions that are stronger and more powerful.  Listen to your self-talk and replace negative thoughts with positive ones, over time you will change the trajectory of your life.  Read The How of Happiness.

6.  Quit criticizing others.

The negativity you bleed out toward others will gradually cripple your own happiness.  When you truly feel comfortable with your own imperfections, you won’t feel threatened or offended by the imperfections you see in other people.

So stop worrying about the flaws you see in everyone else, and focus on yourself.  Let the constant growth and improvement in your own life keep you so busy that you have no time left to criticize others.

7.  Quit running from your problems and fears.

Trust me, if everyone threw their problems in a pile for you to see, you would grab yours back.  Tackle your problems and fears swiftly, don’t run away from them.  The best solution is to face them head on no matter how powerful they may seem.

Fears, in particularly, stop you from taking chances and making decisions.  They keep you confined to just the small space where you feel completely comfortable.  But your life’s story is simply the culmination of many small, unique experiences, many of which require you to stretch your comfort zone.  Letting your fears and worries control you is not ‘living,’ it’s merely existing.

Bottom line:  Either you own your problems and fears, or they will ultimately own you.

8.  Quit living in another time and place.

Some people spend their entire lives trying to live in another time and place.  They lament about what has been, what they could have done, or what might become.  However, the past is gone, and the future doesn’t exist.  No matter how much time we spend thinking and lamenting about either, it doesn’t change anything.

One of life’s sharpest paradoxes is that our brightest future hinges on our ability to pay attention to what we’re doing right now, today.

We need to live more in the moment.  Living in the moment requires active, open, intentional awareness on the present.  Don’t fantasize about being on vacation while at work, and don’t worry about the work piling up on your desk when you’re on vacation.  Live for now.  Notice the beauty unfolding around you.

9.  Quit trying to be someone you’re not.

One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else.  Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you.  Don’t change so people will like you.  Be yourself and the right people will love you, and you’ll love yourself more too.  The Road Less Traveled.

10.  Quit being ungrateful.

Not all the puzzle pieces of life will seem to fit together at first, but in time you’ll realize they do, perfectly.  So thank the things that didn’t work out, because they just made room for the things that will.  And thank the ones who walked away from you, because they just made room for the ones who won’t.

No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life.  Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

Look out Kindergarten ... here he comes!

Woke early today and had Jalen at James Island Elementary around 7 a.m.  We got to meet the principal Deborah Davis-Fickling and Ms. Patterson, your K-C teacher!  We were impressed with them both and with the whole operation they have going on over there.  We're all expecting a GREAT year! 

But where are the lemurs?

Thanks Jo Jo and Papa Jim!  Great week with you!

IUDx2

  Argumenxt for tthe parents of "only chilldren."

THIS IS PART OF YOUR PERMANENT RECORD

I turned around in the car today and noticed Jalen had his first pimple.  (He informed me later that it wasn't a pimple but a "kooshkiya" which apparently had to do with something about the interconnectivity of wires somewhere that I think could destroy bad guys. In some capacity.) Anyway, I wanted to document this occasion. So here ya go. Forever documented.

Okay, I know that I'm officially "that" parent.  No question about it.  The fact that I consciously thought "a pimple.  I must document this" is a bit too scary to grasp.

No apologizes though!  I'm here and I'm proud.

(photo note:  I tried to not focus too much on the blemish.)  :)

This photo is a little closer to reality -- Um, Dad. Can I get back to the Play-Doh traps I was setting for the amazing spiderman and my friend "Ghosty the friendly but semi-scary ghost?"

 — with Kate Boughn-Davis.

Family Resemblance

Uncle Sam

has come to town.  This morning he flew all the way from Toronto to see you.  We picked him up at the Charlotte airport around 11:00 a.m.  By noon he was on a roller coaster.

"The Intimidator" at Carowinds is appropriately named.  I'm not sure Sam actually wanted to ride it but then again neither did I.  We were showing your Mom we could play too.  She loves roller coasters!

You were too little for (and freaked by) the really big coasters but you couldn't get enough of "The Woodstock Express."  Don't fool yourself thinking this is a kiddie ride.   It's old and wooden -- two properties I never look for in a roller coaster -- old, fast and super-herky jerky -- actually make it three or four.

And the retrofitted seatbelts dangling under the all-too-loose lapbar?  They just seemed to make it seem all the more unsafe somehow.  But, we tried it and survived. You liked it so we rode ... again ... and a couple of more times after that.

probably about 8 times straight and we'd still be there if we lived by your creed of "One more time, puh-lease.  I promise!"

Fun day!  Sleep tight.

"Waiting on a Friend" -- Charlotte airport waiting on Uncle Sam. Jalen was convinced after the grueling 30 minute wait that Sam wasn't coming to see him after all, despite my reassurances. He was extra-stoked when Sam arrived! 

Thank you Mr. Sheep!

Almost without fail, Jalen will leave the bathroom after his tubby and go curl up on a sheepskin Kate has beside our bed.  The side benefit is that he gets to watch himself in the full length mirror while he gets cozified. (Kate just informed me that not only is the skin soft and cozifying but she sprays it with lavender oil so it apparently smells good too!  I'll admit that I haven't tried it out yet.)

Bird like a Fish

BIRD!  You are so comfortable in the water that I'M now getting almost wholly comfortable with you in the water.  Almost ....

Don't worry GP's or Kate -- not letting my guard down.  When Jalen and I are in the water together I'm forever vigilant in paranoid parenthood.  But, I'll admit I did experience a brief sense of "no worries, he's got this" today while swimming at the pool.   The kid's got it!

SCE&G loves us!

Sure it was almot 100 °F today in Charleston and it's still plenty warm tonight. But when you're married to a Canadian who likes to dream of home while she slumbers it's never too hot inside our house to don the longsleeved union suit jammies.

Search for Sure it was almot 100 °F today in Charleston and it's still ... Search for a map Translate

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"off the charts" ...

your doctor described when grading your measurements. Well not quite off anymore but you're still a BIG kid apparently.

Unexpected Contest Photo!

Tonight I was going through an online gallery of photo's from the contest and found this one of us. This was after your "push and surf" heat and we were watching the "Open final." Mom was being awesome and just went to grab us sandwiches up near Ocean Surf Shop. Grilled cheese for you. She returned with some contest prizes for us of her own.  A "Shakasauras" surfing dinosaur shirt for you and a retro billabong T for me. Schwing!

¡Surf Swag!

We hit the washout this weekend for the surf contest.   Jalen was in the push and surf division which basically is just like it sounds.  I push him in.  He surfs -- A couple of long little squatters all the way to the beach and a bazillion points were earned (or so we imagine.)  Anyway ... mellow waves, super clear water (for Folly) and fun people made for  FUN DAY! Congrats bird!  Stay humble.  :)

Push and Surf.  SSC-ESA contest #3.  

and it looked like this on Facebook ....

Tie dye and Instagram.

Today Jalen got two of my "I'd never ... ."  but did. Today only.  At least for the  Tie dye.

Castle Construction

JoJo came for a quick visit to see you before your trip to Canada on Friday!  You both really enjoy building the castles together and you REALLY love knockin' 'em down.

Dad's birthday dinner with the Frickers

Thanks Gretchen and Jason for a great birthday dinner and night!

Mother's Day with Weekend Bear