imperialbeachdad-blog

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Sunsets, statues, and surfer dads! My favorite place on earth - #imperial beach

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Success! We made it to @legolandcalifornia for Sterling's birthday! I wore my rad caped #Batman Tee and was so #stoked on it that I invincibly #dadded for like 45 minutes helping kids get ready and find their own bat-themed gear. #imperialbeachhottie even wore my regular batman t-shirt 😍 yay! So the morning was epic but wore me out! During the van ride i necame overwhelmed by every stimuli and was a skittish mess who couldn't think straight, feeling very insecure and afraid, but I managed it! Once we got there I never left my #ministang #mobility chair and spent a good portion of the day sleeping at different rides while my wife helped the kids ride them 💘. Oh and she found lots of little play areas where the kids could run around and she could sit on my lap and give me hugs and reassurance. That really made my day great despite the challenges. I love having a best friend in all times and things 🤠👰🏻💖. Even when she should be outgunned and outmatched and I can't help or even life at all, she finds a way to get us all through it smiling, and always makes me feel cared for and loved even if I'm acting like a ridiculous toddler because #braintumorlife 🤤. #wifey, i love you so so much!!! (at LEGOLAND California)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

3 days till #ziptiedrags is the perfect time to start a #paintjob in your driveway... #becauseroadkill 🤙🏼 Come see it at #ziptiedrags on Saturday, or better yet get your rig rolling and meet me at Fontana Speedway Friday morning and see america with me as we cruise to @tucsondragway 😎! #adventuretime #bucketlistliving #roadkillrides (at Imperial Beach, California)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Baby Go knows just how to push all the right #buttons and dang if she isn't the cutest thing ever in her new tennis shoes! Her first time on a plane today and she did great! . #babiesofinstagram #blackandwhite #trippy #blackandwhitephotography (at Tucson International Airport - TUS)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

#MINISTANG #BURNOUTS! 🛵🌫 !!! (Offroad) The #torque is good but it's a little tricky living that #limitedslip #diff life 🙄 however... 🤔if turn the front wheel 90% it's sort of like I have a #linelock (note the singular) and I can get it done! I got slowmo video of gravel flying but I'm SUPER BUMMED I accidentally deleted all the videos from this trip 😣 (including me #hooning and rolling the #sidebyside 😭). Sorry I can't share that stuff but happy I have the memories with those that were there 🤠 (at Tucson, Arizona)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

I WON THE RACE TO #ZIPTIEDRAGS!!! Lol, who'd have thought the #ministang would get there first?! BTW, it feels pretty #roadkill to have it parked under a tarp in the weeds at a dragstrip. I love this pic and CANNOT WAIT to cruise this thing all around the event! #roadkillrides (at Tucson Dragway)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Look who I found while dropping off goodies for #ziptiedrags! My buddy @matthew_deyoung! He's the track manager at @tucsondragway and an all around awesome dude! I got to see the new tower, and walk the track, it was super fun! Less than a week and I'll be back for the event! Hashtags: #becauseroadkill #dragracing #quartermile #bucketlistliving 😎🤙🏼💦 (at Tucson Dragway)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Two of my most #favoritepeople! Baby Go and my #foreverfriend @chelseafinebooks! She and I met in 9th grade at a church summercamp or something, and even though we lived in different cities our entire lives, our friendship grew and grew through correspondence as committed #penpals, and confidants; sharing and processing so much of our young adult lives all the way through college. The story of all the life-stuff God lined up to reconnect us, and our now families, this year is unbelievable, and unbelievably good! I hope to share that story in full one day, (it's a really really good one). TODAY was super super special though! We hadn't seen her in over a dozen years, and when she heard we were in the same state, she drove like 4 hours round trip just to be with us! She, Christy, and I (with 4 of our kids) rediscovered a minigolf place we all have fond memories of, and it was everything! We talked fast, laughed loud, cried happy beautiful tears together, and shared the journeys we've all been on, the amazing moments and accomplishments, the hard things we've been through, the lessons we've learned, the challenges we're facing now, and our hopes for the future. It was SUCH a lifegiving day! One I'll never ever forget! What a gift!!! I truly am #foreverstoked 🤙🏼💕 (at Golf 'N Stuff)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

The Lord is my strength and my reason for singing. He saved me! - Psalm 118:14 (ERV) Yes God, Yes!  I can only point to you when people say I'm doing this well.  I'm staying positive and full of hope against a brain cancer death-sentence because you have saved me!  Sure my body will die, that was always gonna happen someday, but you alone know the hour and the day.  It has always been so. So why do I sing?  Why do I smile?  Why am I still out there loving people, trying to make a difference?  How am I staying so footloose and fancy free with a cloud looming that may leave my wife a widow and my six kids fatherless?  Because of you God!  It's really all right here in this same chapter: Praise the Lord because he is good! His faithful love will last forever! You people worshiping the Lord, say it: “His faithful love will last forever!” I was in trouble, so I called to the Lord for help. The Lord answered and made me free. The Lord is with me, so I will not be afraid.  Psalm118:1,4-6a (ERV) That's it God!  My soul has been set free and I had 36 years before diagnosis to learn and experience your faithful love.  It's been there for me in every up, every down 🎢!  Even in seasons when I tried to sabotage myself with selfish sinful behavior, your love was there and rescued me. It's true! We call for help when in trouble and you answer with freedom.  Freedom from the fears of the future, freedom from regret over the past, freedom from fighting and struggling alone.  You are WITH me.  Not watching from above with criticism and judgement; but in the trenches WITH me, making me strong, filling me with hope and most importantly your abundant love!  You ARE with me God.  I am not afraid 💪🏻.  You are my strength, my reason for singing, you save me 🙌💙. . Hasthags: #prayerjournal #meditation #bible #surf #surfing #longboarding #hope #youtuber #bucketlistliving #braintumorlife (at Imperial Beach, California)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Welp, it's one of those days 😞. This #wipeout pic is a good artistic expression of my day. It WAS going so good! I painted baby#5's nails, played with baby#6, then had some alone time crocheting a hat for a friend while watching @mtondemand, I did chores for the family, and played boardgames with #imperialbeachhottie's mom 💗! It was going so good! But somewhere in there I forgot to take my afternoon meds, and the next thing I knew I was super jumpy and emotional. Wanting to cry over everything and nothing all at once because unmedicated my stupid #braintumor calls the shots squeezing my emotional processing center. But good news! Just like in #surfing, you can wipe out pretty hard and still have an awesome next #wave. I posted on my facebook prayer page, texted a friend for emotional support, and began some #yoga. 30 minutes later I felt better, then my buddy sent me a super sweet video and everything feels right again ☺. #cancersucks, and this is super super hard sometimes - but man friends sure make it better. I'm grateful to have so many who truly care about me and feeling really good about the rest of tonight. Christy brought boardgames home to play with me since I had to cut gametime short 🎲. #bestwifeever 😍 #bestfriendsever #staystrong and #staystoked everybody 🤙🏼💦

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

#PSA: time to take those #christmasdecorations down before the indigenous #seachickens get them. This sandy tourist was just trying to enjoy a nice vacation in beautiful #imperialbeach, after a busy holiday season, when suddenly the smell of carrots was replaced with that of the #oceanbreeze 😲! lol Haha! I'm in love with this shot 😍! It's a behind the scenes screengrab of a sneaky #seagull literally eating the nose right off of #toastythesnowman when I was off camera collecting shells 😂! (From my Snowman at the Beach video from before #christmas) Sooo funny! . . Hashtags: #snowman #gull #seagulls #seachicken #beach #sandman #sandiegogram #sandcastle #winterishere #winterinsandiego #beachday (at Imperial Beach, California)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

A fun #arteveryday #mural for @sdcl_imperial_beach - San Diego's newest and BEST Library. Seriously, if you haven't been, you need to plan a trip! Such a great facility, June and her staff are unbelievably cool; there's a #3Dprinter, wifi, amazing reading nooks, and meeting spaces - plus the BEST story hour ever (tons of mom's are loading up and driving their toddlers from #coronado, that's how good it is 😊). But it's still 100% #imperialbeach 🕶 and only 8 blocks from the water, so this #surfing #book seemed like it would fit right in 🎨🌊📖🏄🏼 #staystoked friends 🤙🏼💦 #streetart #sidewalkchalk #wave (at Imperial Beach Library)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

So BUMMED 😯. Our community is more passionate and active about #advocacy for #cleanwater than ever but it's like 1 step forward 2 steps back 😫 #sb507 passed but with some sneaky last minute fine print addendum 🤥 moving most of the funds from the USborder sewage containment facility it was supposed to provide, dedicating it to creating some sort of campground instead😣. I'm all for camping by the river but can we please solve the #toxicwaste problem first😷? And if that's not enough the the beach was closed for the entire long weekend due to another unreported spill from mexico 🤢. We need federal help, this is just heartbreaking. Help us #erinbrockovich! #frustrated #cleanwaternow #sunset #beach #pollution #captainplanet (at Imperial Beach, California)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Happy #treehousetuesday everyone, thought you might enjoy a fresh feature of the #bucketlisttreehouse soaking in last night's amazing #sunset 😎. I built this massive treehouse earlier this year when i found out my craniotomy hadn't done the trick completely, I had an inoperable brain tumor (and all the bad news you'd imagine comes with a diagnosis like that). This 🌳🏠 was my reaction. I was like, "Wait, there are still things in life I've always wanted to do but never done!" And so this became one of the first historic steps in my #bucketlistliving lifestyle. People and businesses all over IB donated the #reclaimedwood and hardware came in from friends and fans locally and even across state lines. My Buddies @angeldacong and Jesse helped me engineer and construct it over a period of about a month. It has been the most wonderful gift to my family ever for picnic dinners, playing pirates with the boys, reading stories to the girls, chilling out alone or with Christy, watching sunsets - or just getting away when my brain just needs quiet. Is there something you've always wanted to do but never done? Something you always plan to do "someday?" Comment below, I'd LOVE to know what your dreams are! Who knows, maybe just writing it down will start you down your own path of #enlightenment. #STAYSTOKED my friends 🤙🏼💦 (at Imperial Beach, California)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

A little #arteveryday to say #thankyouveterans 🇺🇸! I'm so grateful for all our servicemen and women - those who made this place better while serving, and those who stayed and continue helping make IB the best place on earth! I hope everyone has a great Saturday, and if you're local swing by #veterans park to celebrate #veteransday with our community, it's gonna be fun 😎🤙🏼🇺🇸 (at Veteran's Park)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

Hope you guys enjoy this fun little promo for my latest #youtube video. Here I'm just practicing some digital #arteveryday and making the thumbnail, but the video is live and ready for you to watch right now right here 👉https://youtu.be/Wi25KTPL9qM👈 (or of course my instagram bio link). #lightning #thunder #speedart #digitalart #gimpnotphotoshop #youtuber (at Imperial Beach, California)

[imperialbeachdad-blog]

#timelapsevideo of the spectacular #sunset🌅 over #ImperialBeach last night! Wherever this gram finds you, let it be a reminder that though our world has some serious problems, and we ourselves may be facing some very difficult things (cough - like me & #braintumorlife 🤕), there is beauty and life all around us - available to everyone willing to slow down and enjoy. No matter what problems we have, we all share this beautiful sky and admission is free 🤠. That's not all! Take a deep breath of air, go drink a glass of water, move and stretch your body - remember that you're alive and that each moment is a gift. Nature has always had a great way of reminding us that joy and peace can be found #inthemoment. Tonight the sky reminded us all. As I filmed this #video I saw hundreds of people stop in their tracks happily give up their agendas to stare at the sky in awe . A man with bags of recycling tied to his bike, an elderly couple holding hands, A young couple expecting a baby, working professionals still in suits and ties after a long day, kids previously arguing, now all - every one of them - standing together with eyes (and phones) held high, putting their problems aside to enjoy this beautiful and fleeting sight. Scrolling my phone later, the same feed that is usually clogged with politics, agendas, questions, problems, and worries, was filled with images of the same sky from backyards, rooftops, office windows, and places of work. Talk about a #showstopper. This same show has stopped humanity in its tracks since the beginning of time. Reminding us that life is a gift. I hope this post finds you well and reminds you to find the good in each moment and interaction. #STAYSTOKED everybody 🤙💦 #perspective #nbc7 #socal #beachvibes (at Imperial Beach, California)