DONUTS WITH THE DUDES

Good #SundazeVibes this weekend with the dudes in tow. We went for a run (me) / ride (Charley & Ollie in the double BOB stroller) / bike ride (Cooper) on the San Clemente beach trail. We were sure to check out potential Geocache spots along the way, and found a solid one with a killer view about a mile in! 

Cooper has been ruling it on his new bike lately, and he even powered over all the uphills on his own!

We were all pretty wiped out after the trip, so we hit up one of our favorite breakfast spots in town, The Grill at Surfin' Donuts. 

Cooper had his first ever Tiger Tail, 
and the rest of us had our usual favorites. 

Radical day!

GEOCACHING FOOLS!

Yep, we are a family of Geocaching fools. Ever since we were turned on to the habit, in a pre-cell phone world (crazy, right?!) by Carolyn's sister's family out in beautiful rural Maryland, we were hooked. Conditions have only improved in Geocache-ville. Where we previously had to scour the computer for a couple of spots to check out, then head out into the wilderness with a big ol' GPS unit, you can now do it ALL on your phone with a simple smart phone app!

So you're like, wait, what's Geocaching?  Simply put, it's a real life treasure hunt. There are millions of geocaches all over the world, just waiting for you to find them.  If you have a smart phone, you can download the Geocaching App to get started (you can always do it old-school by signing up on the Geocaching website, and carrying around a GPS unit, but we find the App to be the coolest/easiest option).  The app will tell you where Geocache sites are around you, and give you some tips/tricks/riddles in order to help you find them.  The app leads you to the approximate coordinates of the cache (usually within 30 feet or less), then you rely on your keen eye and any available tips to make the discovery.  When you DO find a Geocache (which basically means some type of container), you are able to sign the log sheet inside to record your glorious find! Some containers are large enough to contain goodies, in which case you are allowed to trade something of equal or larger value. We usually bring a few skateboarding and surfing army men to swap! If you're on your smart phone, you can also claim your find and add a note via the app.  We've made a profile as "The Rad Family" on the Geocaching app, so if you see us around a log sheet, you'll know we were there!

Why do we love Geocaching? Well first off, treasure hunts rule. We get to live out all of our greatest adventure-laden pirate dreams.  Plus it's always great to GET OUTSIDE.  Spending a few hours with the family, trekking around, following clues and hanging out together totally rules.  The kids love it for the possibility of finding some cool treasures, but I know they're especially stoked when we find anything at all!  In the photo above, we hiked about a mile straight up a hill, to an amazing viewpoint of the hills of San Clemente, where Charley victoriously found the Geocache hiding in a nearby bush. We were some happy dudes. 

TIPS!
• Although our picture above depicts the wild open hills, Geocaches can literally be found ANYWHERE. Check out the app and you'll probably be surprised with how many are surrounding you. We found one in the parking lot of a Starbucks by our house! 
• The free Geocaching App is the perfect place to get started to learn the trade. It has simple maps, an easy to navigate compass, and all you need to get started. We've recently upgraded to the paid app (runs $9.99 from the app store), but besides showing you more Geocache spots, we haven't found more benefits.  
• Some Geocaches are trickier than others. Are first couple of outings were 100% successful, but our recent trip we found 1 out of the 3 we went searching for.  We like to set out with a few Geocaches located close to each other, so if one is being troublesome, you can move on! 
• Make sure you bring a PEN (for signing the log sheet), some small treasures (to swap out with others in the Geocache you've found), and some water (cuz it might get hot!)

Now GET OUTSIDE and find some Geocaches!  This summer our plan is to create a few Geocaches of our own! We will make sure to let ya know when we do!

I WANNA SEE THE STATES. ALL OF 'EM.

I feel infinitely lucky to have been able to tour in a band for a good part of my life. Playing music is fun, but it's even more amazing to travel around the country, seeing how places are unique, meeting different people, and just taking it all in. We nearly put 500,000 miles on our tour van, and I seriously cherish every single one that we drove. Except for the ones where we broke down, those were terrible. 

Thought I'd share this radical video of my bud Forrest playin' a song about traveling around these crazy United States of ours, and what makes 'em so dang cool.

We're big fans of Forrest and his band HelloGoodbye. Always stoked to see him making cool, new stuff. And shoot, just stoked to see him in general cuz he's a good dude.  Thanks Forrest! 

If you're a teacher and wanna make this video part of your lesson plan, check out this PBS link here, they've got you hooked up!

SHREDDING, NATURALLY.

With one of my littler dudes puking all through the night this past weekend, Cooper and I took a "big dude day out" down to Cardiff, to get out of the house and check out the 4th Annual CAMP SHRED. This ain't your run of the mill beach camp. Camp Shred reigns as the "World's Largest Surf Demo", and takes place at San Elijo Campground.  We've got a proper camping reservation there later this summer, but we thought it would be a good opportunity to vibe the place out, while checkin out some cool surf gear. 

We arrived just in time to grab a Banzai Bowl (they've got a shop in San Clemente, too) and throw down a towel to check out a live music set from Montalban Quintet. We were bummed to have missed Teenage Burritos (best band name, ever?) the day before, but the vibes were appropriately mellow and introspective with the Quintet playing on the bluff directly over the waves breaking below. 

After the set we wandered around the demo displays checking out some of our favorite stuff. Saw some rad new soft top surfboards with checkered bottoms from Catch Surf, some big ol' fins from Captain Fin, and grabbed some of our favorite sun blockin' Sun Bum sunscreen. I gotta admit, we were also looking to play some games and win some stuff! Every other booth had a cornhole game set up waiting to be played, so Coop and I had a traveling tournament through the campground. Coop also scored a hat from Spy Optics on his first throw, sinking a ball in a bucket. "BOOM," he said, "first try."

We hit the beach to do some bodysurfing, and then made our way back up to the snack bar for a shaved ice before hitting the road homeward. Made a note for myself that they have a Bull Taco built into the snack bar, which may come in handy when we're camping there and I've had my fill of veggie dogs. The snack bar's patio has the perfect view of the beach, so we ate our sugary ice, watched some pelicans and decided to hit Pizza Port in Carlsbad on the way home for a "proper" lunch and some video games. 

Big dude day out, definitely a success. Hoping we'll make it down next year for the 5th Camp Shred a little earlier, so we can jump on some of those Catch Surf boards.

On our way to the car, we decided to start off a new photo series... "Cooper takes pictures with cool VW Buses that we wish were ours". 

Here's number one... 

 Thanks to Surfing Magazine for helping put together CAMP SHRED, and for everybody being so dang cool. Til next year!

THINKIN OUT LOUD vol. 1

Man do the weekends ever move fast, am I right? We hit Starbucks, fall asleep on the couch, then next thing you know, then before you know it, it's all over. Of course there was a lot more to it than that, but it sure felt quick. 

This weekend has left me feelin' real lucky to be a dad. Just yesterday, I was asked what I love about being a dad. Deep question, right? My immediate response was about how amazing it is to see my dudes discover life as they know it... Developing their interests, figuring out what things are important to them, their skills, their dislikes, etc. It's all an awesome part of my life. Like it's seriously MIND-BLOWING. But that's not even the half of it. Having these dudes has made me realize how important it is to be a good person, and do my absolute best to demonstrate to them what it means to be a good person. To show them to follow what makes them happy, and for them to give their all and not hold back. It makes me appreciate my parents more than ever, for putting that same caring, confident nature in me, and hoping that I can do the same for my kids. 

Life moves fast, and I'm stoked to spend as much time as humanly possible watching these dudes grow in the kind, crazy, cool way they seem to be growin. 

Sometimes life is moving so fast, and you're zoomin' right along with it. But if you get a minute, ask yourself what you love most about being a parent. I dare ya :)

I LOVE TO LOVE YOU

Over here at the house of rad, we love Valentine's Day. It's our chance to let everyone know how much we care. And it's a killer vehicle to get CANDY (or other good stuff)!

The dudes are big fans of Valentine making because we always try to flex some creative muscles and make something fun and unique. 

We decided to brainstorm "stuff we are into", to get some Valentine design ammo. Cooper immediately settled on Pokemon, being an active trainer himself these days. Charley was all over the place. Starting with superheroes, we thought we nailed it with Superman, but then he came out of the blue with MONKEYS. And at the last minute, wanted to throw the Aquabats in the mix. 

So.... we took some quick head shots, then came up with some cupid-worthy slogans to click with the themes the dudes chose. 

Of course, Charley ended up with three valentines, because they were actually pretty cool. Fortunately he's having two parties at school, so each fiesta will get a unique one! We taped some Fun-Dip packages on the back of them. That is all of them but Charley's monkey design. Those sweet little monkeys got taped to some fresh bananas!

Hug someone you love! Happy Valentine's day y'all!

THAT'S MY HOOD!

It sure is bittersweet when a TV show you connect with calls it quits. It was especially a bummer when Parenthood wrapped up their 6th and final season a couple of weeks ago. If you followed along, I hope the last episode was everything you wanted it to be... and if you haven't seen it at all, it's not too late! plenty of time to jump aboard and get all kinds of wrapped up. 

The main reason I dig it so much, is that as a parent, you really never know what's coming. Sure, you have your kid(s), and you know the basics of what you're going to have to tackle, whether it be potty training, riding a bike, etc. But what Parenthood did, was tackled those deeper issues that might not be in the front of your mind. They were able to present topics like bullying, Autism, employment, race, politics and a ton more, while also showing a whole range of methods to work through those issues. After (and during) every episode, my wife Carolyn and I would always talk about how issues were handled, and how we may have handled those issues if we were in those same shoes. The show provided a basis to dive into these issues, which most times you don't really get into you're actually waist-deep in them already. I came to the conclusion that I'm a mix of Adam and Crosby... :)

A few other reasons to love it:
-Created by Jason Katims, who also made the show FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
-theme song is "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan, and the show featured some great songs from Vetiver, Nick Drake, and Wilco. 
-cast included Mae Whitman, who also played Ann (or Egg) on Arrested Development

For those who want to get super nerdy, you can head over to South Weddington Park, which is where the baseball field where the show collectively calls it a day. I'll post pictures soon!

So THANK YOU Parenthood. I miss you already.