Dear Jack: You Now Own a 16 Year-Old T-Shirt with My Face on It, with My Name in Thai

8 years, 7 months.

Dear Jack,

We spent last weekend at Nonna and Papa’s in Alabama, at the same house I grew up in.

After you took a shower on Sunday morning, you realized you didn’t have a clean t-shirt to wear

I walked over my old bedroom to take a quick look at the t-shirts hanging up in the closet.

Instantly, I discovered the perfect t-shirt for you to wear:

Back in college, I had recorded 3 different albums of songs I wrote.

For the cover art on the first album in 2003, I traced a photo of myself as the logo.

Then, that summer of 2003 when I was teaching English in Thailand, I gave one of my CD’s to a friend there.

Accordingly, they had a t-shirt made with that logo of my face, with my name in Thai underneath it.

(Unfortunately, the size of the shirt didn’t come close to fitting me.)

There’s a good chance you are the only boy in America who owns a t-shirt with his Daddy’s face on it, along with his Daddy’s name in Thai underneath.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure of it, actually.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Holly: You Spent the Last $7 of Your Birthday Money on the Frozen Soundtrack

3 years, 2 months.

Dear Holly,

A week ago on the 4th of July, our family started out the holiday by going to one of the few stores around that was actually open and still sells CD’s:

Walmart.

We went there to buy a birthday gift for one of your brother’s friends.

While we were there, I headed over to the CD section, as I recently got a new stereo installed in my Jeep.

While I selected the remaining Imagine Dragons albums I still didn’t own yet, you picked up a nursery rhymes CD.

It happened to cost $7, which was the remainder of your birthday gift money from April when you turned 3 years old.

As I continued to thumb through CD’s, I noticed the Frozen soundtrack was available for the same price.

Needless to say, for the past week, you have participating in a daily ritual of sitting down and carefully listening to each song.

It is beyond adorable.

Love,

Daddy

Guest Blog Post by My Mother, Gina Metallo Shell: “Our Trip to Tybee Island and Savannah for Our 42nd Wedding Anniversary and Meeting Paula Deen””

It has been a goal of ours to visit Savannah, GA for over 20 years. I have been constantly encouraged to see the pre-Civil War structures each time friends and family returned from a trip there.
We discovered that 20 minutes was all it would take to connect from Tybee Island to Savannah. This would be the best of both worlds; touring Savannah and enjoying Tybee Island Beach. I always wanted to visit Tybee Island after our friend Holly Haney spent her Honeymoon there. She was so in love with Tybee Island that she named her son Tybee!

Planning “Vacay 2019” would be shared between Savannah and Tybee. Savannah Beach Raquett Club provided the perfect location for us. It is on the North side, secluded and quiet side of Tybee.

There are few places to eat close to there. It is perfect for us as we enjoy eggs and toast or overnight oats for breakfast on our balcony. Lighthouse Pizza provided great calzones with a quick walk two blocks down.

I have always loved Paula Deen and her restaurant was my favorite! Paula Deen’s Creek House is a quick 10 mile drive with plenty of parking places, friendly staff and delicious food! (I am still thinking about the Smoked Salmon Salad!) I had read the signs posted about Paula Deen’s book-signing for her new book, Paul Deen Cuts the Fat, scheduled for June 28th at 5 pm.

What were the chances that I would get to meet my most favorite southern cook who I have adored for two decades? We returned for another wonderful meal and waited to meet Sweet Paula, her husband Michael, and son Jamie. It was the icing on my cupcake!
We enjoyed the beautiful beach where the Bay and Atlantic Ocean meet, walking on the beach, collecting seashells and watching the dolphins.

This is the first time that I have ever seen so many whole seashells. There were plenty for everyone, especially since this beach is not crowded. We decided to Segway our way through Historic Savannah.

We used Adventure Tours in Motion Segway Tours and booked a 90 minute tour to view as much as possible. Chelsea was an amazing guide offering historical and fun facts. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful city and trees laced with Spanish Moss.

Do not let fear prevent you from stepping on a Segway like I almost did. I am ready to get back on and tour some more!

Our maps and brochures are ready to be filed so we can pick back up in a few years. There is no doubt about it that we will make every attempt to return. We loved Savannah and Tybee Island and they loved us back.

I will close by providing some helpful reminders that will make our journey smoother.

Walking and bicycling are highly encouraged with parking being limited. We plan to throw our bicycles in the back of our camper truck next time so we will be ready to ride. I currently do not own a bicycle so I hope to pick the skill back up quickly. I will soon find out if it is true about not forgetting how to ride a bike. At least for now I can navigate the Segway until I pick the cycling skills back up.
With parking being limited, I will need to remember to leave yourself plenty of time to find a parking place. When you find a place to park, you may need to walk a few blocks and need quarters and dollars for the parking.

My good New Balance Tennis Shoes were packed for walking and the Segway Tour. Somehow in all the excitement, I must have missed the memo on stretching your calf muscles before getting on the Segway. Our guide encouraged us to stretch our muscles every time we made a stop. It made it more comfortable for us and the other 60-ish couple we rode with.
Let’s pack the bikes, stretch the muscles, pack a couple rolls of quarters and dollar bills for parking.

Oh… If your parking meters runs out before you return from cruising the city on Segway, your windshield may be decorated with a parking ticket. Or, you may get lucky with a kind-hearted Parking Meter Attendant who just leaves you a Warning Ticket.

-Gina Metallo Shell (Nick’s mom)

Dear Holly: You Got to See Toy Story 4- Your 1st Movie in a Theater

3 years, 2 months.

Dear Holly,

I couldn’t have planned it this way, but your brother was your exact age, to the month, when he got to go see his first movie at a theater.

For him, it was The Lego Movie.

For you, it was Toy Story 4.

You had been telling Mommy and me, “I like Woody… I like that other guy too- what’s his name?”

The first Toy Story movie came out in November 1995; when I was in 9th grade.

Now, more than 23 years later, you were able to see the final Toy Story movie (…or is it?) as your first movie in a theater.

I am so proud of you. You had so much fun.

It was sweet because you chose to spend the first half of the movie in my lap, and the second half in Mommy’s.

And here I was thinking I was just going to put sitting on the end of the row in my own little world.

I am so glad we took you to see Toy Story 4 in the theater!

Love,

Daddy

 

Dear Jack: Keeping Your Sister from Talking During Toy Story 4

8 years, 7 months.

Dear Jack,

I have been taking you to see movies since you were the exact same age as your sister is now:

3 years, 2 months.

I admit, that is quite the major coincidence, actually!

The first movie you saw was The Lego Movie back in 2014.

This past Sunday was a big deal for our family, as it marked the first time all 4 of us went to see a movie together.

More specifically, it was your sister’s first time to ever see a movie in a theater.

You made sure during the days leading up to seeing Toy Story 4 as a family:

“Holly, in the movie theater, you can’t talk… okay?”

She definitely listed to you.

In fact, she was so quiet during the movie, she didn’t even laugh along with the rest of the audience every time something funny happened!

Love,

Daddy