Author: Family Friendly Daddy Blog

Leave a comment Posted on car reviews, parenting, reviews

2014 Lexus LS 460 Review, From The Dad’s Perspective

January 1, 2014 at 3:01 pm , by 

3 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

After reviewing four different Toyotas over the past couple months, you and I got a really special treat for the week of Christmas.

On Christmas Eve, “the nice man” drove to Nonna and Papa’s house where we were staying in Alabama to pick up the 2013 Avalon Hybrid we loved so much and replaced it with… a 2014 Lexus  LS 460!

It would be an understatement to say this is the nicest car I’ve ever driven or ridden in.

As Mommy put it, “This is like being in a private jet!”

Christmas morning, “the guys” (that’s you, me, Papa, and your uncle Andrew) took the Lexus out for a spin; just to see what it was capable of.

When you have access to a luxury car with 4.6 liter, 386 horsepower, four cam, 32 valve V8 engine, you need to find somewhere to go; in style and speed.

At 8:23 on Christmas morning in the small mountain town of Fort Payne, AL, there just aren’t a lot of people out.

We owned the road.

Not simply because we were basically the only car on it, but because we were driving the equivalent of a fancy flying car.

The Lexus LS 460 has a special setting called Sport +, which basically enables to run fully loaded.

Yeah, we liked that setting.

I loved looking around the car seeing everyone get sort of thrown back against the seats as the Lexus quickly transitioned into higher gears.

(Seatbelts on and speed limits obeyed, of course. Well, at least I’m positive about the seatbelts part.)

The Lexus LS 460 has so much power, that going 70 mph feels like 50 mph.

It feels fast just sitting at the stop sign.

Needless to say, “the guys” loved testing out the Lexus.

And to imagine, I haven’t mentioned where we actually drove it!

I have plenty more to say about the car, as well as, our random and quirky adventures we took in it, so stay posted.

To be continued…

 

Love,

Daddy

 

Disclaimer: The vehicle mentioned in this story was provided at the expense of Lexus, for the purpose of reviewing.

P.S. Here’s a collection of my Toyota family reviews so far; just click on title to read the full story:

2014 Lexus LS 460: 2014 Lexus LS 460 Review, From The Dad’s Perspective; Journey To Howard’s Chapel (The Church Built Into A Rock); Ironically Driving A Lexus To See A Dinosaur Named Junkasaurus Wrecks; What Parents Do When The Kids Are Asleep With The Grandparents; Grandma Regifts As-Seen-On-TV “Perfect Polly” To Great-Grandson; I’ve Heard Of Sleepwalking, But… Sleep-Eating And Sleep-Playing?

2013 Avalon Hybrid: 2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid Review, From The Dad’s Perspective; A Family That Recycles Together Doesn’t Decompose

2013 Toyota Rav4: 2013 Toyota Rav4 Review, From The Dad’s Perspective

2014 Toyota Tundra: Dad Gives 3 Year-Old Son A Monster Truck For Birthday… Sort Of; Nashville Dad Introduces 3 Year-Old Son To Country Music; 3rd Birthday Monster Truck Road Trip: Build-A-Bear; 3rd Birthday Monster Truck Road Trip: Little River Falls, AL; 3rd Birthday Monster Truck Road Trip: Mountain Driving; 3rd Birthday Monster Truck Road Trip: Canyon Land Park; 3rd Birthday Monster Truck Road Trip: Canyon Mouth Park

2013 Toyota Sienna: We’re Ready For A Family Road Trip… Minivan Style!; It’s Officially Cool To Drive A Minivan Now

 

We’re Ready For A Family Road Trip… Minivan Style!

It’s Officially Cool To Drive A Minivan Now

 

Leave a comment Posted on Nostalgia, parenting

This Christmas Felt More Like Thanksgiving (And Back To The Future)

January 1, 2014 at 12:07 am , by 

3 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

Today is New Year’s Day, but it feels to me like we’re a week into 2014 already.

I think it’s because your 3rd birthday was about 2 weeks before Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving was a week closer to Christmas than it normally is.

Maybe I’m sort of stuck in a time warp continuum. I don’t know if this more like being back to the future or back in the past.

Somehow, Christmas felt more like Thanksgiving to me.

But not just because of that time warp continuum thing. It’s because this Christmas, I actually did what I guess people are supposed to do at Christmas:

I turned off all the lights in my head except for one and realized: Hey, I’m grateful and thankful for all the blessings in my life.

While I’m disconnected from 99.9% people living on this planet, because I’ve never heard of them and they’ve never heard of me… plus 100% of those who already came and went before I ever ended up on planet Earth, Iam connected to enough right now to make me feel alive; to remind me that life isn’t simply a grand scheme taking place inside of a computer chip in somebody’s brain; at least, I think that’s what the plot of The Matrix was about.

There’s something about the actual origin of Christmas that at least peripherally points to the meaning of life.

To me, I would simply say that the meaning of life is to give life meaning, which requires being involved in other peoples’ lives.

And that’s something I was very aware of this Christmas.

As a family, we are by default those people who influence each other, and bring meaning more than anyone else we know.

So to think that I’m really nobody that special or famous or great in relation to entire world, it is both rewarding and humbling to know that I am a VIP in your eyes.

I remember back a couple of months ago during my lunch break from work, scurrying back and forth between Target and Toys R Us, trying to figure out who had the better selection of Disney’sPlanes toys.

Mommy had given me the task of picking one out for you. My instincts told me to pick El Chupacabra, based on my predictions of you liking how he looked and as a quirky way to celebrate our shared portion of Mexican blood.

After all, I’ve bought you enough toys now to have a decent idea of what impresses you.

Without any prompt, the day after Christmas, you discreetly sort of pulled me aside in a way that a 3 year-old boy does, and told me, “Daddy, I like that plane you got me.”

I don’t think you could have known that was one of the few gifts that I had complete creative decision in picking out; Mommy chose most everything else herself, from the gifts we got for you.

It may seem like a simple story or even just a fortunate coincidence, but the fact you made an effort to tell me how you felt about that $4 plane I got you… well, it made my day.

And my Christmas.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, People, Storytelling

I Have Become A Lifesize Cardboard Cutout On Facebook

December 28, 2013 at 11:18 pm , by 

3 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

This letter was supposed to be a funny one about how I’m a typical dad in the way I hide your toys when you refuse to put them away when I ask you to.

But seeing that this is my last letter of 2013, I want it to have a more retrospective perspective.

So I’ll save my originally intended programming for next week and/or next year.

Instead, I can’t help but think of what this year, 2013, has taught me on this gloomy and rainy December night; letting this all soak in.

It’s been an interesting year for me in that it’s been like a dichotomy.

Three months into the year, I became a (new wave) vegan, which proved to take an epic psychosocial toll on me; yet physically and psychologically, I’ve never been healthier, and more at peace and in a state of gratitude.

(I have even sworn off caffeine for the rest of my life, as well; because I see it as the most unregulated addictive stimulant in the world.)

One of my favorite bands ever, Third Eye Blind, sings one of my favorite songs ever, “Motorcycle Drive By.” My favorite line of it serves as a bit of a motto to describe the private challenges I’ve dealt with inside my brain this year:

“And there’s this burning like there’s never been/And I’ve never been so alone/And I’ve never been so alive”

Before it sounds like I’m throwing myself a pity party, let me just clarify. I’m not alone. I have you and Mommy. I have family. I have friends. I have plenty of meaning in my life.

I have joy!

But there’s an undeniable disconnect that I suddenly became aware of during the weeks following my denying of animal products for nutritional sustenance. It was like cutting myself off from the rest of the world. I by default ostracized myself from what is normal in society. After all, I no longer participate in that historical human shared experience.

Then a few months later, for all practical purposes, I did something similar when I “quit” Facebook.

I went from spending a minimum of 30 minutes to 60 minutes a day scrolling through my Facebook feed, commenting and corresponding, and accidently instigating polarizing conversations based on my opinions that half my friends agreed with, while the other half didn’t.

Plus, I confused a lot of people whenever I used sarcasm.

So since June, I have made a conscious effort to spend only 30 to 60 seconds (!) a day on Facebook. Perhaps, in a sense, it’s selfish to my Facebook friends, but for this 2nd half of the year, the only news on Facebook I have known about is what shows up at the very top of my news feed; which is what the free market of my 960 Faceook friends decided was the most relevant that day.

After all, that’s how I found out about this amazingly stellar article, “Selfie Syndrome- How Social Media Is Making Us Narcissistic,” which is currently going viral.

It explains that, based on studies, “People who tend to use Facebook the most tend to have more narcissistic personalities or insecure personalites.”

That’s a weird thought… to be both narcissitic and insecure.

Well, in theory, that was me for the first half of the year.

No question- the second half of the year, sans Facebook dependance, was by far the better half of the year for me. I have simply been happier.

I have had time to focus on what really matters: you and Mommy. Being a dad and being a husband.

Without the two of you, who am I?

Just a bearded dude in a medium-sized funny t-shirt.

As for Facebook, I am now merely a lifesize cardboard cutout who smiles and waves, but ultimately, has no personal opinions.

Because like the idea of free speech, the “social factor” of social media is an illusion.

Anything I say or post in social media could come back to haunt me in my future career, and I’ve skated pretty close on that fine line this year.

But I’ve taken that extra 30 to 60 minutes a day that I used to spend trying to be clever on Facebook and Twitter, and instead use it on you and Mommy.

Here’s to 2014- the most realistic, unnarcissitic, most secure year I’ve never known- full of art and meaning.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling

The Conquest Of A Big Boy Bed, At 3 Years Old

December 28, 2013 at 8:06 pm , by 

3 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

As part of your Christmas gift from Nonna and Papa (my parents), you received a cash envelope to help with the conquest of getting your “big boy bed.”

So I did my research at Mattress Firm during my lunch break and came to the conclusion we’d get the best quality for our money there.

After all, a new bed is an investment for years to come. We wanted to make sure we did this thing right.

While I admit it was a bit trying on Mommy and Daddy’s sanity to have you exploring the store while we made such a huge decision, you sure had fun checking everything out, trying out the mattresses and contraptions you discovered.

Ultimately, it made the best sense for us to also buy a new bed for ourselves, in addition to yours. They cut us a special deal since we bought two beds, so I was happy to save money!

Since going debt-free back in July (eternal “thank you” goes to Dave Ramsey), we’ve been saving up the income we were using to pay off debt each month, so we could afford new beds without using credit or worrying about clearing out our bank account.

Mommy and Daddy’s old bed had ultimately become a giant, spongy taco after over half a decade.

It was pretty sad, actually.

You helped pay with one of my old sub sandwich cards.

Not to mention, you’ll notice a picture of the men’s restroom sign here in this collage, which signifies you went potty there.

Speaking of trying Mommy and Daddy’s sanity, I will admit that tearing down your old bed and setting up your new one with you in the room with us wasn’t a cake walk either.

Mommy found ways to help you entertain yourself by getting you to read us books and to pretend the rockasan chair was a pirate ship.

Something funny that happened while I was tearing your toddler bed down was when I grabbed the wrench from my tool box.

It was the one I used 2 and a half years ago when I designed the logo for The Dadabase! I never removed the masking tape after all this time. And I still didn’t this week after realizing it!

Well, it was definitely a conquest and a chore, but you, as well as Mommy and me, have new beds, at last.

For you, it’s one step further in becoming a big boy. As for your parents, it means we’re no longer sleeping in a giant taco.

 

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on car reviews, parenting

A Family That Recycles Together Doesn’t Decompose

December 28, 2013 at 3:11 pm , by 

3 years, 1 month.

Dear Jack,

You would think that after 865 letters from me, I would have mentioned this already:

One of our regular family activities is, as you word it, to “go to the ‘cycling center.’”

When Toyota provided anAvalon Hybrid for us last week for the review I was writing, I deciced it was finally time to mention recycling to you.

It wasn’t until I drove a car that gets virtually the same miles per gallon in both the city and on the Interstate (about 40 mpg) that I really got in tune with how “California minded” I have become, since marrying Mommy 5 and a half years ago.

I remember when when we first got married, she commented that recycling isn’t as much of a part of the culture here in Tennessee, compared to where she’s from in northern California.

As someone who’s lived in the South my whole life, I could see that… especially as I’ve visited Sacramento each summer for the past 6 years now.

So I personally want to do my part to change my own sense of apathy when it comes to recycling.

(If it weren’t for Mommy, though, I doubt I would make an effort to recycle; to be completely honest. She’s a good influence on me, like that!)

Therefore, we collect our recyclables in our pantry all week, then load up the car every few weekends to drop it off about 20 minutes from our house.

Granted, there are definitely weeks we don’t get around to it and it’s easier to just use the garbage bin instead. It’s not something I’m going to beat myself up over, though.

Fortunately, the recycling center is on the way home from church, so we’re not burning extra gas each week to go recycle… that would be a bit counterproductive.

I admit, it’s a sort of a hassle- it’s one more thing that I don’t want to have to worry about doing over the weekend, when we’re already hard-pressed to find family quality time.

But thinking back on each time we go to the recycling center… you actually love it. To you, I suppose it actually is quality family time.

You’re always so excited to watch me toss the plastic, paper, cardboards, and glass items into the appropriate bins, as you and Mommy watch from the car.

So at least in addition to helping the environment, you’re getting free entertainment out of the deal.

 

Love,

Daddy