Last weekend our family stayed at a condo rental called Barefoot by the Sea, which is part of the Amalfi Coast Resort on Miramar Beach. We had such a great time that I felt it was worth sharing with anyone out there who is considering staying in the Destin, Florida area.
We chose to stay there as part of our son’s “destination birthday party” for his 5th birthday. Things were made extra special when I learned we would be able to drive a 2015 Lexus GX 460 there and back, from our home near Nashville, Tennessee. (That’s a perk of being a blogger!)
Because rentals in Amalfi Coast Resorts not directly on the beach, but instead, just across the street from it, prices are more affordable than most Destin resorts we looked into.
However, we still had a great ocean view from the kitchen and living room; as well as the deck, where we could enjoy the fresh beach at any time.
Additionally, the place contains 2 full bathrooms, as well as a master bedroom and a set of bunk beds in the hall, where our son slept. It was his first time to get to sleep in a bunk bed.
We had plenty of room. We are already trying to figure out when we can go back and stay there again. The place was perfect for our family’s needs.
Though we never took advantage of it, we also had access to the 2 swimming pools on the property.
Instead, we spent much of our time at the private beach, which was just right across the street. We had access to a gazebo which grants access to the beach.
It was very private. I think we were the only ones on that private beach each time we were out there.
Not to mention, it’s location within Destin itself was a good central location to plenty of restaurants, grocery stores, as well as fun family activities, like the Gulfarium and the dolphin cruise; both of which we participated in.
In closing, please check out the casual video tour I made using my Samsung Galaxy S4:
I totally recommend this place. In fact, please feel free to ask me any questions you may have about it.
This weekend my son and I watched Max on DVD. My synopsis of the plot line is this: A bike riding, Texan teenage boy takes care of his deceased brother’s military dog, and then he depends on the canine to help him to sniff out illegal arms dealers who are tied to Mexican drug cartel.
I like to keep my movie reviews simple. I basically just ask two questions:
1) Did my nearly 5 year-old son enjoy it?
2) Was it “family friendly” enough to be appropriate for him to watch with me?
To answer my first question, yes, my son definitely enjoyed it.
There were constant bike chases through the woods and a crime fighting dog. To my son, that’s awesome.
The whole movie is a fast-paced, adventure thriller. In other words, there’s no wise cracking CGI dog to have to tolerate for 90 minutes. It’s a real dog.
I’ll segue into my second question now: Was it family friendly enough for my nearly 5 year-old son?
Yes; for my son specifically, who is accustomed to the swashbuckling violence of Power Rangers, and to the use of guns which never actually kill anyone or even draw blood on the show.
I would equate Max’s content with a tamer version of E.T., in that Max contains hardly any harsh words; definitely less than E.T does which is also rated PG.
Max is not a kids’ movie, but it’s one that I enjoyed watching with my son. After all, I’ll be taking him to see the new Star Wars movie in a couple of months; as I also took him to see Ant-Man this summer.
He’s old enough to appreciate more mature movies at his age; which I appreciate.
Official press release:
MAX
ARRIVES ONTO BLU-RAY COMBO PACK, DVD and DIGITAL HD FROM
METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER PICTURES AND
WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Blu-ray Combo Pack debuts on October 27
Own it early on Digital HD on October 13
Burbank, CA, August 11, 2015 – Discover a friendship that is one of a kind when Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ (MGM) family-action adventure “Max” arrives onto Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on October 27. “Max,” an incredible journey about the unbreakable bond between one kid and his heroic best friend, stars Josh Wiggins (“Hellion”) as Justin Wincott, with Lauren Graham (TV’s “Parenthood”) as his mom, Pamela, and Oscar® nominee Thomas Haden Church (“Sideways”) as his dad, Ray. The film will be available early on Digital HD on October 13.
BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS
“Max” Blu-ray Combo Pack contains the following special features:
Working with Max: Meet the dogs that play “Max” and see inside tricks of the trade!
· Hero Dogs: A Journey – Get a behind-the-scenes look at amazing military trained K9s.
“Max” Standard Definition DVD contains the following special features:
Working with Max: Meet the dogs that play “Max” and see inside tricks of the trade!
DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS
On October 13, “Max” will be available for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on their favorite devices from select digital retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Flixster, iTunes, PlayStation, Vudu, Xbox and others. “Max” will also be available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.
It’s common knowledge there aren’t nearly as many daddy bloggers as there are mommy bloggers; but to take it a step further, I specialize in family friendliness in my documented male perspective of parenthood.
On my blog, I believe in keeping things upbeat, positive, constructive, and artistic; and in particular, void of profanity, violence, or innuendos.
I want my blog to be an escape from negativity. I want to regularly expose my readers to a narrative featuring a traditional, loving, committed family.
Modern popular culture tries to sell us on this idea: “You don’t need a man in your life to raise a child or a family.”
Meanwhile, I instead see the invaluable importance of an involved husband and father.
“A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets to our society.”
Therefore, those of us husbands and fathers who do sacrifice everything for our families, who I believe are the majority, not the exception to the rule, fly under the radar.
That’s because we’re not broadcasting our good deeds and our loyalty to our family. We have nothing to prove to the rest of the world. Our family is our world.
Perhaps my role as a “family friendly daddy blogger” is to help celebrate fatherhood.
Most of my blog posts are weekly letters I write to my children. I enjoy, in real time, serving as their narrator; sharing picture collages to illustrate the stories I tell them about what is going on in their lives that week.
My goal is for my subtle stories to convey the message of the importance of family; and that the dad character is a crucial element in that formula.
It used to bother me that the committed father and husband character on TV shows is typically either portrayed as a bumbling fool (Tim Allen of Home Improvement) or a widowed saint (Danny Tanner of Full House).
Apparently, the concept of an involved husband and father who is not a walking bio-hazard and whose wife is still alive is difficult to capture in a television program.
But that doesn’t bother me anymore. I can’t control that.
What I can control is my family friendly daddy blog and how I positively portray fatherhood to a sometimes skeptical world that tends to forget that we committed husbands and fathers really do exist; and that we aren’t such a rare breed after all.
A few weeks ago, Cast Iron Productions reached out to our family about the possibility of us being in a brand-new show on NBC, called The Family Project.
I have to admit, I feel honored that they chose us because A) they found our family simply because of my blog, which makes me very happy about my SEO, and B) because they said we seem like a really fun family based on what they saw on my blog, Family Friendly Daddy Blog.
After an email exchange, a phone interview, then a 2 hour Skype interview with our family, we were told we were good material for the show.
They liked specifically that we are a Christian, vegan/vegetarian family who doesn’t believe in spanking and who lives by an extremely enforced “Dave Ramsey” budget and who keeps our home spotlessly clean and who doesn’t own smart phones.
As far as what the show is about, here’s my best understanding:
It sounds like the concept of Wife Swap and The Real World combined. Instead of 2 polar opposite families swapping the wives in each family, it sounds like The Family Project will combine all the family members of both households in the same house.
They were clear with me that we would still have to work jobs, but it would be whatever my wife and I consider our “dream jobs”. As for me, that would mean full time blogging and making videos for my YouTube channel.
We had a lot of fun during the Skype interview, but I do have good reason to believe that ultimately, NBC will not be officially choosing us:
I was very clear with the casting agency that we have a complete Libertarian approach when it comes to our lifestyle:
In other words, we have no desire to enforce our beliefs on others. Therefore, I seriously doubt a camera crew would be able to get a rise out of me, which typically makes for “good reality TV.”
After all, conflict and chaos serves as the fuel of reality TV. From there, the audience watching is subconsciously prompted to pass judgment, thinking to themselves, “At least I’m not as crazy as that person!”
If one of the parents of the other family in the house tried to get me to debate with them on why we are vegans/vegetarians or Christians or why we won’t spank our child or why we live by a super strict budget, I simply wouldn’t argue back.
I am a man who is completely confident and secure in my beliefs. I have no desire to seek confirmation from anyone else.
While I’m always happy to explain any parts of our lifestyle, I back off the moment the other person thinks I am defending myself.
I have nothing to defend.
And I especially have no reason to argue with a non-Christian. Jesus didn’t argue with or try to fiercely convert those who were close-minded to His teaching.
Instead, He said time and time again, “Whoever has ears, let him hear.”
In other words, His teachings were meant for those who were listening; not those who tried to heckle him or prove him wrong.
I am a man who is completely confident and secure in my beliefs. I have no desire to seek confirmation from anyone else.
Where would the drama be in a reality show episode like that? Where is the conflict and chaos?
The only thing I can think of is to “try to get the Christians to crack” after being so irritated by the other family’s opposing “annoying” habits.
I’m not saying that’s impossible, but as Christians, our role isn’t to judge, but to serve others.
So I’m thinking, if their dirty dishes in the sink got in the way of our family making our own vegan meals, then we should probably help them out with their dishes.
Why would NBC pick us at this point? Yes, we’re a fun (and interesting) family; and yes, we have a different lifestyle compared to the American mainstream, I would assume.
But we have nothing to prove… or to defend… or to be offended by.
I have a feeling that just like with Steve Harvey and Katie Couric, when they approached me a couple of years ago about being on their shows, only to never call me back after they realized I wouldn’t argue with other guests on the show about my beliefs, that The Family Project will air without the Shell family.
Even still, I’m very curious to check the show out when it premieres in a few months!
We packed several DVDs for our trip, but there was one that received much more airplay, at the request of my 4 and a half year-old son… Sesame Street: Elmo The Musical Vol. 2 Learn and Imagine (on DVD and digital on May 5, 2015 for $14.98 SR).
Something my wife noticed about this DVD that made it so attractive to our son is that he got to decide which Elmo musical he wanted to watch. There are 7 choices:
“Guacamole the Musical”
“Mountain Climber the Musical”
“Repair Monster the Musical”
“Bird the Musical”
“Cowboy the Musical”
“Detective the Musical”
While “Play All” would run them all together as one solid movie, my son appreciated the free will of deciding which episode he wanted to see, when he wanted to see it.
The concept reminds me of the way the 1980s Mega Man video games were designed; you got to choose which levels to play in the order you wanted; in other words, it’s not chronological but it is all connected.
My son’s favorite was apparently “Bird the Plane,” where Elmo flies Ms. Penguin to her wedding. He also kept asking for “Repair Monster the Musical” as well; where Elmo gets to use tools to help fix things for people.
I can confirm that Sesame Street: Elmo The Musical Vol. 2 Learn and Imagine is very good for road trips. Ours was 7 hours one way; so all together, with all the places we visited once we got there; we were easily in the car for close to 20 hours!
As expected, the DVD implicates learning into the music, fun, and silliness. I imagine our trip would have been a lot loss serene if we wouldn’t have had the 2015 Toyota Sienna with a DVD player, along with a copy of Sesame Street: Elmo The Musical Vol. 2 Learn and Imagine.
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