family

8 Comments Posted on parenting, People, Pregnancy, Uncategorized

Dear Holly: You are Definitely a Girl!

19 weeks.

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Dear Holly,

We just learned the news… There is no doubt, you are our daughter. We are having a girl!

Your name is Holly Joy Shell. And you have actually been 7 and a half years in the making…

Back when Mommy and I were planning our wedding in 2008, we were showing my parents (your grandparents) the venue for our reception; the Vanderbilt Legends Club.

The facility was serving brunch while we were there getting the tour of the place. I remember superstar Michael W. Smith and I happened to lock eyes from across the room; as he was sitting down eating. I definitely knew who he was and he apparently thought he was supposed to know me- and I could tell he was in deep thought trying to figure out where he knew me from.

That moment was interrupted when shortly afterwards, your Mommy made a comment about how one day we would have a little girl and name her Holly.

You are that little girl. You are the epic, legendary Holly.

Everyone has been guessing this week whether you were a boy or a girl. The guesses came in at about 50% “Team Holly” and 50% “Team Logan…

However, now that we are telling everyone you are a girl, people seem genuinely amazed that I could have actually been right this whole time. It didn’t help that Mommy thought you were a boy.

Again, my basis of you being a girl is the fact that Mommy has been having different symptoms with you than she did your brother Jack.

But from the very beginning, my heart was always told me that you were a girl; even before Mommy’s symptoms of nausea that she didn’t have with the last pregnancy.

I take it as my fate that God has much more to teach me about life… lessons that I can only learn from raising a little girl named Holly Joy.

Love,

Daddy

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1 Comment Posted on parenting, reviews, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: You Got to Pet and Feed Dolphins at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park!

5 years.

Dear Jack: You Got to Pet and Feed Dolphins at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park!

Dear Jack,

Six months ago when we stayed in Pensacola, Florida, we had planned a trip to the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in Fort Walton Beach. However, when we arrived, we learned that a baby dolphin had just been born that day, so the place was closed as everyone was taking care of the newborn.

Now, six months have passed and we decided to visit the Gulfarium again, while staying in Destin for your “destination birthday party” for your 5th birthday.

It was a short drive in the 2015 Lexus GX from our resort. The first thing you did was buy some souvenirs with some of your birthday money.

Dear Jack: You Got to Pet and Feed Dolphins at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park!

You loved being able to see all the marine animals, right there on the Gulf Coast. But by far, the highlight of our visit was when you got to pet and feed the dolphins; for something called Discover Dolphins.

I was particularly impressed by the way the staff handled the situation: After having already paid the extra $22 for you to be able to go out to the tank to pet and feed the dolphins with a few other children, you became afraid to go out there so close to the water.

Dear Jack: You Got to Pet and Feed Dolphins at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park!

Mommy and I were unable to give you enough of a pep talk to convince you otherwise.

However, the dolphin trainer took notice that you had stayed behind instead of going out to the dock with the other kids. After she had already let the other kids pet and feed the dolphins, she came back especially for you.

She recognized that at the minimum age requirement for the event, which is 5 years old, you needed some extra attention to gain the confidence to out to the water.

Had it not been for her being gently proactive on her end, you would have missed out on such a magical opportunity.

Being able to pet and feed the dolphin is definitely one of your favorite memories from our trip to Destin for your birthday; and that’s saying a lot, because our family did a lot of cool things during our stay!

It was such a “once in a lifetime experience”. It’s not something kids get to do on a regular basis.

Dear Jack: You Got to Pet and Feed Dolphins at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park!

I totally recommend the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park to all families vacationing in anywhere in the stretch between Destin and Pensacola.

Dear Jack: You Got to Pet and Feed Dolphins at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park!

It was a very exciting family experience. Granted, I would recommend budgeting the extra money for the Dolphin Encounter. It’s completely worth it.

I’m so glad we finally were able to go there!

Love,

Daddy

Dear Jack: You Got to Pet and Feed Dolphins at the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park!

 

Leave a comment Posted on new house, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: We Put Up Our “Clip-On Tie” Christmas Tree on October 25th

4 years, 11 months.

Dear Jack: We Put Up Our “Clip-On Tie” Christmas Tree on October 25th

Dear Jack,

This past weekend, exactly two months before Christmas, our family bought our first official artificial Christmas tree. I call in our “clip-on tie” Christmas tree.

I am very pleased with it. Not only did we only pay $30 for it by the time we used our Lowe’s coupon, but the tree came pre-lit!

It’s no secret that while I am gifted in the creative department, I am completely bankrupt when it comes to mechanical skills.

But there was nothing complicated about assembling this tree. I just took it out of the box and stuck it in its stand.

The tree came in two halves with a connected cord for the lights. So I just simply spread out the twigs like a fan and was done.

In the 7 years Mommy and I have been married, we never really bothered to get a little Christmas tree since we lived in a townhouse and opened the presents at Nonna and Papa’s house anyway.

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Things changed this year, though. We have our own real house.

Romantically Mommy and I liked the idea of a real tree, but Mommy didn’t like the idea of the mess it would bring in our new house, and I didn’t like the idea of having to set it up.

So a 4 and a half foot tall “clip-on” tie version of a Christmas tree ended up being the perfect fit for our family.

As I was taking care of the tree, Mommy was wrapping the gifts for our extended family, while listening to traditional Christmas music on YouTube.

Christmas is about 2 months away, but our tree is up and the gifts are bought and wrapped.

With all the inevitable upcoming holiday clichés, like “the hustle and bustle of Christmas,” this is our family’s attempt to get ahead of the stress.

We are ready for Christmas!

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on marriage, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Why Family Friendly Daddy Blog is Unique

Dear Jack: Our Family’s Visit to Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN

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.

Dear Jack: Our Family’s Visit to Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN

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.

Dear Jack: Our First Time to Carve Pumpkins

Billy Graham states it this way:

“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.

Dear Jack: We Rode in a Real Monster Truck at the Spring Hill Ham Festival!

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.

Dear Holly or Logan: You’re Due on April 21, 2016

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.

Dear Jack: Family in a Camry- “Daddy Date”

Leave a comment Posted on car reviews, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

I Write Jingles for Toyota (Along with Philips Norelco & Monterey Bay Aquarium)

It’s true. I do indeed write jingles for Toyota.

I Write Jingles for Toyota

Perhaps my inspiration is Phoebe Buffay of Friends when her song “Smelly Cat” was bought out by a major cat food brand.

In the age of YouTube, what can stop me from using my own time and talent to write and record jingles for free, and then promote them on my blog and YouTube channel?

Who knows, maybe I can eventually become a jingle writer full time? I’m making a habit of self-appointing myself as “jingle writer” for Toyota, as well as other brands.

I’ll show you what I mean…

Three weeks ago, our family was sent a 2015 Toyota Corolla to review here on Family Friendly Daddy Blog. One of the things I decided to do with it was to shoot a “homemade commercial”.

So I wrote “Down Low in a Corolla”:

Can’t ya see that we’re Corollin’?

Down low in a Corolla

Gotta keep that family flowin’

Down low in a Corolla

Can you keep up with us?

We’re no Kardashians

But we can lay it down if you can pick it up

Jammin’ to grooves of Walk the Moon

Kids’ car seat in the back

Before that, I recently wrote “Family in a Camry” while we reviewed the 2015 Toyota Camry:

I got my family in a Camry

And we’re happy campers trippin’ to your town

Here we go!

This same video also features the jingle I wrote for Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Hey, hey! It’s Monterey Bay Aquarium

Hey, hey! It’s an underwater adventure

I immediately afterwards wrote a jingle for the 2015 Toyota Avalon:

Come along, in an Avalon, we’re gonna make it great!

In July, Scion (which is part of the Toyota family) sent me to Grand Rapids, Michigan to check out their new Scion iM and IA. Here’s that jingle:

I’ve got my eye on Scion

Try on Scion

Experience what Millennials already know

The first Toyota jingle I wrote was back in May, when my son and I made a homemade commercial for the Toyota Sienna, which doubled as a trailer for our Jack-Man series.

Jack-Man rides in a Toyota Sienna minivan

His getaway car is driven by his dad

I also wrote a jingle for Philips Norelco:

In your face, 9700

In your face, you’ll be glad you found it

It cleans itself like a smart razor should

The percentage display shows the charge is still good

In your face, Philips Norelco

In your face!

We’ll see where this takes me. I enjoy writing and recording jingles for companies, for fun and for free.

You never know when it may get the right person’s attention.

I Write Jingles for Toyota