Nashville

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

Dear Holly: You Entertained Yourself on the Plane by Teaching Yourself What to Do If There was an Emergency

3 years, 1 months.

Dear Holly,

Since we flew on Southwest Airlines to and from California, there were no assigned seats. There were simply two rows of three seats on both sides- and we determined where we would sit.

Naturally, both you and your brother wanted to sit with Mommy. That meant I sat across the aisle from the three of you.

On the flight back to Nashville, you felt like being a little bit independent. You took it upon yourself to remove the emergency guide from the back of the chair in front of you and started reviewing all the steps of what to do in case the plane had to make a water landing.

To you, it was pretty much a comic book.

Love,

Daddy

1 Comment Posted on fatherhood, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Family Summer Vacation in Sacramento: Going to Chuck E. Cheese’s Instead of Disneyland

After spending the first half of our vacation at Lake Tahoe, our family spent the rest of the time closer to Sacramento; staying with my mother-in-law and her husband.

Selfishly, I didn’t mind at all because it gave me several consecutive days to sleep in; since there was never really any planned event or agenda happening before noon the rest of the week.

And after the long, early flight to California (we left Nashville at 2:00 AM), I was pretty much the equivalent of Weekend at Bernie’s for the first few days anyway.

Staying there in the Sacramento area provided more opportunities to visit with more family members, as well as long-time friends of my wife.

But of course, eventually our kids wanted to do something special; since after all, we were on vacation. I suggested putt-putt golf, which was something I kept seeing in Lake Tahoe.

But the kids wanted Chuck E. Cheese’s. It hadn’t crossed my mind since there’s already one just about 20 minutes from our house in Tennessee.

However, I realized how little it would cost us: Just about $13 total for unlimited games for 45 minutes for our whole family.

So I immediately agreed!

We were given what was essentially an infinitely loaded debit card only good for the currency of Chuck E. Cheese tokens.

So for 45 minutes, we frantically passed the card to each other; as ultimately, all four members of our family were constantly earning tickets to buy prizes the entire time.

The time limit actually made it even more fun and challenging for all of us, as we individually learned and decided which games we were best at winning tickets from.

By the end of our California family vacation, my wife suggested that maybe next year the kids will be old enough to visit Disneyland.

Maybe.

But I definitely wouldn’t mind Chuck E. Cheese again either.

Leave a comment Posted on parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Your Week at Nashville Zoo Camp

8 and a half years.

Dear Jack,

You are one lucky kid. Last week, you got to spend 5 days of summer camp at the Nashville Zoo!

It was especially cool since you got to spend that time alongside your friend Duncan, who you have known since before you were born:

We were in birthing class with his parents back in 2010 when then two of you were still in the womb!

Needless to say, you had such a great time that we’ve already decided to send you back again next year.

Not to mention, your sister is already saying she wants to go in a few years once she is old enough!

Love,

Daddy

1 Comment Posted on fatherhood, Jeep Wrangler, Uncategorized

2010 Jeep Wrangler JK Sport to the Nashville Zoo with the Kids

It is exactly 30 miles from our garage to the Nashville Zoo; which really isn’t bad for such a great source of family entertainment.

Somehow though, it’s been a solid two years since our family has journeyed down there.

But as I’ve mentioned before, now that we have a Jeep Wrangler as our family weekend vehicle, suddenly anywhere we go is not only more exciting, but also worth the journey.

Despite being an SUV, the JK series of the Jeep Wrangler doesn’t have much storage capacity. However, I was still have to squeeze in the double stroller in the back, which made things much easier for my wife and I to shuttle the kids across the Nashville Zoo. It takes a solid 3 hours of constantly moving if you want to see all the animals.

We actually started off our visit to the Nashville Zoo with my son and and my wife (Jack and Jill) finally getting to try out the Soaring Eagle.

Check out the quick video I made of their ride…

As the population of Nashville continues to rapidly grow, so does the number of exhibits at the Nashville Zoo. For example, I don’t remember there being rhinos the last time we were there…

But as you can see from these pictures from this weekend…

There was a lot to see and do…

And we were so exhausted, Mommy and Daddy took a nap when we got home…

Even if our kids didn’t.

Leave a comment Posted on Jeep Wrangler, Storytelling, Uncategorized

A Man Driving a Manual Jeep Wrangler is the Same Thing as He-Man Riding Battle Cat

Nearly a month into driving my 6 speed Jeep Wrangler JK Sport, I have come to the obvious revelation:

When I am driving my Jeep, it is virtually just like He-Man riding Battle Cat.

I realize there are much more practical vehicles I could be driving; like any Asian-made commuter car.

But for me, I would much rather drive my made in the USA 2010 Jeep Wrangler. Even if it’s not so practical to be driving a manual transmission in Nashville traffic. Even if I could definitely be getting better gas mileage driving a Prius. Even if it would be easier to fit two kids in the back seat of nearly anything else.

There is some scarcity these days regarding what percentage of the American population knows how to drive a manual transmission. There is even more scarcity for people who own a manual transmission Jeep Wrangler and drive it daily.

I feel like this is the equivalent of being able to remove the sword from the stone. Or being able to pick up Thor’s hammer.

It is a Jeep thing and I totally understand. It’s like having bragging rights about something so sacred in American culture, yet much of the population could not appreciate something so glorious yet so impractical.

When you drive a Jeep Wrangler, you not only drive a toy… you drive a beast.

This is a beast you must tame and teach to control; because after all, it is a wild animal.

You have to learn the beast and the beast must learn you. You must master the art of switching to the right gear at the right time, at any given second. You must know when it’s necessary to switch into 4 wheel drive. You must know which days are worth taking off the top- and which days are worth taking off the doors too!

Yes, this beast is able to drive across a river and through deep mud and up mountains.

I am He-Man and I ride Battle Cat.

Yeah, this is pretty much who I am now.