Weekly Recap #1: "Rock & Runnin"
Wow, definitely just wrapped up a pretty hectic week since my first post on Father's day. After getting between 2-3 hours of sleep the night before, I woke up to a beautiful morning at church with my family, followed by a simple lunch of pasta with the kids, a very much needed afternoon nap, & my wife probably made the BEST chicken adobo I've ever had in my life... man, craving some right now just thinking about it. The day wouldn't be complete, however, without one of my kids getting sick, of course! We spent the next 3 days balancing working from home & starting our weekly to-do list while also managing all 3 kids taking turns catching a stomach bug & throwing up in various parts of our home. #DadLife. On Monday we also began disassembling a piano, a project that started a couple of weeks ago when I found an upright piano on the side of the road that was going to be thrown away. This long arduous process will most likely become a blog, or maybe even vlog post all on its own, so "stay tuned" for that one. The rest of the week leading up to Thursday was highlighted by a couple of runs with my daughter, who at 4 years old is becoming quite obsessed with running. I really hope this is something that I can continue to encourage her in over the years because not only is it a fun activity to do together, but it would give me great joy if I can continue to have this one on one time with her where we get to invest in our physical health & our relational health as well.
I say, "leading up to Thursday" because starting last Thursday I got to enjoy a couple of days working together with one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot. This week was one of their biggest hometown weeks of the year where they play a ton of local shows leading up to their big event on Saturday called the Switchfoot Bro-Am. For those of you that may not be familiar with this event, you really should check out their site (broam.org) & plan on attending a Bro-Am someday. The kick off event for me was going to be when Switchfoot played at the San Diego County Fair, Wednesday night, but I got so caught up in everything going on at home, I ended up not being able to attend. Luckily I was able to stay healthy in spite of the sick bug going around at the house & Thursday night I went up to Carlsbad to shoot photos for the Bro-Am Benefit night at Via Sat. I've attended quite a few Bro-Ams in the past, but this was the first time I had actually been hired to work the event. Thursday was a night to capture photos & Saturday I would capture video. Now in some cases, you would never want to work with a band or some sort of celebrity that you look up to as a fan. Often times when you get to see a little bit of what they're really like behind the scenes, you realize they're just normal/flawed people & you can end up being disappointed in a way. This is certainly not the case when it comes to bands like Switchfoot. They are the same legends on & off the stage. I've interacted with them at numerous events & locations & they have always remained the same grounded group that truly cares for the community of San Diego & it was actually so cool to see the lives that they have impacted through their band & the charities they are involved with. Proceeds from Bro-Am benefit local youth initiatives with: A Step Beyond, Challenged Athletes Foundation, Feeding San Diego, Rob Machado Foundation, StandUp for Kids and VH1 Save the Music. If you would like to donate to these causes feel free to follow this link: DONATE On Friday I had the privilege to volunteer with my buddy Sean Brody who started www.adaptivesurfing.com. He was helping out with an amazing surf camp that CAF & The Junior Seau Foundation help put on. The camp helps kids with disabilities to get the opportunity to learn to surf. Switchfoot has hosted the final day of this camp at their competition & I know that I plan on volunteering at this event from now on. Such a great chance to see kids overcome obstacles & be inspired at the same time.
I was also very pleased to have the chance to meet Switchfoot's special guest this weekend, Lauren Daigle.
That. Girl. Can. SANG. Seriously so impressed by the power in her vocals that was very Adele-like, & kind of surprised at how well her voice blended with Jon's. A vocal duet I had never expected to hear before this week & one that I hope I can continue to hear for years to come. Last fall I attended the Dove Awards with my buddy Pete, who was also a nominee, & Lauren kept winning awards. After hearing her sing this weekend, its really no surprise as to why she picked up so much hardware & already has two Grammy Nominations under her belt. I definitely expect to continue seeing big things from this talented southern belle.
Well, its now after 2AM Monday morning, but I've gotten a lot done this weekend. Gone through & edited my photos from the Bro-Am Benefit, sorted & edited some footage from the Bro-Am concert Saturday, I've written emails, completed this blog post & I'm looking forward to getting more accomplished this week & hopefully finishing up some final details on making all of this "Creative Dad" content more cohesive & properly branded. Thanks to those of you that are becoming a part of this journey early. I have so many ideas of where I want to take this, & I had some pretty exciting conversations with some other creative dads this week that I look forward to collaborating with in the future. So much more to come :)
