This spring has been extremely wet, and Arlo and I are taking advantage. There 's a great little spot in the Greenbelt and the water is the perfect depth for Arlo right now. I was able to let him play on his own without too much concern. He is getting confident in the water.
A great little hike down into the Greenbelt proves fun for Arlo. Love the spring when there is flowing water down there! Perfect for him at 2.5 years old.
Today is International Epilepsy Awareness Day.
Amber has been diagnosed with late onset generalized Epilepsy. She had her first seizure on August 13th, 2014, while she was 37.5 weeks pregnant with Thatcher. We got to meet him a couple of hours after her seizure and everybody seemed certain her event was a pregnancy related eclamptic seizure and they were discharged with a clean bill of health. A very scary day, followed by tremendous joy.
18 days later she had another seizure at the breakfast table. "Everybody gets 1 seizure in their life. Once you have 2 unprovoked seizures, you've got Epilepsy," so I'm told by the neurologists.
Amber has had 5 seizures in the last 7 months. They are tonic-clonic seizures, formerly called grand mal seizures, but are the ones you see on tv. They are scary, but we've been lucky she hasn't hurt herself more than she has (fractured rib, compression fractures in her vertebrates).
We are working with neurologists to minimize the chance of seizures through medication. From what we understand, Epilepsy effects everybody differently, and so do the drugs. The struggle is to find the right drug, or combination of drugs, that suppress the seizures with the least amount of side effects.
Having 2 little boys, Arlo is now almost 2.5 and Thatcher is 7 months, is stressful. Having Epilepsy is stressful. I have so much respect to my wife and those like her. Thanks to all the family, friends and collegues who have been so helpful thus far, and to those whom we will call upon for help in the future.
I'm sure she would love your well wishes, I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Watch the story of how Arlo fractured the first bone of his life at age 2.
Arlo and I explain what happened when Arlo thought he could fly by using the magic words, Yo Gabba Gabba.
I had the opportunity to work with Taxa Inc., the makers of the Cricket Trailer, in collaboration with Dell Precision to show how they are leveraging technology to improve the camping experience. Love how Garrett is taking his background as a NASA Architect and using it to design small places for those looking for adventure.
Below are the other videos I produced in this series, #PurposeBuilt.
There will be one more profile in this series and we are all very excited to release it soon!
My family celebrated half birthdays growing up.
It was usually something small but special, maybe a half day with just Dad and me, or a half an ice cream sundae. One time I was saving my money for a bike and my parents pitched in the other half. My sisters and I loved the tradition.
As a parent, half years fell good to. This has been a challenging 6 months. It's been a real milestone for Thatcher too. He always wants to be engaged, or play, or do something! Enough of this napping all the time!
The talented team I work with at Dell, Dell Blue Video has put together a reel showcasing the great work we've been doing this Fall.
Check it out on my portfolio page, here:
Dell Blue is the in-house agency at the world's largest startup. We craft iconic stories that resonate and inspire. This is our Fall 2014 video reel.
Unfortunately the adage is true, things aren't the same with the second one. 3 months late, here are some pics of our 2nd boy. He was born August 13th, 2014 #2Under2ina2x2
Many thanks to my talented sister for the beautiful photos. Find her here.
We are getting close to baby number 2, and to be honest, I'm really dying to know if Arlo gets to grow up with a brother or a sister. I mean, don't get me wrong, I see it from our perspective as well, just having so much fun with Arlo I can't wait to understand how this will change our family dynamic.
Here's Amber and Arlo just before we have #2under2ina2/2
A return visit to the Lower Colorado with Sharelunker member David, was cray cray. And by that I mean those bass are hungry and in line at a mud bug buffet.
We barely paddled, and mostly let the river take us where she was going. We eddied out at several holes around the island, and got out to wade fish a couple of times too. The river anchor also allowed us to sit on top of a couple of honey holes that would have produced all day.
David was excited to see so much hydrilla, and many a bass were sheltered there. The hydrilla was mostly on the upper stretch of the run. We both also hit the Lower Co. trifecta, catching at least 1 of three species of Guadeloupe River Bass, Largemouth Bass and Catfish. The cat I had on the line, according to David, was a 7-8 pounder, and we were thrilled while thinking it was a bass, going through a little ripple, then me hopping out of the boat to beach it, before it broke off.
We didn't keep count, but bet we had 30 fish in the boat, I'll give David 20 and I'll take 10. Most were in the 3 pound range, but that's including the Guads. We scared up a couple of bigger bass, a 4 pounder and David had a big one on the line, maybe 7 or more, it broke off his 14lbs test line. There are some big ones out there. We were out the door at 6:40 and off the river at 3:30, it was like being a kid again, cray cray.
Believe we have found my favorite little run close to Austin, the Lower Colorado from Little Webberville to Big Webberville Park, in...wait for it...Webberville.
Flow was 399cfs below Longhorn and about 450cfs at Bastrop. Their was plenty of water, as we never had to get out of the boat to drag her. Obviously a lot of bass in the water, TJ landed one on his and the first cast of the day. I, however, will have to work a little harder next time to get them in the boat.
After the 1st stretch, the river forks, and most of the water was moving to the right. This is a really nice island and a good place to fish. We will spend more time on that section of the river, and paddle through the top and bottom sections next time.
Hope you find all the eggs you're looking for!
In Texas, ranch weekends are the best. Big thanks to @DPJones15 for letting us all get together. Arlo especially enjoyed swinging underneath the big Oak tree.
An open letter to Southwest Airlines
Read MoreAustin Jeep People are good people. They'll help you up a problem, wench you out, or help you change a flat in the backcountry. I've learned all that first hand, and I've only been out with them twice!
Check out the video of us over Labor Day Weekend at Hidden Falls Adventure Park during the 4 Wheel Parts Rally.
Wheeling with Austin Jeep People at the 4 Wheel Parts Rally at Hidden Falls Adventure Park. Shot on the GoPro Hero 3 Thanks for extra footage from Ronnie Kallies, aka http://www.youtube.com/user/mightymitemonster GoPro Hero 2 Music by YACHT, Don't Fight the Darkness
I'm please to announce the Austin City Limits Festival Playlist according to me, JRoss! I must say, it's a pretty sweet lineup this year. I won't harp on the obvious, but there are plenty of gems in this free download. Dawes, Grouplove, Haim, Holly Williams, Houndmouth, Junip, Little Green Cars, Shovels & Rope, Wild Cub, are some that I've really enjoyed spinning. The playlist is in order of band showtimes throughout the weekend.
Follow the link below to downlaod a .zip file of the playlist.
Or, if Spotify is where you get your fix, you can sync up here.
It may take a while to download, it's 132 songs, just over 1GB.
Double click on the folder that is downloaded to reveal the contents.
If you wish, drag and drop the folder into your iTunes library, it will be an Album called ACL Fest 2013.
It will always be easily found under that album name, but for easier reference, you can create a playlist in iTunes by selecting all the songs you just imported, and choose File>New Playlist from Selection. Finally, sync with your phone, and rock.
Austin City Limits is just around the corner and I for 1 am getting excited. Ever since Greg Schaefer created a playlist for ACL Fest 2008 I've kept creating one year after year. They always remind me of summer and I feel, like wine and Arlo, they get better with age. This year I'm incorporating Spotify for anybody with an account to enjoy. If you don't have an account, you should...don't cost nothing...
So, I'm a transplant here in ATX, just like many of our friends. I have a few buddies that can claim they are local and have seen this city change and grow. So it's pretty cool to see Arlo playing around like a little Austinite. He has many local adventures ahead, little Austin baby.
What an honor. I was invited to join the River Rats, a group of men 31 years in the making. In 1983, Jay Kauffman's dad, Al Kauffman, and his gang of misfit buddies took a river trip on the Stillwater River in Montana and started an annual tradition. The group has grown to over 60 rats and spans 2 generations now.
Rats on Suicide Summit
It is so big that this year the group split up, and original Rat member Sam Pfiester's son, Austin Pfiester put the trip together for the mostly younger generation. Austin chose the Snake River running through Hell's Canyon, which creates the border of Idaho and Oregon. We took whitewater rafts over 5 days, 4 camps, and some 60+ miles looking for trout, bass and sturgeon. Winding Waters River Expeditions were our guides, but really much more than that. We ate well, fished hard, never paddled, swam, snorkeled, kayaked, SUP, and celebrated life, summer and tradition in the mountains. It was a pleasure being on the river with such a crew.
There's more photos being shared, and I'm working my way through a ton of GoPro footage, and so far, there's some really good stuff, including sturgeon footage. I will post the video below when it's finished. A-O River!
Our first real family vacation with Arlo was a great success. Many thanks to Gigi and Granddad for making it such an amazing week for all their kids and grandkids. Arlo agrees, summertime at Generations rules.
Stayed at GenerationsBeachHouse.com
Fished with Osprey Charters fishosprey.com
Boards from WOW Paddleboards www.wowpaddleboards.com
Shot using the GoPro Hero 3 gopro.com
Marian Adrian of Marian Adrian Photography took the photos above, they are really beautiful, and keep in mind the big family shots she took using a tripod! Does that count as a selfie?
Below are some of my shots from the week in the Redneck Riviera. Truly a special place.
A post from the road. Amber, Arlo and I took a nice walk this morning. We are staying at Generations Beach House in the 30A area of Florida's Panhandle. I'm also trying out my new toy, the Sony NEX-7 and so far am digging it. Here's a couple of shots from this morning, I'm sure there will be more to come.
Amber, Arlo and Justin
Amber and Arlo
Spread the Aloha started as a philanthropical adventure around the world. SpreadTheAloha.com has grown to represent that, the work I'm fortunate to do, and my web log.
