Dear Sam,

At 11:37pm Tokyo time on this date 40 years ago, your Dad was hatched.

In a way, turning 30 seemed a little more traumatizing. For me, it marked true adulthood. Out of my twenties, I couldn’t still claim to be a kid anymore.

With that in mind, 40 isn’t so bad. I’ve already had 10 years experience being a kid in adult’s body. Just another reason to have a giant party.

Once you finish your fruit, pancake time!

So today, a few minutes before 11:37pm Tokyo time (7:37am PT), I snapped this photo of you and me having breakfast. The final image of your dad in his 30′s.

For the record, you don’t ever have to stop being a kid.

Love, Dad

He doesn’t know how to swim.
He doesn’t like being underwater.
He has absolutely no fear of heights.

God help us.

Even though Sammy got his Big Boy Bed awhile back, he still preferred the comfort of the original.

Today, he helped Mom & Dad take apart the old bed so he could officially graduate.

This makes mommy sad.

It took a little convincing but we think he’s ready.

"Sammy, promise me you won't fall out of this thing, okay?"

Today, Sam learned that you can have music all to yourself. That doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t enjoy the dancing.

In his own universe.

Well, here we are. 39 days after planting grass seed, we’ve got ourselves a happy little chunk of tamed land.

Here’s the progression:

Day 1

Day 7

Day 15

Day 27

Day 39 (after first mow)

With just 11 days until the 4th of July, I gave our baby grass her first mow last night.

Sam was pretty excited when he finally got to walk barefoot and feel the new grass under his feet.

Before long, we all took off our shoes and took some batting practice.

Craigslist Craig.

I don’t know who you are or how you work your magic.  

Three days ago, someone came by the house and said he’d charge us 350 bucks to remove a couple piles of dirt.

I'm excellent at moving dirt from over there. And then I move it over here.

Mom really enjoys our new found curb appeal.

Who budgets 350 bucks to move dirt? Not us.  

As a last ditch effort, I posted a Craigslist ad for FREE FILL DIRT. There were probably twenty other FREE FILL DIRT listings.  No way I was getting any takers.

That night, the phone rang with a dirt needer. The next day, a man came by with a small pickup. He was building a retaining wall nearby and was overjoyed with the prospect of my free fill dirt.

In six loads, he removed about a third of it. He’s coming back tomorrow to get the rest. I’ve since  turned away three other people.

One man’s leftover dirt is another man’s fill dirt. Thank you, Craigslist Craig, for knowing that.  You are my new best friend.

Robbing banks is never a good idea.  And how is this old guy getting away with it?

I asked him but but he wouldn’t tell me.

Every year when the Mariners come to town, so does a former TV/Filmschool partner Brad Adam.

Now that he’s a bigshot anchor who travels with the Mariners, he can set up his friends with great seats. And that’s just what he did.

My name is Brad and I'm kind of a big deal.

Pitching 101: Stare down your opponent until they tremble in fear.

Sam prepares to flatten an ant with his fastball.

Adrian Gonzales waited for us to find our seat before belting a 2-run homerun!

Baseball and Cheezits. Nothing is more American!

It's good to know the guy up in the booth too.

Pads won 7 to 1. Time for one last catch at the park.