Today is Lessi's second birthday. As I look back upon memories and pictures from the past couple years, I simply smile. While fatherhood can be as complicated as you'd like to make it, it can also be about one very simple thing: finding happiness in th...

  Look closely at the picture above. To the casual observer, this may look like Nerf darts scattered across a suburban cul-de-sac. To me, they spell the word validation. Validation for a moment's notice decision to move the entire family from Los...

When I was in kindergarten, I jumped off the jungle gym at school and landed on my head, necessitating the only stitches I have ever gotten. My parkour career ended before the sport was even invented. What is parkour? It's the craziest, coolest, break...

10 years ago today, I discovered the difference between being alive and living. Living means that you take every opportunity you can to steal a chuckle. Living means sharing the things you love with those you love, even if they can't quite stand on th...

Comrades, the time has come. We must rid this world of weak fried rice. I've waited patiently my entire life for this wok hero, acknowledging that there are other rice frying superstars more capable of leading the masses to the promised land. Yet no o...

The moving trucks roll up to our driveway in 90 minutes. But this little quickie deserves mention... When I carved out this little space of mine on the internet nearly five years ago, I didn't have too many expectations. I had never read a blog before....

Due to paperwork delays, red tape and general bureaucratic lethargy, we still haven't gotten the keys to our new home (in case you missed it, we recently relocated from Los Angeles to deep within the suburban depths of Northern California). Luckily, my...

Every parent has that benchmark with which they measure their day-to-day success as a mom or dad. For some, it's a successful nap. For others, it could be five servings of vegetables. For me, it's pooping. If it were up to me, age would be a factor of ...

One random night in second grade, I was lying in my bed watching TV. I was on the tail end of the flu, and my dad was sitting on the couch in my room to make sure I was ok. I know it sounds like my second grade bedroom was ...