The past 5 months have been a whirlwind. The trajectory of our life went entirely in a different direction than we could have anticipated. It all started with Jolene getting hurt. Back in August the four of us went to Hawaii. We’ve been to Hawaii 8 times now. This time while walking at the Hilton […] The post What Led Us To Hemet Church appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

Over a year ago I started a goal of paying off my student loans. After about six months I made a decent sized dent. Then covid-19 hit. Amidst the confusion and uncertainty of this pandemic, we decided to hold tight to our money. Until we didn’t. Half of my student loans went into deferment. Bailout […] The post The Bearden Ranch appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

For over 10 years my wife and I have been paying into an endless black hole of student loans. While in college we accumulated nearly $200,000 in student loans. 10 years after starting to pay our loans back I still have $54,000 to pay off. Last month I had $57,028 remaining. We still have 15 […] The post Paying Off Student Loans in 3 Years appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

It’s been a fairly long time since I posted on this site.  I have a bunch of posts that I need to upload at some point in the future, but until then I have an announcement.  I started another site that is dedicated to another one of my hobbies.  You can find my new site […] The post Bear Coral appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

Today was a big milestone for Braeden.  He took his first steps unassisted.  Jolene was washing some dishes.  Braeden was pushing one of his toys he got for his birthday.  He pushed it just far enough away that he took his first step towards it without holding onto anything.  Jolene missed it.  About a half […] The post My Son Is Walking ~ Visiting the Live Oak Canyon Pumpkin Patch appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

Yesterday Johanna and I were talking about Braeden turning one today. She said, “so Braeden will no longer be…..” I completed here sentence as she paused with the word “zero.” Braeden is officially no longer zero, and today has turned one year old.  His age will no longer be an accumulation of months, but years. […] The post My Son Is No Longer Zero – Happy Birthday Braeden appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

Over the past 10 years post college my faith in humanity has been deteriorating.  Pastors who you would assume would do great things, do the opposite.  Friends you think are friends, well often are not.  Family who you would think would have your back, would rather destroy you.  My world view has been destroyed by […] The post My Faith In Humanity Has Been Restored appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

When I was a child the number one thing I wanted to was travel.  Now that I am old enough to afford traveling, we try as often as we can to see the world.  Having children does make it a little more difficult.  This trip we decided to go somewhere different, the US Virgin Islands. […] The post Traveling to the US Virgin Islands With a Baby appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

If you live in southern California, you know the kind of heat we can get. This summer is no different. We don’t have a pool, so Jolene wanted to get something the kids could play in that would be adequate enough. She opted to buy a blow up pool.  Ever since the box arrived in […] The post Having Fun in the Summer Heat appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more

It feels like yesterday when we had Johanna watch fireworks for the first time at Jolene’s uncle’s home. Fast forward 6 years for Independence Day Braeden got his first dose of fireworks. We went to Jolene’s grandparents’ home to watch the fireworks. Luckily they live close enough to a big fireworks display.  We can just […] The post Baby Watching Fireworks for First Time appeared first on Daddy's Turn ..read more