QUESTION #1

My bride asked me to be her guest blogger for a few days but.......she left me a few questions to answer. She wanted to make sure that I didn't scare off her blogging friends so that is why she left the questions. My first question from her is "how have you developed such a close relationship with your pre-teen daughter"? I can't take all of the credit, I have had some great instruction from my bride and also some great examples way before Kaia was even born. I had the privilege of watching Jim V. interact with his teen daughters. He goofed around with them, listened to them, he pushed them to succeed, and above all loved them. When Kaia was born I was very worried about how I would relate to her especially as a teen. My biggest fear was that we wouldn't have much in common. But we do, she loves music and so do I. She shares my love for the ocean. I could make a huge list of common interests but that would be way off track.

We are close because I have put myself way outside my comfort zone. We have talked about things from how babies are made to girl drama at school. After health class we checked out WebMD.com to prove that herpes is forever. I hold her hand at Target and chat with her on the phone. We text......all of the time. Daddy daughter date night is very important for both of us. It gives us the opportunity to relax together. Sometimes we will just grab a bite to eat or hit the movies. Even shopping at the market for groceries. After working at it for 12+ years most things are not uncomfortable but enjoyable.

In the spirit of "keeping it real" we have had some knock out drag out fights. There is yelling and screaming, door slamming and stomping. I have on more than one occasion been told "you have ruined my life".

So that's it in a nutshell. And for the record Kaia, NOFX is way better than Taylor Swift. That's how we roll.

Dave