As a younger man I was quite positive I would never have kids. Even when I first met my wife Danielle I told her kids were not part of my future vision (thank goodness she ignored that!) As I write this in 2020 my children are 6 (Keelyn) and 8 (Kaia), and the three girls of my life are the cornerstone of everything I do. I love each of them for their own unique selves and I love us as a family unit.

Just like most families I have thousands of pictures and just as many memories. I could easily create a website of just kid pictures and stories (and in fact I did start blogging about my experiences as a Dad, feel free to check out www.bluntparenting.com). And while not much of a Facebook-er, my posts are pretty much exclusive to my family.

I met my wife Danielle in 2003. While we are not a love at first sight couple, we still fell pretty darn hard and it was only a few months before we both knew where things were going (as long as we didn’t talk kids yet at least). We are very similar people and we have had many fun adventures together. We love to be outdoors and active and have made that a central part of our relationship.

And Then Along Come Kids

I may have thought at one point that kids were not the thing for me, but as most any parent will tell you the reality once your first one is born changes everything. I will not say that my world revolves around Kai and Keelyn, but I happily say that I definitely plan much of my life around them.

Like every other parent, we make mistakes, get stressed out and yell more often than we would prefer. My general approach to life is one of relaxation, fun and approaching challenges with a smile. I bring that to my parenting style as well and more often than not I am able to simply enjoy the journey of parenthood. I especially enjoy watching how absolutely different two little girls can be when they are so close in age and raised in a very similar way.

Kaia

While she will play in the mud, Kaia has always had a princess-y streak to her. She loves art, dancing and anything which allows her to add some flair to the world. She’s also about the best hugger you’ll find. But, she is no girlie-girl. She loves downhill skiing, water skiing, dirt bikes, Star Wars and Tae Kwon Do.

Keelyn

As much as it can be said between a father and daughter, this little lady is definitely my mini-me. She is energetic, funny (“I’m the funniest one in the family”), easy going and simply knows how to enjoy life. She is a great playmate but is just as happy spending hours by herself with her imagination. She learned to snowboard and wakeboard at 5, and her passion for both is just a pure pleasure to watch. She makes people smile wherever she goes and makes a Dad proud and happy.

Our Little Buddies

We are also very much a dog family. Danielle and I got out first dogs (Murphy & Milo) in 2005 and after they moved on over the rainbow bridge we lasted about four months before venturing back down that road with Bodhi and Kona.

Together

While I love each member of my family for their own individual traits, the best times happen when we are all together. As parents we are fortunate (so far!) that our children love the things we do and are open to trying new things. We spend as much time as we can on the water, but anything outdoors makes us one happy team.