Aaron is One

My cute son is one. It's hard to believe an entire year has past.



We celebrated his party this weekend with our amazing friends and family. Here's some of the best pictures we have of Aaron's first year.



Stay tuned for Aaron's infamous cake eating video! I will work on that after I wrap up the SBCC Christmas album this week!

iLike iPod

I honestly think Apple used me as their target audience when they first designed the iPod. Ok, it's true. I did get a brand new iPod Classic for $100 (you'd expect to pay $250!). I've had quite an extreme relationship with these little devices. Here's my history with the iPod....

+March 2001: I first started using iTunes. I instantly fell in love with the ap and started importing all my CDs.

+March 2002: I bought a 10gb iPod and used it for 4 years! No problems.

+April 2002: A week later, someone gave me their used 5gb iPod. Since they didn't know I had just bought one, I gave it to Gabe.

+May 2006: That same person gave me another iPod! I used that 20gb model for a week.

+June 2006: A week later, that same person decided to instead buy me a brand new 30gb Black Video iPod! I gave the other 20gb model to someone else who could use it.

+July 2006: I sold my 10gb iPod on Craigslist. The buyer couldn't make it work and demanded his money back with threatening emails. I gave in.

+May 2007: After 11 months of daily use, the audio stopped flowing out of my Video iPod.

+June 2007: Thanks to Apple's warranty program, I received a free replacement Video iPod.

+July 2007: That iPod was stolen from my car while I was buying a cup of jo.

+July 2007: Angela immediately loans me her 20gb iPod so that I can maintain a normal life.

+Sept 2007: I finally ordered an older iPod on a closeout deal for $100.

+Oct 2007: Apple emails me to tell me that they ran out of the old ones, so they'd just have to send me a brand new iPod Classic.

Ready for Fire

Kjaere, our wonderful babysitter, caught this cute moment at our house today. She sent these pix to me at work today! She rules.





I have been crazy busy trying to wrap up the SBCC Christmas album. There is an end in sight. I have about 10 days left and only a few more people to record. Drums this weekend!

Missing Matt

One year has past since we lost Matt Steele. I still really miss him.



This picture of Matt holding Abby was taken at Buonapasta Studio when she was less than a month old. I like this photo because it portrays his joyful spirit. It also reminds me of how we shared both fatherhood and music in our friendship. I will never forget the impact he made on my life. So many of my closest friendships are all because of Matt. My prayers go out to his family and friends.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. (1 Peter 1:3-4)

Oh Back to School

Three weeks down! I'm back in the full swing of school now. I have a cool class of 10 bright young students this year. They are a delightful bunch and we are off to a great start. I'm very thankful to have my partner, David Given, back this year. It should be a solid year!

When students walk in, they see Mr. Given and I when we were elementary students.



Check out the color coordinated homework board....raising the bar!


In addition, Good Times Guitar is in full swing with 20 lessons per week! You can take a look at my iTunes purchases on the left....that'll give you a good snapshot of the extreme variety in music i teach from one lesson to the next!

New women's & kid's shirts...


New men's shirts...

Summer Highlight Reel

We had a blast this summer just doing silly stuff. I had tons of footage so here's a collage of some of the fun.

Matt Lundgaard is 30!

On paper, Matt is officially my brother-in-law. However, he is everything I'd want in a brother. He's a top notch Dad, a loving husband to Rox, a rock-star Uncle and a great friend. Happy 30th buddy!

Nolan is Five

I try to make a video for Nolan's birthday parties. This year's water slide party was a blast! In addition to the video below, I also just added a bunch of pictures on my FLIKR page.

Wilco, School and the Zaca Fire

Well, Angela is back in school now and I'm back to getting my classroom ready. Thankfully, we got to enjoy an amazing evening of music at the bowl last night. Wilco completely blew me out of the water. Immense talent on the stage and the folks behind the mixer were flawless. All in all, a great way to cap off the summer.

I thought I should document the Zaca fire so here goes....

It looked really bad from our parking lot a couple weeks ago...


So Abby & I decided to do something fun inside...


The fire created some pretty trippy clouds....


So we decided to spin a light-up top inside the "book nook"...

New Logo

Angela said that it was time for Good Times Guitar to upgrade its look. I have been working on a new logo for the past couple of days. This is the best I've come up with so far.

Cast your votes....tell me what you think! Would you wear this on a t-shirt?

More Summer Fun

We've been racking up the fun this summer. I had a ton of pix on the camera so here's a few highlights...

Aaron is getting really strong! He pulls himself up onto everything!

We're enjoying Mommy as much as possible before she goes back to work.

All aboard Little Toot.

Good times on the wharf.

Papa Ron took us to a sweet water park!

Red headed buddies at the water park!

Uncle Ted got Abby a scooter...she loves it! Thanks Uncle Ted!

Site Update

I updated this blog's appearance a tiny bit. You'll notice some different pictures at the top. You'll also see a "My iTunes Purchases" widget on the lower left. It looks like this:



This is kinda cool if you click on the "songs" tab because it gives you links to the songs I've bought on iTunes recently. Keep in mind, not everything I buy is necessarily my "favorite" music. I often use iTunes to hear songs that my guitar students want to learn. It is SO handy. :)

Lastly, I'm proud to announce that Angela and I celebrated our 8th anniversary yesterday! She's a good woman to put up with all my crazy endeavors. She also has given me two beautiful children. As Aaron would say, "I la." (I love you)

Boulder Reunion

We just got back from an awesome family reunion in Boulder, CO. All of the White's, Parrott's and Lundgaard's were in attendance! Although this was our first ever reunion that I can remember, I'm quite certain that it won't be the last. It was so fun to see Abby play with all of her cousins. She loved them so much and really didn't want to leave her new buddies! While we were there, she said, "I just love all these people!" She knows when she is loved. I'm very thankful to be a part of such a great family.

ATTENTION FAMILY MEMBERS: Below is a slideshow of all my favorite pictures. My camera tended to be where ever the kids were. I'm hoping to collect everyone's best pictures and put together a more comprehensive perspective on the trip. Please email or send a CD/DVD of your best shots and I'll put them all together. Please send them to me in August sometime if you can. Thanks!

Let the Good Times Roll

If you're not familiar with that Cars song (Let the Good Times Roll), you might wanna check it out. Totally 80's, and not a bad soundtrack for my next guitar lesson video...anyway, I digress. I want to update you on the good times that have been rolling through our house lately.

First off, Abby is better from a gnarly virus that lasted 6 days! Poor little cutie got knocked on her keester, and was none too pleased. Fever up to 104! Nose stuffed up the wazoo. YUCK! We're especially thankful seeing as we're going to Denver for a family reunion tomorrow! Sick Kid+Airplane=Nobody Happy. :( Thank you antibiotics!

So before the sickness, Abby and Aaron had some fun in the backyard with the new kiddie pool. Here's some recent photos:

The big sister is SO proud of her little buddy bear!


Abby's stellar swim lessons earned her the "Ariel" swim gear!


Aaron is quite pleased about the new high chair...he takes his eating seriously!

iTunes has MyTunes

Ever wondered what albums I have recorded here at Good Times Studio? Ask no more! I've created an iMix on iTunes so that you can find them all in one place! Just click HERE.

Summer Fun

I've been busy with recording, but even more busy lining up the family fun. I'm really enjoying the chance to spend more quality times with my kids. Here's some highlights in picture form...


SNUGGLIN' UP ON 4TH OF JULY! Why are the fireworks so small Daddy? Because Daddy is scared of traffic so we parked at the Biltmore!


AARON IS ON THE MOVE! He's a handsome lad too.


WE GAVE IN AND WENT TO THE FAIR. Abby loved the rides...


AARON LOVES TO GET THE LAUGHTER GOING. He always tries to get us to join him.


ABBY DID A GREAT JOB THIS SUMMER WITH HER 3 WEEKS OF SWIM LESSONS! She can go off the board or slide and swim to the side by herself!

Ballard Country Campout

We went to the Sieck's annual campout in their backyard. Abby loves sleeping in the tent and playing with her buddies. In fact, the Abster was so pumped to sleep in the tent, that she put herself to bed! Here's some pix from the adventure:

Two Abby's and Sydney by the friendly fire.


Sydney and Abby love to giggle together!


Didn't believe me? Seriously, they really laugh a lot.


Vera and Abby got to feed the LePley's horses. Abby now wants a horse. We reminded her that she already has plenty of My Little Ponies. :)


Vera and Abby had plenty-o-fun in the tent.

Happy Birthday Papa Ron!

I have a great Dad and today, June 22, is his birthday. He's a wonderful father, friend, husband, grandpa, son, musician, fixer-guy, and techy dude. I'm thankful for you Dad! Have an awesome birthday!

Abby is Four

Abby had a fiesta to celebrate her 4th birthday. It was really fun!

Go see the pictures HERE.

Also, Abby is very excited about the new bike that Grandma Sugar got for her today. You won't believe the video we shot (to be posted soon!) In addition, she is THOROUGHLY enjoying her new big girl bed, new clothes and awesome toys. Thanks to everyone who decided to shower her with new summer fun. She and we feel blessed. :)

Good Times Studio Ramping Up!

Since I'm a teacher, most of my recording happens in the summer. Well, this is my last week of school, so it won't be long before I'm diving into some recording projects! I have a new Audio-Technica mic and I just ordered the latest and greatest version of MOTU's "Digital Performer" so I'm excited to crack open the potential there! Here are the possible recordings for the summer:

1. Christmas Album for SB Community (this is gonna for sure happen this summer! Silent Night in July? Release expected by Thanksgiving 2007)

2. CLARK (there is some amazing new material to begin tracking)

3. Chris Mundell (funny man with pensive worship songs has several new gems in the cooker--we just need to have lunch so we can devise a game plan!)

4. Le Petit Protest (an amazing band from Lompoc-we met through Clark connections and we've been in contact to talk about me potentially recording their next LP--mostly live which sounds like an exciting challenge. I love this band. )

5. Angela White (hope to squeeze some time in to record some of my wife's great new stuff!)

6. Me (i have a couple new tunes that would be fun to track...we'll see!)

7. Maybe YOU!? :)

Stay tuned!

Happy Birthday Gwen!

My cute little niece, Gwen, is turning one on June 1st. We went to San Jose last weekend to celebrate! Here's some pix...

Aaron and Gwen are buddies...she smacked him with several kisses!


Abby & Nolan loved Gramma Rachel's new water table!


More good times with the babies at the party!


Abby went down this slide about a zillion times....backwards!

Tad Wagner is da man!

Here's another beautiful shot of Abby, courtesy of Tad Wagner.

He also nailed this picture of Aaron last week...


Find more amazing Tbone photos at Tad Wagner dot com!

Happy 30th Rox!

Sister. Daughter. Wife. Mommy. Auntie. Friend. Painter. Believer. Artist. Feeler. Helper.

She tops every category. I could not ask for anything more in a sister!

Summer's Coming...

Won't be long til summer time....in the meantime, you can enjoy this mp3 I just found of Abby singing exactly a year ago. Can't believe how little she sounds!

Lastly, don't forget, the KTYD contest if almost over for Chris Mundell, so GO VOTE!

gooD TiMEs guiTAR

Angela and I have now made the "Elite 8" on the KTYD Early Show contest. Please click here and VOTE for our jingle every day. In the meantime, here's the highlight reel from last night's talent show. Enjoy some amazing performances from my talented guitar students!



Yes, that was a Chris Mundell song that Elie was singing, and yes you can vote for him in the contest as well. If we lose, we'd really like to lose to Chris. Remember, GO VOTE!

KTYD.com is the new Google!

That's right! You used to go to google every day--now it's time to make a daily visit to KTYD dot com so you can vote for our jingle--EVERY DAY! I'm not sure why, but for this contest, they have decided to reset the voting on a daily basis! They will eliminate the two lowest songs each day. So far, " Carry Me Through," our 56-second musical masterpiece, has faired well.

Take heart, it's only one week and then google can be the new favorite, again.

CLICK HERE every weekday and vote for us!

Also, we should mention that we are also pulling for our buddy, Chris Mundell. He has entered a gorgeous punk rock ditty. if you don't vote for us, vote for him.