Based On a True Story

In the wake of the tragic events in Las Vegas, I decided to sit down and write out my beliefs and thoughts on guns and the laws that surround them. If you know anything about me, you know that I enjoy guns and the gun culture. As an adult, competitive shooting, recreational shooting, collecting guns, and reloading have become a hobby. Strange enough, I grew up in a house that only had one functional firearm. It was a Winchester 1906 pump action .22LR rifle that belonged to my father's father. It has since been handed down to me and one day I will pass it on to my son. I couldn't tell you why I was so fascinated with the military or firearms in general as a child growing up. Later in life, my mom told me that my parents had decided to not purchase toy guns for me. But they found that I would make them out of empty toilet paper rolls, Legos, sticks, or just with whatever I could get my hands on. I remember playing "Army War" on the playground with my friends. As I gre...

Being a step parent is a lot like that... If you're a step parent and you want a good laugh at yourself...go watch Daddy's Home. Being a parent is hard work. No one really can explain how difficult it is to be a parent. I always heard people say, "oh just wait until you're a parent," or "you don't understand until you have kids..." Cliche I thought...but I had no idea. Not to toot on my own horn, but I feel like I'm a decent step parent. Sure I have my flaws, as my kids will tell you. And yes, I do call them my kids. To swing on this tangent, I call them my kids for a reason. I met Suzie when Kayden was only 2 and Rose was a mere month old. I have been in their life for the vast majority of it. I have been there when they were sick, fought through homework, patched up skinned knees, listened to fits, you get the idea right? I watched Rose take her first steps, taught Kayden to ride a bike, and seen so much joy in those two kids as they ...

Failure...when we think of the word, we have a negative connotation. I think that we can also agree that we learn from our mistakes. This is an idea I am really trying to convey to my 6th graders this year. There seems to be such negativity that surrounds even the mere mention of the word "failure." "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." -Henry Ford Sometimes when you fail, you just feel like laying down and bowing out. Life has a tendency to beat you while you're laying down.  I think it's about time to stand up, and learn from my own failures. Recognition of my own failures, just even in the past week, have hopefully lead to improvement on all fronts. The more I have failed during my short 33 years of life, I have come to a realization. I am at my happiest when I focus on what is going well in life and how I can learn from my many mistakes. I am beyond blessed and to focus on the negativity that surrounds u...

Have you had a near death experience? If you have, you can relate to this blog post. If not, well buckle down and enjoy the ride. First and foremost, having a near death experience doesn't always have to be yours. It could be someone you're very close to. I wanted to share a few of the ones I've seen in my lifetime. 1. Band President Yes, please don't laugh, but I was elected my high school's band president my senior year. Mr. Kato, my band teacher must have thought it was a big joke when I won. The benefits weren't many except for leading the pep band (all 15 of us) and having a tuba sized band locker. I did have several naps inside that bad boy. We were heading to a basketball game across town in Portland, OR. Julie, my vice president, was using her older Toyota pickup truck to transport the full drum set to the gym. Our drum set was in a open top box that could come apart to create a platform for the drummer. It fit nicely into her truck bed. I had asked M...

"Let it go, let it go, you can't hold me back anymore..." I've heard those words in tune (I dare you to read them without singing it in your head) many times. Before I begin the main portion of my blog tonight, I figured I'd update my faithful five readers in what is currently happening in the Hunsaker house. 1. We got a puppy. Ugh, what was I thinking?! I know the five of you have questions, so let me shotgun those questions: Yes, the kids did beg. No, I did not give into the begging. Yes, the wife asked and yes, I gave in to her reasoning. Yes, it is a golden retriever that is papered. No, I did not get ripped off. No, I do not regret getting her, but at times I would love to give her away. Yes, she is a girl and her name is Ellie. I have no idea where the name came from. Suzie came home one day with an engraved name tag with the name "Ellie" on it and said, "when we get a dog, her name will be Ellie." Ellie is currently 10 weeks. She does ...

I am always amazed at the little things you can learn through object lessons and movies. A doctor once told me that I'm a stressed individual. I would say, that's about right. I stress about everything and worry about everything. I saw this little object lesson on a video that was circulating through Facebook. I'll summarize: A professor took out a jar and filled it with golf balls. He turned to his class and asked, "is the jar full?" He received a resounding, "YES!" He then took out some pebbles and poured them into the jar. The pebbles filled in the gaps and cracks left by the larger golf balls. "Now is the jar full?" "YES!" exclaimed his students. Then he took out sand and proceeded to pour it into the jar. The sand filled the even smaller gaps between the pebbles. He turned to the class, "now is the jar full?" "YES!" Finally, he took out two beers and poured them into the jar. The class was amazed that so muc...

Over the last few months, I feel I may have fallen victim to negativism. You know what I'm talking about...when you just assume the worst in all situations. I don't know what had changed, but it wasn't in my favorite place to be. A while  back, Suzie and I watched a hilarious Netflix original, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  A brief summary of the show, Kimmy was held captive in a bunker by a religious fanatic that told her of the world apocalypse. It ended up being a fictional tale and she was "rescued" and tossed into "normal" life in New York City. The show focuses on her spunky attitude and her hilarious attempts at figuring out modern life. In one episode, Kimmy is talking about how she over comes hard times. She is working a crank in the corner of the bunker. Others in the bunker tell her to stop and allow someone else a turn. She, in an exhausted voice, says: “I learned a long time ago that a person can stand just about anything for 10 seconds,...

I am not a super emotional person as anyone can tell. I do have my outbursts of anger as do many people, although for the most part I would think of myself as relatively easy going. This last week, it has been a roller coaster of emotions. I don't really know what's change. I think it all begin with Nari. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the poor girl, but I know she is missing something great. Before we all jump to conclusions on what she's missing...first let me back track. It's been six years since my mom passed away due to cancer. "Time heals all wounds..." I know the cliche quite well. Time does not heal all wounds in the sense that I'll eventually not feel the sadness. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss her. I wasn't always the perfect son and if I could go back in time, I'd definitely kick myself in the pants so much! But my mother did teach me some valuable lessons. Getting back on topic regarding ...

To avoid the cliche, I won't begin this post with "I can't believe it's been six months already..." Nari Nancy passed her six months mark just a few days ago. I have been meaning to write a more detailed blog post on her and just am finally getting a chance to sit down and write. Reflecting back, these six months have blown by. Let's get this out of the way: Nari now rolls over from tummy to back and back to tummy. It's actually her primary method of moving around. I laid her on her play mat in the family room for a few minutes. When I turned back around from folding clothes, she had rolled her way across the family room. She's all about drooling now. She eats basic baby food and yes, her poop is beginning to stink more. She is babbling like crazy. Sometimes I think, "man she is LOUD!" She screams and has a very high pitch squeal. Her first words were, "dada!" I couldn't be happier!!! Kayden and Rose just love littl...