So if you’re following along on my wife’s blog you’ll already know that I’ve gotten back into skateboarding:

Jeff got his skateboard this past Monday (I have some pics of him and Josie using it that he will have to put up later ..) and it took about 24 hours and she decided she just had to get one too. So, last night we took everyone to Redmond Town Center, including Brady The Dog, and walked around. When we got to Zumiez, Brady walked right on in, like he’d been there millions of times before (he hasnt ever been there) and wagged his tail for everyone, then decided it was cooler outside on the walkway.. and went to lay down and wait for us. 

Emily, a very nice young lady who made Jeff’s board, had all of Josie’s choices laid out for her when we got there. Oh, big kudos to Emily for saving everyone a lot of time. Josie chose which picture she wanted on the bottom of her board then picked a set of blue wheels with a pink stripe in the middle.

That’s “Wet Willy” on the bottom of her board. It really holds no significance other than she thought he was funny. Jeff scooped up a bunch of pink decals for the new black helmut. So far, only a small we willy sticker is on it.. I assume she will have it covered in pink in no time, so the black is all blotted out. 

No I have not lost my mind.  Seriously.

Last two weeks each evening Josie and I have been grabbing our boards, heading down to the neighborhood basketball court and practicing.  She’s really picking it up quick and just loves it.  For me, its a really great way to unplug from the day and spend sometime with Josie with zero interruptions.  Yes, I’ve certainly gotten some insane looks lately from folks wondering if I’m off my rocker teaching a six year old to skate, but I’m hoping it is in here genes to skate.  I was able to scan a few photos in tonight from when I was her age, back in the mid 70s that I blogged about earlier on about the retro G&S boards.

That’s me at the Mountain Mania Halfpipe in Kamloops, B.C. 

That’s me doing a hand stand while waiting for the half pipe to free up.  You’ll notice in true Canadian form I’m wearing a hockey Jersey, hockey elbow pads and a hockey helmet.  Lots of good memories from back then and its also amazing exercise.

So how am I getting back into boarding? 

Slowly — In Josie’s eyes I’m star that can do lots of tricks, in reality I’m starting all over again and she’s not that far behind me skill wise.  We’re spending most of our time at the local basketball court practicing ground moves.  I’ve found a couple of free resources though with lots of good information on skateboarding.  About.com has a great section on skateboarding with tips on how to ollie and even buying your first board.  The next was a complete surprise which is Comcast On Demand.  If you go to On Demand -> Sports and Fitness -> SportSkool -> Skateboarding you can find all sorts of video tutorials on basic ground moves and more advanced stuff.  If you don’t have Comcast, you can view it all online too at SportSkool.com.

So my new board has become basic transportation inside the house (Did I tell you wife is cool and how much I love hardwood floors!) I’m starting to feel like my balance is back and I can even do a 360.  The goal I’m working towards is to actually get to the park at lunch time as there are a number of folks who go each day.  It might take a bit, but I’ll get there and through the process get more quality time with Josie. 

So far so good. :->  So if you’re thinking of taking the dive back to boarding and are in the Redmond area, drop me a line.  This coming weekend Josie and I are going to scout the Redmond park.