“When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.” ~Sophia Loren

When I first took the time to learn to surf back when I was 32, I realized what a truly artistic yet athletic sport it is. It’s hard for me to call it a sport actually because the word “sport” conjures up all things jockish: football, soccer, baseball, basketball etc. Surfing and jock would never fit together in a sentence.

The actual process of surfing is so challenging that you need a creative spirit to understand and have the patience to endure the ever changing rhythm of the waves and get innovative when guiding your board with your body as the wave changes along the way. It’s the most sublime, vigorous and rewarding physical activity I have ever taken part in.

A good portion of the surf industry is still oozing with wisdom and soul. We live in a town where we are surrounded by talented and inspiring people whose whole hearts are caught up in surfing and some who actually make a living at it. To grow up in San Clemente is to grow up with surfing. It’s hard to imagine living here and not getting caught up in it somehow.

My husband Jim grew up in Huntington Beach which has grown up to be a more pretentious “surf city.” San Clemente still keeps it’s pants on and tends to be more family oriented. But, we have both been affected by the industry to a larger degree.

So, of course, our son is into surfing. He’s not as hard corps as some of his school buddies, but he loves it in his own way. His passion for it comes from a sincere connection with the ocean. Over the course of the last few years he has found joy in the ocean through sailing and reading and movies. His favorite books, and subsequently films made after some of them, are Moby Dick, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Flying Dutchman, Discovery Channel’s Deep Ocean and of course Spongebob.

When we decided it was time for his own board, we turned to his best friend’s dad, Breno Basilio with Muleke, to shape it and a well known local artist to put some artwork on it. Merrik has spent many hours drawing Moby Dick, the giant squid from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the ghost ship, various deep sea creatures and lots of jellyfish. So, when talking to Drew Brophy about what we wanted in the drawing on the deck of Merrik’s board, it was easy to communicate all Merrik’s favorite things.

Breno designed a board perfect for Merrik. Taking into account his height, weight and ability, he knew how long, how wide and how thick to shape it. Drew was amazing to work with for the artwork. He knew right way what we were after and delivered a phenomenal first sketch. On the final artwork, he went overboard to say the least. He delivered under a tight deadline and I have never seen Merrik so excited in his life about a new toy. It is a perfect culmination of all his favorite things coming together in one cool place.

Our life feels full being able to collaborate and support local artists. They are talented and successful in their own special way and we can relate to that. Both Jim and I struggle along in our own creative endeavors without a ton of recognition. We see others in our industries getting bigger pats on the back and sometimes it feels like we aren’t really moving forward in our careers.

But, it’s a great reward to give back to our roots and to hold that dear rather than try to run off to find more celebrity and something else that is bigger and better than what is right here in our own backyard. I am so thrilled to have also realized a great new personal project that stays close to my center and gives me the opportunity to develop my photographic strengths through the history of photography.

Just look at her now. Back in 2008 when Maliea was a baby, I found a cute line of girl’s dresses made out of upcycled Tshirts. The designer was Courtney Chu and I knew that she was creating something really unique and special. I tried to photograph Maliea in her new dress but she just wasn’t having it that day. She is still a challenge to photograph and you have to catch her in the right mood.

I had good intentions after that to send Courtney some of dad’s Tshirts to upcycle into dresses for my little girl but the years passed and life swept me up in all kinds of other things.

Three years later, I finally picked two Tshirts from big brother’s drawer that were favorites for a long time and that he had outgrown.

I didn’t want to give them away as they were sentimental. One is a shirt with a silkscreen on it that Dad designed for work and the other one Dad brought back from a surf trip to Namotu, Fiji.

I told Courtney what sleeve styles I wanted and what length to make each dress. I knew I wanted a warm weather one and a cold weather one and so far, Maliea has been able to wear them for all kinds of special moments:

putting on lotion—trying to ride her big brother’s bike—jumping off curbs—flirting with the boys—running on the beach—hiding in the bamboo

Courtney did a fantastic job coordinating other Tshirt fabric and adding special girlie details. I am surprised that Maliea loves these because she is such a girlie girl and loves her glitter and sparkles. But these dresses are so comfortable, I think she forgets about all that fluff and just enjoys herself while playing in them.

If you love these dresses as much as I do, you will have to sign up to receive Courtney’s current inventory list here. Act fast, they don’t last!

Our beautiful boy turns seven today. We are so proud of all his accomplishments and enthusiasm for life. He loves the ocean—surfing—sailing—sea creatures—dinosaurs—trains—math—art—and especially his little sister—