Swiss Family Scavo

Today was a busy day for both Danya and myself - it was her day off and she still had to go into work for her grand opening of her bridal salon (she is Manager) It has been open for a few months now but tomorrow is the official opening and the pressure is on because corporate is in town to do the ribbon cutting and she being such a perfectionist, felt she needed to go in and make sure everything was set. so I went along and dropped her off and it gave me a chance to drive around in my toy (my VW GTI) It was 117 here today and having a Turbo 4 cylinder those 2 things dont really go well together - can anyone say “heat soak” ?
So Im driving around and I start thinking about all the fuss over Global Warming these days, and I start thinking about both sides of the coin - some people say its cyclical and some say its all because of what were doing to the planet - I think its both, and when I ask folks who have lived in Vegas their whole lives how the temps now compare to say 20 years ago they say its a big difference. One lady told me that just 10 years ago the highest recorded temperature in Vegas was 116 degrees and it surpassed that today easily, last year I remember days where it got to almost 125. On days like that its just miserable to be in a car for very long, even if your A/C is in tip top working condition, its still barely enough to keep you comfortable and without tint, forget about it.
I like Vegas but Mid June to mid September sucks pretty bad.

In the morning im shooting Danya’s store opening. its kind of funny how things happen like that, Danya for one day is my boss - LOL - (as if she isnt always my boss!) Right now her work is really far from our house, we live on the NW edge of Vegas (literally on the edge of the desert - just 20 minutes from Mt Charleston and the ski resort and 20 minutes from the heart of the strip) well, her salon is in the far southeast corner (on the other edge of the city) so she is spending some loot on gas every week, especially if she drives the Durango when im out of town with the Dub. good news is on the horizon though, a new salon is opening much closer to home (only 9 miles from our house instead of the current 35 miles) and she has first dibs to manage that salon - that alone will save us 200 bucks a month in gasoline. Its incredible to think that gas prices have become so high that savings of 200 dollars a month can be had by simply driving 50 less miles per day. In 1988 (20 years ago for you mathematically challenged) you could drive forever and it seemed like it never even made a dent in your wallet, a fillup barely cost more than dinner at Mcdonalds. nowadays 50 bucks to fill up a 14 gallon tank has everyones wallets too light to even consider dinner at mcdonalds. Ironic isnt it? ok, so maybe its not that bad yet, but its worse than I have seen in my 40 years and its unsettling.

Having a family of 5 in 2008 is tough for 2 working adults, almost impossible with just one. It really is sad to see the families who are truly struggling in this economy, Vegas has the highest forclosure rating in the country and just about everywhere you go you can see evidence of it. on our street alone there are probably 60-80 houses counting both sides. out of those homes easily 25 sit empty or are in forclosure or being sold and every subdivision is similar to the next. I see families with 10-12 even 15 people living in 4 and 5 bedroom homes and the cars parked down the street because the garages are full and driveways are full. I keep telling my children that they really need to get serious about school and learn all they can because when it comes time for them to enter the workforce and make their own way - the cards are stacked against them, not too different from what my parents told me I guess, but it seems way more serious now than when they told me when I was 16.

Speaking of children, we currently have 7 of them in the house tonight and unbelievably this has been a very quiet day. Dava has 3 of her friends sleeping over tonight (she wins the “most popular” award this weekend) cruce is in 2nd place with 1 friend over and Kaylin got the big goose egg (maybe its the blue hair??) The four 10 year olds have all been upstairs in the girls bedroom putting makeup on each other - it looks like a clown convention hit Vegas up there, either that or a 1980’s glamour girls reunion…yea, really bad makeup. Somehow I only heard one gaggle of geese scream earlier and it subsided and got quiet - They scarfed Danya’s spaghetti and meatballs down and hauled ass for the bedroom again, earlier they were all swimming in our pool and thankfully no drownings to report.

Cruce has been my little project lately, when he see’s a bug he screams like a girl, its this high pitched whiney scream and fortunately for him I dont have it on video because in 10 years he is gonna be really bummed out if I was showing that to his girlfriends (hopefully girlfriends.) It comes from his mom who is mortified of bugs and has to have me kill them whenever they are in the vicinity. I have gone to great lengths to show Cruce there is nothing to be afraid of - even kissing a dragonfly which probably did more damage than good as he screamed and then cowered behind his mother immediately after I did so. Some things he is good with but most things still freak him out. Kaylin has an Iguana and he isnt afraid of that so maybe with slow and sure reinforcement, I should have him holding spiders by the time he is 10 - Ill keep you updated on his progress.

Right now I am watching Croatia and Turkey playing soccer and it reminds me of my highschool days when I used to play left wing for my high school. those were some good times and I really enjoyed playing soccer. my parents bought me this little portable goal that was made of metal and had a nylon net (back then stuff was made of metal and not plastic believe it or not) it sat maybe 3 feet high and 4 feet wide and I practiced kicking a ball into that net for hours and hours and hours. I had it for about 5 years before it finally just fell apart, the net had been tied and retied so many times it no longer resembled a soccer net but more like a spiders web after a grasshopper got caught in it. I used to be able to pick any spot on that net and score from just about anywhere in the yard equally with both feet. I wish I had pursued that a little harder after highschool, it was the one sport that I was really good at.
Skateboarding was the reason that I stopped playing after highschool, I started skating just a month or two before I graduated and I fell in love with it, same intensity as soccer. I would go to work and skate after work until I got tired, go home and sleep and then head out and skate till it was time to go to work. seems like everything I do I have that same intensity, I devote myself to it and dont quit until I feel I have exhausted my ability to increase my skill. thats what I love most about photography and probably why I still love creating after 23 years doing it, I dont feel I have really even scratched the surface of what can be done, or maybe its just the world is a big place and there is so much to shoot that it would take a lifetime to exhaust my subject matter or reach a point where I was “bored”

After 8 years of shooting Moto (with a 1 year hiatus) I have yet to be bored with the photography aspect, even though I did get burned out on shooting the same tracks, the same riders and the same pits (outdoor nationals) - thats why I changed it up and I am shooting the Endurocross and Minimoto, indoor venues offer greater challenges and me loving a technical challenge with lighting makes it a perfect fit. The proximity doesnt hurt either, Vegas has the MiniSX and two rounds of the EX, as well as being a short drive to 5 or 6 of the Supercross races and 2 Nationals and all of the Socal test tracks and places like Glamis, Ocatillo, Dumont etc make it the ideal place to be to make quick jaunts for photo shoots, not so far I cant be at home in my own bed at the end of the night or short weekend.
Back to soccer - after 119 minutes of no score, Croatia scores on a header in extended time, less than a minute later Turkey scores as time elapses with a rocket kick into the upper corner. WOW!

Turkey wins in a shootout 3-1 - Unbelievable! on that note… time for bed - Ciao

I am a lucky guy, today was fathers day and with school out for the summer and kids well into their “im bored, what can I do Daaaaad???” routine already. I expected the usual can we go swimming, can I go to my friends house, can I can I can I - Instead, I got a very peaceful day. the kids played quietly upstairs in their room ( maybe they didnt want to go outside since it was 110 here in Vegas ) but hey, Im not complaining because I got in a nice nap on the couch and got to watch my favorite western of all time “The outlaw Joesy Wales” I love the old Indian who exclaims “Rock Candy, its not for eating…its just ferrrrrr lookin through!”
Danya was gone at work until 6pm and when she got home she cooked us all dinner and we set off to the movies to see the new Incredible Hulk movie. I have always been a fan of Stan Lee and I love that he has cameo’s in his movies - as well as Lou Ferigno who again plays a security guard that passes the torch to Edward Norton in a symbolic gesture of “go ahead kid” as he let him through a checkpoint in exchange for a pizza. Abomination was done very well and the fight scene between him and the hulk was pretty good, although I think some of the CGI being done these days moves too fast (think Transformers) but still worth seeing on the big screen, especially if you are a marvel comics fan. Tony Starks appearance in the end (Robert Downey Jr) was great because it means we have part 2 coming and the formation of the Avengers - YES!
All in all it was a great fathers day for me - the only thing that would have been better is if I could have spent some time with my dad and mom. Mom and Dad are home in Ohio enjoying retirement and staying active, they are taking care of my grandmother who is 93 years old and still living at home by herself - what a champ huh? Mom & Dad take her grocery shopping and bring her to the Sr center to play gin and socialize with the other Sr’s. its nice for her but I hope mom and dad are getting enough time for themselves as well. being 2,000 miles from home is rough for Danya and I because all our family is back there in Toledo and vicinity.
We do love Vegas though and the economy here is certainly better than alot of other parts of the country, I am picking up more and more commercial work, just saturday I had a meeting with a new client who wants me to shoot their covers and feature stories for a national Realty broker magazine - its a far cry from Motocross but I will enjoy the challenge of creating strong portraits on location around the Vegas Valley. Danya’s new store hasnt even officially opened yet ( they have a grand opening soon, they are running a soft open now ) and she is doing over and above her projected sales already and she is excited about that. When we were traveling and doing MX events 50 out of 52 weekends a year she enjoyed that too but after 3 years it got old for everyone. We all talk about how we miss it, but as we sit in our comfy couch and recliner in front of our 50 inch plasma - we think back to that night at unadilla 2005 that for us, was the beginning of the end of 50+ races a year.

(Reflection back to Unadilla 2005)
Unadilla is one of the oldest races on the Outdoor Motocross circuit and one of the most remote - a good half hour drive to the nearest town and hotels and not many at that. We had provisions to camp all weekend and the cash to pay the inflated room rates that are inevitable everytime Motocross comes to town. We started out the first 2 nights camping onsite with all the amateur families who we vend our photos to. Because the amateur track is located about a half mile from our trailer and vending canopy we had to drive the Jeep down to the edge of the track with our generator and our pitbike (Thank you soooo much Tom Z) Danya would work the laptop and print thumbnail sheets as every moto ran off the line, she even did double duty by shooting all the holeshots right near where she was parked. I took the pitbike and hauled butt around the track shooting every rider as many times as i could from different locations and angles and then would ride as fast as I could back to Danya after each moto to give her the CF card. extrapolate that over an entire day and 1,500 riders and you are talking about 2 whipped puppies at the end of the day. The kids were wore out from running up and down the N.Y countryside and everyone was full of dust and wanted a bed and a shower - the tents just werent gonna cut it. So we packed up all 6 of us into the Wrangler (FYI- Wrangles are meant for 4 people, 5 if you are squeezing and 6 if you enjoy driving cross country like sardines cooking on a hot freeway.) we headed out and 45 minutes later we found the first of many hotels. “booked solid” was the reply at everyplace we stopped and finally after 2 hours of driving around we find a Motel6 or the equivalent and the guy tells me they have a single spare room but there is an “odor” - that we can have it for 225 dollars for the night. So I begin to negotiate… I say ummm, its 1:30am AND the room has a stench and ill be out of there in 5 hours to head back to the track and you want 225 bucks for it??? I offered him a crisp new 100 dollar bill and told him that was generous of me and he turned it down, so I turned and walked out on principle. another hour of driving around with no luck we had finally had it. we pulled over into a freeway rest area and took all the ogio bags out of the car and set them on the hood and we unzipped all the wrangler windows to get a slight breeze. there we were in mid New York state 6 of us stinking to high heaven, full of crusty dust and tired as tired can be and somehow we all just shut up and drifted off to sleep - there were feet in faces and fingers in places I dont care to think about and when the morning sun brought heat to our hearty crew, then it got really bad. If you ever watch Animal planet and have heard the African water bisons mating call, well, that had nothing on the sounds of 2 adults and 4 children waking from their cramped and stinking slumber.
We all walked in to go to the bathroom and came back, loaded up our gear and children and set off for the track, none the more rested and feeling twice as filthy. we made it through the weekend because luckily Unadilla has a shower - (a very meager one) but at this point it was heaven sent, I felt like I was standing under a waterfall in a dream when i finally erased the 3 day old crud that was on me.
We left Unadilla with a new appreciation for what we were doing - it sucked! We loved being around Moto, our friends and associates and we loved traveling the open road but doing it in a Wrangler was wack and we needed to upgrade. Now here it is 2008 and we have been in Vegas for a year and 2 or 3 months and the change was exactly what Swiss Family Scavo needed ( at least for now ) There is alot to be said for having your own bed to sleep in every night, a shower to rely on, and luxery items like Cable/Internet, TV, garage etc. Its funny how you live when you are on the road, you become more paranoid about your “stuff”, you feel less secure and you take steps to make sure your stuff doesnt get stolen. as a rule we all lock our doors and set our alarms when we leave our house but when your stuff is inside an enclosed trailer in a dark parking lot and you are staying in a hotel room for one night ( 12 hours max ) and you drag 600 pounds of stuff up into your hotel room - you have to ask yourself after awhile if you are crazy, stupid or paranoid? the answer is - you are all three and then some.
Ironically one trip to vegas we stayed at a friends timeshare offstrip (about 3 miles from the MGM on Vegas blvd - south of town) we did the usual hauling of most of our stuff into the condo for the 2 days we were there but left a few items in the trailer and wouldnt ya know it, thieves almost got away with the whole shebang - they sliced the window of the wrangler, got inside and promptly tried to drill out the ignition - they used bolt cutters on the locks of the back and got in and stole one lone camera bag ( leaving behind a generator, an XBOX360 and a thousand dollars worth of printing supplies ) in the camera bag was a spare body, 2 lenses and 2 spare flashes - value about 8k.
If the drilling of the ignition succeeded, they would have got our Jeep, Trailer and all the contents. thank goodness for insurance and jeeps tough ignition system ( when they were drilling the ignition, the bit broke off in the ignition - ending their chances of a big score )

You might be asking what all this has to do with Fathers day? - Appreciation!
I appreciate everything I have in my life - A beautiful fiance, wonderful children, a happy lifestyle. even when we were on the road and struggling to make it in the tough motocross photography market, we had each other and we are now the owners of some pretty amazing stories that we take with us into our future and adding to them everyday. Life is a curious thing, how it changes, what it throws at you and how you handle it every day. In my book this was a pretty great fathers day.
Thanks for reflecting with me

Tony Scavo - Motocross Photographer ‘Extraordinaire’ - Tony is probably the person you’ll be reading the most from on this blog. He loves to voice his opinion and loves even more for everyone to agree with it.  Tony was born on Leap Year in 1968. He’s the Step-Father in this crazy little family and takes his role very seriously as we wish every parent would do.

Tony:
My parents raised me with the ideal that we work hard, love much and make the most of our lives no matter what was thrown at us, when I entered into this ready made family I have now, I found out just how useful those teachings would be. Danya, depending on which day (er make that “hour”) you catch her, can be anything from stand up comedian, interventionist, protagonist, cook, mom, businesswoman, best friend, mortal enemy (especially if you get in her way on the interstate - watch out for flying pennies, nickels, dimes and even quarters … yea, she is an expensive road rager) She makes my life complete and I thank my lucky stars for her every day. My role for this family seems pretty straightforward but like any family we have our ups and downs - I will say this about us, it is NEVER a dull moment. At least not until the kids go to bed and we melt into our couch-like a coma for the remainder of the evening. I am the kind of guy who is fiercely opinionated - its a good thing I dont have any self doubt, that wouldn’t bode well with my opinionated side, otherwise I might just end up arguing with myself. Seriously though, read this blog and you are bound to get to know “Swiss Family Scavo” - who isnt’ as much Swiss as we are Italian, not to mention we dont travel around the country like a family of gypsies anymore. If anyone would like to hear me blog on a certain subject - post it up, my opinions are yours for the taking.

Danya will definitely be adding to this blog when she has something to say. Danya was born in May of 1975. She is the mother of Kaylin, Timothy, Dava, and Cruce. She is currently the store manager of a bridal shop in Las Vegas. We’ll see how long that lasts. Danya has a tendency to get bored easily.

Danya:
My mom always said if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I never listened to her, either. I’m one of those ‘never actually diagnosed ADD / OCD personalities’. I love to complain and I do it well. I’m a blend of sarcasm, humor, and pissed-off’edness. I have a hard time sticking to one train of thought so I’ll be jumping from subject to subject without warning. Look, there’s a tree. I’ll try to be entertaining, but, well… I have enough to do. Entertain yourself.

Danya:
Kaylin - Kaylin is our 15 year old. (Born 1993) She is currently trying to figure out where she fits in, in life. Between the black clothes, dog collars, blue hair, and purple everything else we’re considering trading her in for a puppy or something the collars were actually made for.

Tony:
As Danya mentioned, Kaylin is our 15 year old “Teenage” daughter. those words alone should strike fear into the hearts of any parent reading this. Kay is going through phases, many of which irritate the hell out of me. I dont mind the blue hair, or even the purple everything its the more normal stuff that drives me nuts - little white lies, having her ears bleed from listening to her ipod too much - or worse, mine from listening to her sing monotone to every song that plays on the radio, Ipod or television. ahh teenagers

Danya:
Timothy - Timothy is our 13 year old. (Born 1995) Timothy lives back in Ohio with his father. He spent the first 12 years with mom and decided dad could have his turn.

Tony:
Tim - like Danya said is back home in Ohio with his biological father, just before we moved to Vegas just over a year ago he hit us with the news that he wanted to give living with his dad a try. Its ironic, we used to basically live in our Durango while traveling from Motocross race to Motocross race (before that a Jeep Wrangler - yes, thats right 6 people cross country in a wrangler - more on this later) when he moved into his dads who owns a very small home on the East side of Toledo, Tim thought he was doing well for himself, I cant really blame him, he went from 25 square feet in the middle seat of the durango (maybe 6 square feet in the jeep) to about 75 square feet in his dads spare bedroom. but we moved up in the world and got a 4 bedroom home here in Vegas and his room would have been about 150 square feet. Timing is everything I guess, but Tim is happy living with his dad and thats all that matters to us.

Danya:
Dava - Dava is our 10 year old (Born 1997). Dava is a nut. That’s about the best word to describe her. She lacks common sense 90% of the time, but her big heart makes up for it. She’s a crazy little breakdancing, riverdancing fool.

Tony:
Dava is 10 and I think she has more common sense than the other two combined (I know Danya said otherwise) but I feel like she is an old soul and wise beyond her years. Dava has the mothering instinct and is very protective of her little bro, whenever there is someone kissing on tv she says ewwww and covers her eyes. I have gotten to the point where if i know a steamy scene is coming on the tv, I will watch for her to look away and see how the rest of us react to it - its pretty funny right now, but Im worried what 5 years from now will bring. all in all though I think she is light years ahead of where her sister was at this age and if her breakdancing keeps improving, we just might see her on “so you think you can dance” one of these years!

Danya:
Cruce - Cruce is our 7 year old (Born 2000). Cruce is 100% momma’s boy. Tony is working with him on his testosterone levels, but it seems thus far that mom’s estrogen hold has a firmer grip. Cruce is the brains of the family; yes, even at 7 years old. He has a huge heart and tries to share his common sense with his sisters.

Tony:
Cruce is lightning in a bottle - still! I thought when he was 4, 5 and 6 that it was normal for a young boy to produce more energy than three mile island but now that he is 7 and has actual questions that are getting tougher to answer, im wishing three mile island would call and purchase back some of that energy. he even answers his own questions sometimes if we arent fast enough. its a good thing he talks out loud, if he just thought to himself quietly without his mouth being open and expending precious energy - he would surely explode.