Not to get all deep or anything… but my life as a whole is kind of like skating. Some days I can land a sick trick, no problem. Some days I can’t even stand on my freakin’ board. The week we were filming episode five, things started off great. I had just gotten back from winning my third Dew Tour competition, two away from my goal to sweep all five. I had a great time kickin’ it with my younger brother…and things were going great with Julia. All of a sudden I had a super hot girl, who seemed totally chill with my crazy life. But like I said… it’s amazing what can happen in a week…That was the week of X-games, the biggest event of the year for me. Taking gold is a huge deal for a skater’s career, and I hadn’t done that in 4 years. I was determined to make it happen this year.

My plan was to bring all the support I could, have my entire family and all my friends right there with me. I got passes for the whole crew, even Julia. I hadn’t been on the road that much lately, so I had a lot of time to get to know her. But, things were about to get crazy busy again, and as soon as my attention has to switch from the girl I’m dating, to skating, things can get ugly really fast. But Julia seemed totally chill my lifestyle and excited to come to X-Games. It was a totally new thing to be with a girl I wanted to share this part of my life with.

I was surprised when my mom told me that my dad was bringing Christi to X-Games. I didn’t want any drama at that event. I was just getting used to the idea of my dad traveling to my skating events with me, which I loved, but I was still having trouble with him having a new girlfriend and I needed to be completely focused on the competition. When I met my dad for lunch, I tried to bring up my how I felt about Christi coming, but couldn’t think of any reason why she shouldn’t be there. I realized that having my dad there was all that really mattered. After that conversation I kind of felt like we were all starting to move on and it was a turning point for my relationship with my dad.

Steve warned me that having a girlfriend at X-Games might be bad news. I had no idea there could be so much drama without her even showing up. The first day there Julia called me all upset about something Tony had said to one of her friends. Apparently he told this other girl that Julia was “one of many”, and that I’d be done with her in a week. Nothing I said calmed her down. She was definitely not coming to X-Games… so much for not having any drama or distractions from skating.

Tony wouldn’t even talk to me about it. He denied that he said anything. All I could do was let it go… at least until X-games was over. Before I could even compete for the gold, I had to qualify for the actual competition. The preliminary round was that afternoon, and I wasn’t about to let something so stupid mess with my head. Only 9 of the skaters in the preliminary round would get the chance to skate in the finals on day two. And the rest of the guys looked really strong. Especially Chris Cole. He was on fire that day.

I started off really strong. I could hear the announcers saying how amazing I was doing. At one point I looked up and saw that I was in second place. Then, when going for a 360 kick flip off the jump, I went down hard. I smacked my head on the concrete floor and it was down hill from there. I barely landed another trick after that. I even slammed my hand down at one point, breaking one of my fingers really bad.

Waiting for the 9 names to be called took forever. Everyone was telling me I made it, that I did so well before I hit my head that there was no way I wouldn’t be in the top 9. I felt confident that I made it to the finals. But unfortunately, my dad didn’t fully agree with me and it kinda bummed me out. I love my dad but sometimes he just says the wrong thing at the wrong time. That just wasn’t what I needed to hear at that point. I was tired and hurt and all I wanted was support from my family.

When they called my name, I was psyched. I got out of there fast. I wanted to figure out how to deal with my hand, and prepare my head for the next day. I guess my dad was pissed that I took off without talking to him. He didn’t even show up the next day to support me in the finals and told my mom he was sick. I was totally bummed that he wasn’t there but I still tried to skate as well as I could. I’m stoked about getting 4th place out of all the best skaters in the world. I don’t know if I would have done better if my dad showed up. The thing is… he’s my dad and I wanted him there. I know now that he wasn’t sick and instead he thought I was mean to him. I guess I need to watch what I say sometimes, but really I think he should have still been there to see me skate in the Olympics of my sport.

I was really lucky to have both my parents around the entire time I was growing up. Shane has had both my mom and dad around for a lot of his childhood too. Kane’s the one I feel bad for. Even though our dad spends time with him every week, it’s hard for him to be involved in Kane’s day-to-day life although he tries. That’s why I want to try and spend as much time with both my brothers as I can, but sometimes it’s tough to balance my career, my family, and my own personal life…

I was so happy to be back home after competing in Cleveland. Being home is the one time I really get to feel like I have a somewhat normal life. And I love the beach so that was one of the first places I wanted to go. It was funny that I bumped into Julia there. I had been seeing her around a lot lately and thought she would be a cool girl to kick it with. She looked hot and she even seemed kind of into the idea of us hanging out. I was stoked but knew Tony dated Julia a few years ago, and I had no idea how he’d take it if she and I started hanging out. I love my friends and they come first for me. Always. But it’s hard for me to find a cool girl, and Julia seemed like someone that would be fun to hang out with. It was funny ‘cause I was stressing about it and what you didn’t see is that I talked to my mom about it and she even said, “remember there’s a code, bro’s before ho’s.” But I feel like Tony’s such a player. Every week he’s hanging out with someone new. If I always followed the code, there’d seriously be nobody left in San Clemente for me to date. I was hoping that since he dated Julia freshman year, and now we are seniors that maybe Tony would be cool with it.

I couldn’t tell if Tony was being honest when we talked, but he said he was fine with me and Julia hanging out. I’m still not sure if he totally meant it, but I took him on his word and planned a double date with Casey and Taylor. I’ve gone on group dates before, but I was really nervous before this one. I thought Julia was pretty chill and I wanted Casey and Taylor to like her too. No girl can really fit in to our group as well as Taylor, but I was hoping to find someone who could come close. Casey and Taylor are the best couple I know, and if the date with Julia went well, maybe I’d be one step closer to finding what they have.

The best part of the date was actually when Tony showed up at my house. I know that probably sounds strange, but he made everything so much fun. The only thing that was kinda weird was that when Tony came over he didn’t really say hi to Julia at first. Then he seemed bummed that I didn’t invite him to dinner with us. It was a little awkward, but soon everyone warmed up. Casey and Taylor said they liked her, but I could tell they still weren’t totally sure. And although Tony was kinda chill with her when we were all hanging out, he still thinks she’s not the right girl for me. Whatever. I think she’s hot and we had fun in the Jacuzzi.

After watching this episode, I realized what my mom had been trying to tell me about how hard Kane takes it when I break my plans with him. I had a lot going on that week, but it was no excuse… I definitely neglected my little brother. I’m glad I realized it in the end, and took Kane to Legoland. Spending the whole day together was just the thing to do to make up for blowing him off. The rides were sick, and Kane felt like the most important person in the world. I will try really hard to never neglect my little brother again. I just hope he always knows that I’m doing the best I can, and that even if we’re not spending the entire day together, he’s always the most important person in my world.

When I was back in San Clemente, my friends really got me through the rough times at home. While our family was falling apart, they made sure I didn’t fall apart with it. I had no idea why my dad wanted to get involved in my skating again after all this time, and I was definitely worried about my mom and dad being together in Cleveland, especially after Kane’s birthday party was so hard for my mom. I didn’t need any distractions to keep me from winning.

I was nervous when I went to ask my dad about the trip. It was hard enough to talk to him about it, and it was even harder with Christi standing right there. I just wanted five minutes alone to talk to him. I get it that my dad is dating. I want him to be happy, but it still isn’t easy seeing them together after my parents divorce.

And then when Christi told me she loved me I didn’t know what to think. I was totally surprised by that. I was pretty bummed watching that whole thing play out in the show again. I know my dad might be angry with me because I was upset about it but I couldn’t control how I was feeling at that time. I can’t believe I let the world see me cry. I was so angry, and so freaked out, there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even talk. With all the other stuff going on in my life, I couldn’t take my dad’s girlfriend saying that to me. I know now that she meant well, but at that time it was just too soon to hear that.

I’ve realized since then that it wasn’t really about Christi. I was going through a lot and hadn’t really adjusted to all the changes after the divorce. Christi makes my dad happy and I know that’s all that matters. It’s taken a while, but I’m ready to accept that she’s in my dad’s life, and I’m trying to let her in to my life too.

At first I thought my dad might bail out on the trip to Cleveland after what went down with Christi, but he didn’t. And seeing him in the crowd, cheering me on, was amazing. Who knows if having him there helped me skate better that day, but I continued my winning streak. I don’t care how long my dad stayed away. I’m just really glad he’s showing up now. It was great to have both my parents there supporting me, even if they aren’t together.

All I wanted was for Kane to have a great birthday, like I used to have. In one of the flashbacks you see video from my birthday parties when I was a kid. That was the hardest part for me to watch. I hate being reminded of how happy we all used to be…

So if you watched the first episode, you know that Cambria didn’t take me back, but I didn’t let that bum me out for too long. It’s summer and my friends and I are going to have fun. This might be the last summer we all spend together. Other than Casey (who already graduated and is going to Saddleback College), everyone has one more year of high school. We have no idea what is going to happen after everyone graduates next year so we really want to have a sick summer.

When Tony met this new girl Alex, I realized that if I didn’t find a cool girl of my own, I’d be the 5th wheel every time we all hung out. Casey and Taylor were as solid as ever, and now Tony had someone he was hanging out with too. When I met Alex’s friend Tina, things were definitely getting better. Tina was totally chill and super hot. Tony and I got stoked on the idea of dating two best friends. We decided to plan a group date… Casey, Taylor, Tony, Alex, Tina and me.

Our plan was ruined when Tina’s parents wouldn’t let her go out with us. Alex told me her parents don’t trust me. I was bummed. I feel like people judge me just because I’m a professional skateboarder. They just get the wrong idea. They assume I’m this wild and crazy kid, who parties all the time and shouldn’t be trusted. The truth is that I live at home with my mom, and I have rules like everyone else. I even have an earlier curfew than most of my friends. They didn’t even give me a chance and that’s super frustrating.

In the end we still went on the group date. And yes… I was the 5th wheel, but I still made the best of it. I kicked their butts in go-karts and that’s all that really matters!

At Kane’s birthday party my mom had a similar experience. My dad and Christi were the hosts of the party, and she was definitely on the outside looking in. Kane had an amazing time though, which really was the whole point of the day. I was glad that he didn’t notice our mom’s pain. For him, it was a perfect day.
The hardest part was returning home and seeing my mom upset. I hate to see her cry. I really want her to move on with her life the way my father already has. Only time will tell.