This is the first year that we've done a real "Back-to-School" here at Rock Father HQ. Sure, Addie just turned four, but she's in "Pre-K" - coming out of "twos and threes" Preschool and getting into the "fours and fives." I registered her yesterday and paid the first month (this stuff is getting expensive), and we did some Back-to-School shopping. As I'm re-experiencing the school world again through my daughter, I can't help but think back to my own school days... and some of the mishaps and misadventures that took place. Including the preventable Mix-Up.

August 7 is a date of great significance. Fourteen years ago today... August 7, 1999, my wife and I were married. It was just two years prior that we'd gone on our first date - and a mere three months after that when we'd become engaged. I'd always heard that time speeds up as you get older, but as I sit here as a 36-year-old in 2013 thinking back to that 22-year-old living in '99, I can't help but think about how much time has really flown by. While fourteen years have come-and-gone, it's the last four that have gone exceptionally fast. On August 7, 2009... our 10th Wedding Anniversary, I became "The Rock Father" when our first daughter was born. Today, our Little Addie turns four!

It's a known fact that I'm not a fan of ICONA POP. While The Rock Father might not love "I Love It," I do love COOKIE MONSTER, and today my big blue friend finally made "I Love It" worth listening to through his reworked cover, "Me Want It." The new, Cookie-centric version of the song comes from SESAME STREET Season 44 (premiering September 16, 2013 on PBS KIDS!), in which Cookie Monster has his own segment to help kids learn to practice self-restraint. Check out Cookie's new video below, along with a full playlist of Sesame Street Season 44 Previews... including the SONS OF ANARCHY riff, "Sons of Poetry," and the introduction of Sesame Street's newest resident, 'Mando!

Gardening is a part of our daily routine here at Rock Father HQ. While we've got a lot of basic maintenance-type stuff to do, we occasionally fall into an oddball project, and last month we had one. The removal of The Bush of Doom... and the rebirth of the area from which it came.

I don't know how many of you know about this since it all happened prior to my starting The Rock Father, but on February 1, 2010, I lost one of my closest friends to a single-car accident on a rural road in Southeastern Wisconsin. JUSTIN MENTELL was just 27 years old, a talented artist that excelled at everything he'd attempt. We'd met back in 2004 while working on the set of a movie called ROLL BOUNCE, and over the next six years, we'd share many adventures, collaborate on some things, and above all, have each other's backs. After moving to Hollywood for a few years to work on projects like BOSTON LEGAL and PALO ALTO, Justin moved back to Illinois after the premiere of the Disney Film, G-FORCE, in which he had a supporting role. He'd begun focusing on his painting and music, and his German Shepherd, Meisner was a constant companion. Just over six months later, everything came to an abrupt stop.