Josh

I grew up in the Pennsylvania countryside with my three siblings and have fond memories of exploring the woods and being in nature. I enjoy fishing, riding motorcycles, and camping, but mostly I enjoy going on adventures with my family. I adore the family unit Maegan and I created and absolutely love being a father to Elias. Whether it is swim class, karate, riding a bike, or watching shows, I enjoy being there supporting my son.

I have a background in construction and am a Civil Engineer in the city. I consider myself very handy and like to work on my bike or build. Even though I wouldn’t say it was all fun, I am proud that I was able to remodel our house and make it perfect for our family.

I have had a very large role in my nephews’ life since they were born. I moved in with my sister to help her care for the boys and consider them my own. I was there during the late nights, practices, heartbreaks, and driving lessons, and watched them succeed in college. My relationship with them made me the man I am today, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Things That Make Josh Happy

I love being in nature. Being from Pennsylvania, I was fortunate to experience the changing seasons and loved every aspect of it. I love hiking, being by the ocean, and camping. I really enjoy exploring new areas with Maegan and Elias and getting lost in the landscape. Some of my favorite memories are road trips through the countryside listening to old Johnny Cash, Grateful Dead, or Bob Marley CDs with the family telling stories and just laughing at ridiculous jokes. Recently, I was able to go on a trip with the family back east and was able to show Elias some of the trails I used to hike as a kid. I always feel grounded after I get to spend time in the woods or on the trails.

I grew up fishing and am having so much fishing with Elias. I worked at a fish market and on commercial fishing boats for many years. It was an adventurous time in my life, and I was really able to learn the art of fishing and grading the quality of the fish. My Dad, brothers, and nephews have done several fishing trips to Canada. We fly into a very remote area of Quebec and fish near a cabin with no running water or electricity. We fish from sunrise to sunset and have such a great time just hanging out together and being completely secluded from civilization. It has become a bi-annual trip that I look forward to every time! My nephews are a huge part of my life, and I love these fishing trips with them as well as their annual visits to California!  

I absolutely love adventure. I grew up competitively racing motocross and still follow the sport. I enjoy riding ATVs and the occasional leisurely rides on my motorcycle to the mountains. I have so much fun making sledding trails for Elias during the winter and going down them with him. We love riding rollercoasters together at Disneyland or our local amusement parks. The best part of the rides is watching Elias's face light up and hearing him laugh the whole time!

Maegan and I have had some pretty adventurous vacations, from hiking Machu Picchu and riding a reed canoe in Peru to driving across the country in Scotland and Ireland, kayaking in Hawaii, Glacier Ice climbing, volcanic caving, and snorkeling the freezing cold Silfra Continental Rift in Iceland. We always have a non-stop adventure together and I look forward to the next one with Elias and our new baby!

I was raised on a farm. I learned how to work with my hands and the importance of resourcefulness. This led me to construction, eventually pursuing a career in civil engineering. I am very proud to have earned the title of valedictorian of my graduating class in civil and environmental engineering. With my background and professional experience, I was able to remodel our home and have had fun showing Elias how to build with his hands as well. I have done a little bit of everything in the homes we have lived in, from re-roofing, remodeling our kitchen, remodeling our bathroom, putting in master closets, completely recreating our upstairs to put in two kid bedrooms and an adjoining giant playroom, fixing structural issues, landscaping, and putting together the nursery! It is extremely important to me that our home is safe and functional for my family. It is fun to incorporate the family into these projects. Maegan helps me with the design, Elias hands me tools, and I get the job done! It is a whole family effort that I am grateful to be a part of.

Being from the Pittsburgh area, sports were part of our culture. I grew up with and still follow the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates. I was able to take Maegan to a Penguins game with my nephews when we went home to visit. Since I competitively raced motocross, I really enjoy watching those races in my spare time. As Elias has grown up, I have had fun taking him to sporting events like hockey games, baseball games, the monster truck show, football games, and have gone bowling too!”

He is definitely my little "dude" (Big Lebowski reference) when we go bowling! We play a lot of sports in the backyard and have a lot of fun pretending to be famous baseball players as we throw and hit the ball. He is really into riding his bike and scooter down the driveway, and I love being able to teach him how to peddle on his own.