The Dale Tribe

[olemama]

I just looked at their Instagram and it made me realize the videos are about a week behind. Have they ever talked about a schedule? Today's video was filmed a week ago.

Not that I know of. Yeah, we really don't know the real time line unless they make reference to something that takes place on a specific date. I noticed on their facebook they posted a picture of Anna and her English internet friend at an art museum a good week before the video was on youtube.

[olemama]

So it's "Back to school shopping" with Amy and the three gals for that sub-standard Christian school they go to - where they go to school 3 days a week and stay home 2 days a week..or is it the other way around?! Don't get me wrong. There are superb private religious schools - just not the one the Dale tribe attends. We are subjected to the monotony of the girls in Target selecting backpacks. A feeling of deja vu comes over me. Weren't they just at the Target near Nana and Poppa's looking at the same backpacks?!

Although Anna's been traveling for 24 hours straight, Amy acts like the one who is jet-lagged. She takes Anna to an art class but hasn't communicated to the teacher that they are showing up! Surprise, nobody's there and the doors are locked. She drives Aspen to the wrong location for a birthday party. Her pearl of wisdom from this-"Always look at the invitation!". Then the tribe roams aimlessly in the mall hunting and gathering clothes while Shae goes to a theatre camp.

Back at home, Jon and Eli are practicing on the trampoline. Does Eli need any back-to-school shopping? Nope! The kid doesn't go to school. Amy "homeschools" him. Wonder how that will turn out?!! Not to worry though-Eli is phenomenal on the trampoline!

And a special rant just for Amy:Get your head out of your butt. You think your children are academic wunderkind because they carry books back and forth unlike "most people". Most children who attend a day school(public or private) go five days a week (unlike yours). They have to haul their rear ends out of bed, get on a bus and get to school on time (unlike yours). In addition to taking math, English, social studies, science they have to take PE, art, music, computer class, possibly a foreign language (unlike yours). And yes, they carry books back and forth every day because they have homework every day including weekends. (unlike yours). Rant over

[olemama]

Aspen's "Epic day of Fun" starts off with Amy waking up, looking like she's recovering from a night of smokin' Colorado's finest. Aspen and Amy watch TV all morning. Amy finally summons the energy to drive Shae to camp and she and Aspen have more "fun" ambling around the mall eating ChiK-Fil-A. They stop by a paint-your-pottery store; Aspen does a nice job but Amy...? Let's just say Anna's artistic genes did not come from Amy! Then it's more consumption of junk food at the mall. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Jon shows some initiative and takes Aspen to a playground. Unlike Amy, Jon does not have a pathological fear of rain. It was depressing to me that there were no other kids playing at the park but Aspen seemed happy. Then it was back home for Amy's vapid wrap-up of the video. Amy's ennui reached out through the computer screen and depleted my life force so I shut my computer off!

[lmmomSD]

Did you see today? Jon made up a word. It was "herpful" that the dog detected Aspen's low (after they already knew it was low and prompted her to check) Then the dog was adorable, wanting to keep checking her. For more treats. Then Any says that they don't want to send Phoenix away because "it's really expensive". And of course, Amy doesn't know what to do for dinner, so they went out.

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[olemama]

Did you see today? Jon made up a word. It was "herpful" that the dog detected Aspen's low (after they already knew it was low and prompted her to check) Then the dog was adorable, wanting to keep checking her. For more treats. Then Any says that they don't want to send Phoenix away because "it's really expensive". And of course, Amy doesn't know what to do for dinner, so they went out.

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Amy and Jon lack the intelligence and persistence to train Phoenix ...well.. . to be anything! I was horrified to see Phoenix go aggressively after Cogs, their cat, when Cogsy was sniffing HIS cat treats. (And Jon and Amy laughed at that!) That right there disqualifies Phoenix as a service dog. They have to tether Phoenix indoors because she runs out the door. Phoenix constantly wakes Amy up with whining, probably because she doesn't get enough exercise. And Phoenix was jumping all over Aspen (Jon had to tell her to stop.) Do you really want to have your daughter's well-being dependent on this dog?! The idea is idiotic!!!

And you're so right! Big fat F for Amy for no dinner! Instead they buy snacks for dinner cause Jon says it's healthier than going out! What a moron!

Also kudos to the family friend who says , "Wow, this place is made for hiking! I"m taking my kids out to the trails!" -something which Jon and Amy never do!!!!

[olemama]

So in "Who's Taller" or in my version, "WHO CARES?!!!", I give Jon an A for effort, despite him acting like an obnoxious loon in the grocery store parking lot. He's grillin' up a hot meal that includes VEGETABLES!!! Amy, please take some notes! Then the tribe slowly gets ready to go to a birthday party. Shae, as she has vlogged about a bazillion times, curls her hair. Aspen finds her stuffed Disney toy. Amy puts on a scruffy wool beanie over her tangled hair. And Eli, the parkour and trampoline athlete, crawls out of his lair, looking like death warmed over (especially with his green hair.)

Off they go and ,upon returning, they pick up Anna from work. She bears gifts of junk food from the movie theatre. At home, the tribe scurries off to their warm electronic screens. We leave the tribe for the night glued to that zenith of 2000 year old Korean musical culture, k-pop videos!

[olemama]

I congratulate Jon for producing a nice little vlog "Daddy-Daughter Adventure-Camping" . No prating by Amy. No foolish antics or commentary by Jon. Just a lovely video of Jon and Aspen camping somewhere in the forest near their home. Aspen has a few lows during the night and a nosebleed but it's nothing they can't handle and Jon did not (thank you! thank you! thank you!) turn it into click bait. Job well done, guys!

[uklaydee]

I have been watching the dale tribe for over a year now, and for a long time they were my favourite vloggers. But sometime during the last few months their vlogs have changed. And not for the better. I agree with a lot of the comments on this thread.

Jon's behaviour at Stonehenge was diabolical. So unnecessary. Also, Anna looked nice in the black dress at the wedding, but Jon looked scruffy, and then made fun of the hats. A lot of weddings are formal occasions in the UK, including the one they attended. Have some respect.

I feel so sorry for Aspen because she is totally defined by her diabetes.

From watching some of their older vlogs I get the feeling that Amy has struggled with depression, and was totally overwhelmed by the responsibility of four kids. I wonder is she struggling again. All her little nuggets of advice seem more like personal reminders to herself than wisdom she is trying to impart.

And finally, does Eli have a bed yet?

[olemama]

^^^I don't know if Eli has a bed. I can't remember which vlog had a clip of his bedroom. But I will definitely keep an eye out for it!!

[uklaydee]

The last I knew he had a sofa in his room and his computer desk set up and not a whole lot else. I think that when Aspen moved into her nook they gave her his bed and he took the sofa that had been in there.

[olemama]

The Dale tribe's newest video "He's Gone" is a strangely jarring vlog. Amid two genuinely sad events , there are random plugs for CVXLive. Amy is clearly very distressed at the death of her grandmother and the loss of the family's kitty Cogs. Aspen is also visibly upset and is frantically making flyers . But, oh look, Phoenix is eating a bug! And, oh look, the backyard is green! And, in light of the sadness Aspen and Amy are feeling, I thought the question of the day, "What was our first video you watched?" was somewhat off-putting. Anyway, I am sorry for the loss of Amy's grandmother and I sincerely hope Cogs returns.

[olemama]

I watch so you don't have to! I would give the video "Anna's first time..." a negative number rating on the rotten tomatoes scale if I could. Anna gets her learner's permit, a milestone in the life of a teenager, and Jon cannot resist seizing the opportunity to peddle Penzoil motor oil. He can't afford an oil change for his car?!!! Then in the rest of the vlog we are subjected to the torturous tedium of the tribe opening fan mail. More stickers! More candy! Another hat for Aspen! Excitement! (Not). And their kitty Cogsy is still missing,(Sigh)

[olemama]

I'd like to make another point about yesterday's video "Anna's first time...". In the description box, Jon mentions that he is being compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. What the heck is that?!!! It's a company that hires bloggers to advertise. Big name brands like Walmart or Target or Nestle hire Collective Bias to find bloggers for product promotion under the pretense of family blogging. These bloggers give a veneer of authentic family blogging on what is essentially an advertisement. I think lots of YTMDers are aware and greatly annoyed by this. But it just goes to show that Jon Dale is full of shit and exploits his kids for $$$!

[uklaydee]

I definitely feel like their vlogs started as a genuine outlet for Amy.

Once the money started rolling in there was a definite change in it all and I do think it probably is Jon driving that.

It is really sad. It seems that once a channel reaches 10k subscribers they begin attracting the sponsors, and once they open that can of worms the authenticity is lost.

[olemama]

I definitely feel like their vlogs started as a genuine outlet for Amy.

Once the money started rolling in there was a definite change in it all and I do think it probably is Jon driving that.

It is really sad. It seems that once a channel reaches 10k subscribers they begin attracting the sponsors, and once they open that can of worms the authenticity is lost.

I agree totally. After all, Jon is a marketer by profession. (that's what his company Catalytix is all about)

[olemama]

In "The road to CVX..." the Dale tribe takes a car trip to a bizarre Youtuber lovefest called CVXLive in Salt Lake City. They are traveling with friends and fellow vloggers "The Bovee Bunch" and Jon spends much of the vlog telling viewers to subscribe to the Bovee's vlog. Now normally I hate it when youtubers do this. It does not make for exciting viewing but ,in this case, he's right!! The Bovees do a much better job of vlogging the car trip than Jon.

If you watch the Bovee's vlog
1) You need not be horrified by the amount of candy the Dale tribe takes for car trip snacks. I know Aspen needs candy or juice to treat lows, but c'mon!! Amy bleats, "We can't help it; our fans send us candy". Do you want your family's teeth to rot out and your other kids to develop type 2 diabetes!!!?

2)Your eyeballs need not be burned out of their sockets by looking at Shae's striped sweater vest thingy that she's wearing. Honestly, that trip to the Goodwill store was a big mistake for Shae.

3) If you watch the Bovee's blog, you get to see some beautiful scenery of the Colorado river and Utah. In Jon Dale's vlog we see ...hmm..Eli hunkered down playing a video game, Aspen hunkered down playing a video game, Anna hunkered down.... The best we get is Shae's capture of the sun setting over a parking lot!

4) If you watch the Bovee's blog, you get to see Anna and Noelle Bovee make fun of Jon's propensity for click-bait titles!

[olemama]

In keeping with the tradition of the Dale tribe, here is my question of the day: Why does the Dale tribe think that vlogging other vloggers at a convention about vlogging makes for scintillating viewing?? My answer: Beats me!!!

In "CVXLive: Meeting...", the Dale tribe and fellow vloggers the Bovees attend the first day of this weird event. What's surprising is that, despite the words "exciting" and "amazing" the Dales have repeatedly used to describe this event, nobody looks like they are having much fun. It is stinking hot in Salt Lake and the gang spends a long time wandering outside and crawling through chain link fences to find the entrance and registration at the Salt Lake Palace. They finally enter into this huge industrial cavernous space filled with mostly empty booths. Aspen looks exhausted and utterly spent. Anna looks confused. Eli looks bored and Amy looks like death warmed over (probably because her flight from her grandma's funeral was delayed) Shae seems slightly enthused to meet youtubers nobody has ever heard of, but that's about it!

But why should we expect anything different? CVXLive is not about a final fun family holiday before school starts. It's not about swimming, hiking, seeing the sights. It's about business, plain and simple. Jon Dale is looking to increase subscribers, likes, views, comments to make more $$$ and his poor family is being dragged along.

[olemama]

In "CVXLive:Cute Kids...", the Dale tribe continues to vlog their pointless wandering through the echoing dismalness of the Salt Lake Palace, unrelieved by any interesting sights or sounds. We see Jon fall off a mechanical bull. We see the tribe do a meet-up with their two(?), three(?) fans. Evidently the kids go swimming but we don't see it. Evidently, according to the Bovee Bunch vlog, the tribe went to Temple Square in Salt Lake, but we don't see it. Evidently, according to the Bovees, the tribe visited an amazing water sculpture fountain but we don't see it.

What we do see is Aspen, head down on the kitchen table weeping, mourning the loss of her beloved kitty Cogs who has probably died. Something which we did not need to see.

My condolences to the family on the loss of Cogs.

[olemama]

The best thing about "Dog Alerts.." is that nobody mentions CVXLive. I was starting to feel a piercing headache whenever "that word" came up so I am thankful to the Dale tribe for not saying "that word". Instead the tribe are engaged in more back-to-school rituals: buying cheap shoddy clothing at Walmart, and throwing a family back-to-school party where they eat junky food, and engage in profound discussions about the meaning of "back-to-school" while wearing silly hats. (I'm not kidding!)

Aspen is busy doing her summer reading that she has been procrastinating on. What's Eli doing for BTS prep? Playing in a computer game tournament! Awesome, Amy! You have a valedictorian in the making here!

Another highlight of the video: Phoenix places his paw on Jon, on Jon's friend, and finally on Aspen. Jon interprets this as Phoenix alerting to Aspen's low blood sugar. Hmmmm...I'm skeptical. I hope Phoenix is worth it because you sacrificed a beloved family pet, Coggsy, to have this dog. Anyway, over and out.

[Caisflame]

Seriously I am so over cvx live. Even just hearing it is rage inducing. I don't know why but it annoys me so much more than other vlogger events like Playlist or Vlogger fair or vidcon. I don't mind those, but this damn cvx live feels like it's been going on for 2 months.