Turkey Week: Perot Museum

We finally made it to the Perot Museum today. Well, Troy and I did. My wife decided to start cleaning her closet out, while we waited for Troy to get ready. And then once she had started, she didn’t feel like stopping, so she stayed home again.

Apparently, everyone else had the same idea as us, because the museum was packed. In fact, we couldn’t even find parking, so we had to park a couple of miles away and walk back. Luckily, we already had tickets, so we skirted the long line at the ticket desk and went right in. We arrived at the museum around 11 o’clock. I assumed we’d spend a few hours there and leave for lunch. I couldn’t have been more wrong. We were there for four hours, because Troy had to look at every single thing on every single floor, even though he’s seen them multiple times before. By the time we finally left, I was starving and getting hangry.

They had a new exhibit on the dinosaur floor called Raptor Dancing. There was a camera that would pick up your movements and then project a mimic of those movements onto the wall, but as a velociraptor. Three people could dance simultaneously, and they had music playing overhead. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids showing off their dance moves. It was even more fun to watch the raptors trying to awkwardly do the same things. We had kids and raptors breakdancing, dabbing, discoing, moon walking, electric sliding, and even kung fu fighting. It was, by far, Troy’s favorite part of the entire museum experience. He kept making me take him back to it. Heck, he even somehow managed to get me to get out there and dance! My raptor was busting a move, while Troy’s raptor tried to repeatedly punch me in the face.

The other area that we spent a great deal of time in was the robotics room. Troy was determined to drive every single robot, even though most of them were clones of each other. He even tried his hand at building one. Then, we moved over to the body room, where troy found an exhibit that you walked through, and the computer would analyze your gait to tell you the length of your stride and the speed of your walk. After he saw some boy run through it instead of walking, Troy decided to try that too. That started off a group of boys, running through the machine over and over again and trying to run faster than each other. Troy’s top speed was 10.4 mph, which ended up being the fastest of the group! I mean, that’s not bad, considering the “track” was only about ten feet long. So, the experiment was based more on acceleration, rather than top speed.

As previously mentioned, I was extremely hungry by this point, so I had zero interest and zero patience with continuing our stay in the museum. So, after one more go at the Raptor Dancing, I finally drug Troy out of the building. We stopped at Pie Five Pizza on the way home to grab a late lunch and early dinner. We had the whole restaurant to ourselves, and it was nice to sit, watch a movie, and enjoy a pizza with my son. I was in a much better mood after I ravenously devoured my pizza in record time.

Turkey Week: Monster Golf

Today, we had planned to go to the museum, since my wife was off work. But after she was up all night throwing up, we decided to postpone it and stay closer to home. So, Troy and I got up and drove to get donuts together. After a relaxing breakfast, and resting around the house for a few hours, Troy and I decided to go play Monster Putt-Putt golf, which is a monster-themed glow-in-the-dark indoor golf course. After the success of the pirate one in Arkansas, Troy was up for another round, as it were.

I didn’t bother keeping score this time since Troy spent most of the time sort of guiding his ball down the course rather than putting it. It only took us thirty minutes to go through the entire course, and that was only because I kept making him stop and look at the decorations. He was blowing through, because the last hole had a giant clown face, and he wanted a shot at hitting his ball into the clown’s mouth (which he missed, by the way, and got upset because the clown kept his ball anyway). But we had a lot of fun, and it was cool to see him get excited at the monster decorations.

He wasn’t ready to go home, so we went to the Stonebriar Centre, which was literally next door. Normally, I won’t let him ride the carousel in the food court, but since this was a special occasion, I relented. So, he mounted his war charger and proceeded to beat me around the circle, while I pretended to run along beside him. After a not-so-quick lunch at the food court…I mean it IS Troy after all…we headed over to the play area for a few hours for him to blow off some energy. Luckily, he didn’t blow off his corn dog as well. Not quite what I’d planned for the day, but a nice pivot. And really it’s not so much about the activity, as it is spending time with my son.

Turkey Week: Butterfly House

My wife had decided to take a half day off today, so I planned an activity for the three of us this afternoon. I took Troy to Adventure Kids this morning and picked him up at lunch again. What I didn’t know was that my wife decided to schedule a maintenance for the washer and dryer today…of all days…which meant she couldn’t hang out with us. So, Troy and I went to the Butterfly House without her.

The last time we had been to the Butterfly House was with Charlotte and her dad, but Charlotte was not the type to leisurely look at the scenery. So, we ended up blowing through it in about ten minutes. This time, I slowed Troy down, and we took our time watching the butterflies flutter by and the bobwhite quail run under the trees. There’s something so peaceful and calming about butterflies, and even the usually go-go-go Troy was content to sit on a bench and watch them gently alight on the various foliage.

My favorite part was when a Large Tree Nymph, which is a black and white butterfly, floated playfully past us. I got Troy to stop and stand still, so I could take a picture of it flying by his face, but the curious butterfly landed on my finger instead! I slowly moved my hand so that I could take a picture of it, and he fluttered over to my green shirt. Troy got a little excited and scared the butterfly, and he flew off. But he came right back and landed on me several more times…my arm, my neck, my shoulder, my head, and even on my face! When another family with kids came up and saw him sitting on me, they wanted to hold him too. I tried to coax the friendly butterfly onto the little girl’s finger, but he didn’t want to let me go. I even tried walking away, and he followed me! I have no idea what it was about me that interested him so much, but I loved it immensely. I have been waiting over thirty years to have a butterfly land on me, so now I can check that off my bucket list.

After the butterfly encounter, Troy and I went outside to enjoy the gardens a little bit. I took in the scenery, while he played on the playground. It was a pretty great day. He even wanted to take another pass back through the Butterfly House, so we went through again. Sadly, we didn’t have the same success as the first time, but it was still lovely.

Turkey Week: SeaLife

Troy is off all of this week, so I also took off to hang out with him. I wanted to plan some fun activities for him to get the most out of our time off. What I didn’t know was that my wife scheduled him to go to Adventure Kids both Monday and Tuesday. So, I compromised by taking him there this morning for a few hours, and then I picked him up at lunch for some guy time. After quesadillas at Chili’s, we headed to the Grapevine Mills Mall to go to the SeaLife aquarium.

We’d been there before for Misha’s birthday, but it had been a while. This time was much more relaxing. We actually took time to look at every exhibit, and enjoy the fish without just racing through to the next thing. We stuck our head in every bubble, and climbed into every kid’s cave to see the sea creatures from every angle. It was a lot of fun. Troy’s favorite part was the touching tank where he got to pet a starfish and hermit crab, although he really wanted to pet a sea urchin…for some unknown reason. My favorite part was hanging out with Troy.

Honestly, the only downside was when it was over, but instead of heading straight home, we got an ice cream shake and walked around the mall for a little bit. There were hundreds of people there, trying to take advantage of “Black Friday” deals, so there was lots to see. Troy even fist-bumped Santa Clause as we walked by the Santa area! Not a bad first day.

Not a Thimble!

Me: “Did you go potty?”
Troy: “What day is it?”
Me: “That’s not a good sign. Let’s go to the bathroom.”
Troy: “I don’t need to go. I went before my shower.”
Me: “That was yesterday! You have to go every day! Ideally, several times a day.”
Troy: “Well, maybe I could go. But just a little bit. A little bit. Okay, dada?”
Me: “I’ll take three drops, if that’s what you can give me. I just want you to go.”

…the sounds of someone releasing a deluge from a fire hose in the bathroom…

Me: “You okay in there?”
Troy: “Yeah.”
Me: “If that’s a little bit, I can’t imagine what it’s like when you really have to go. How big is your bladder?!”

The Reader

I’ve been struggling getting Troy to be focused and motivated during his nightly reading session. Mostly, because I think he’s just tired after being at school all day and then a couple of hours at Adventure Kids. After the two and a half hour knockdown drag out fight two nights ago, I decided to try something different today.

I took the book with me when I picked Troy up, and we read in the parking lot of Adventure Kids. I used going to the playcare as a reward for reading, instead of giving him the reward first and then having no leverage to motivate him. It actually worked out really well. He wasn’t too tired to focus, and he wanted to buckle down so he’d have more time at Adventure Kids. Maybe I’m on to something. Time will tell…

Bring Your Parent to PE

Today, the school had bring your parent to PE day. So, I signed up to go hang out with Troy. Unlike the zoo trip, which consisted mostly of moms, this was predominantly dads. I’m not sure if it was because dads identify better with athletic prowess or if it’s because it was only a 30-minute commitment! Either way, it was cool to see so many dads supporting their kids. Troy was ecstatic to see me, and he nearly knocked over three kids trying to run to my outstretched arms.

We started with a quick warm-up, which was a dancing song about “Toe-knee” and his family, “I-lean,” “Pat,” and “Kneel.” And then we played a throw and catch relay, where each person takes a turn both throwing a bean bag and catching it in a bucket, while the distance gets progressively farther and farther. We were paired up with Gabriel and his dad Fernando. We didn’t beat the other team either time, but we had a lot of fun trying! I was actually sad for it to end. I had a really good time, and it was fun to play with Troy in that setting.

Fort Worth Zoo Field Trip

The kindergarten class took a field trip to the Fort Worth Zoo today. They invited the families to join the class, so my mom and I went with Troy. I assumed that it would be one of those trips where the teachers take the kids around the zoo and talk to them about the animals. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Moments after entering the zoo, every family dispersed in a different direction, and we were left on our own. We tried to stay with some of Troy’s friends, but as usual everyone was in their little family cliques, and we couldn’t find anywhere to latch on. So, we enjoyed the zoo on our own. Occasionally, we crossed paths with one of his friends, and we’d hang out for a few minutes before they’d head off without us again. It was a little disappointing. I keep hoping for more from this group, and they always let me down. I just can’t figure out how to break into the already established group.

But we managed to have a good time despite that. Troy enjoyed the goat petting zoo, of course. My mom thought the gorilla’s sticking their bums at us were hilarious. I found the baby hippo swimming back and forth across his tank to be peaceful and calming. We all loved the giraffe area. We even rode the little train…because all of Troy’s classmates were doing it, and we were trying to get in with the crowd.

The funniest part was that I was pretty much the only dad there. All of the rest of the kids were accompanied by their moms. Maybe that was the issue. Maybe if my wife had been there, we would have had better luck. I can almost guarantee it, because she would have made sure that they didn’t ignore us!

Reindeer [Almost] Got Run Over by a Mama

Me: “Hey Troy, did mama tell you that she saw one of Santa Claus’s reindeer tonight?”
Troy: “Really?!”
Me: “Yeah, he ran right across the road in front of her car.”
Troy: “Whoa!”
Me: “He was down here doing a reconnaissance mission to map out their flight plan for Christmas.”
Troy: “Then, why was he running instead of flying?”
Me: “He didn’t want to draw attention to himself. I mean a deer running across the road might get a quick glance, but a flying deer would be on social media in seconds!”
Troy: “Makes sense. I bet it was Rudolph.”
Me: “Well, mama didn’t see a glowing red nose. So, more likely it was…[singing] Dasher, or Dancer, or Prancer, or Vixen, or Comet, or Cupid, or Donner, or Blitzen…”
Troy: “Nah, it was Rudolph. He just used magic to cover up his nose.”

Career Day: Zoologist

The school had the kids dress up today as what they wanted to be when they grew up. I asked Troy what he wanted to go as, and he said, "A zoologist!" I racked my brain to try to figure out how to represent a zoologist in a costume. Finally, I asked him why he wanted to be a zoologist, and he told me that he wanted to protect the animals. That gave me the idea that I needed to think up a costume.

I got online and bought him a "Protect the Endangered Species" t-shirt that featured slash marks with a Bengal tiger's eye looking through the tears. I paired that with some tan pants with lots of pockets that looked very safari-ish, and he took a stuffed bison and bat to complete the ensemble.

He was the only zoologist there! I love his little heart.

Swapping Daylight

Troy: “Dada, the sun is completely gone.”
Me: “Yeah, it’s going to the other side of the world. They’ve been asleep all day, and now it’s going over to wake them up.”
Troy: “Yeah, we’re sharing the sun with them, and now they’ll share the moon with us.”
Me: “That’s right. We swap with them.”
Troy: “That’s really nice how we share like that.”
Me: “Yes, it’s is.”

Troll Bunnies

Troy: “Dada, look! It’s a bunny rabbit. Oh, no, it’s only a statue. It’s not real.”
Me: “Actually, you’re partially correct. It used to be real. It wasn’t always a statue.”
Troy: “You’re lying! It’s just a statue.”
Me: “I’m not lying. That bunny rabbit is…or was…named Cloud Hopper. He was a special, rare breed of rabbit called a Troll Bunny. Troll Bunnies only ever come out at night, which is why humans rarely see them. Even then, they can’t tell them apart from a regular bunny in the dark. Ten years ago, Cloud Hopper was out foraging for food, and he lost track of time. He stayed out too late. Do you know why Troll Bunnies only ever come out at night?”
Troy: “No.”
Me: “Because if they’re touched by the sunlight, then they turn to stone. Sadly, poor little Cloud Hopper turned into a statue right there in that flowerbed, and he’s been there ever since.”
Troy: “You made that up. That’s just a statue.”
Me: “Perhaps…perhaps not. It all depends on if you believe in magic.”

Toretto Strikes Again!

Troy: “I’m so excited that we’re doing the go carts, dada. I’ve never done them before.”
Me: “Okay, well don’t expect much. We’re starting out last, and the two-person cars are slower than the others. But it’s not about winning and losing. It’s about having fun, right?”
Troy: “Right. What’s this silver pedal for?”
Me: “That’s the gas. It’s what makes us go.”
Troy: “What’s the red pedal for?”
Me: “That’s the brake. We won’t be using that.”
Troy: “Oh, here we go, dada! Woo hoo! This is amazing! Oh my gosh, that kid just crashed into the wall.”
Me: “Oh well. He should learn not to take the corners so tight.”
Troy: “This is so cool. We’re zigging this way and then zagging that way. Watch out, dada! Those two cars just ran into each other!”
Me: “I see them.”
Troy: “Whoa! You passed both of them. I totally thought you were going to hit them! Okay, dada, now don’t hit anything.”
Me: “I’m not going to hit anything. I do know how to drive, you know?! I got this.”
Troy: “I know. You’re doing great.”
Me: “Are you having fun?”
Troy: “Yes, we’re going so fast! Watch it, that guy hit the wall, he’s sliding out of control! Don’t hit him!”
Me: “I’m passing on the inside. Sucks to be him.”
Troy: “Wait, we’re in first place, dada. Keep going!”
Me: "Oh, he won’t be passing us. Nothing but open track ahead of us.”
Troy: “That guy is waving us through the wall.”
Me: “Yeah, our time is up. You know what that means? We won, bud.”
Troy: “We did?! Yeah! Good job, dada!”