After about an hour drive to Johnson City we arrived at the zoo at 2:30. It’s just off of Highway 281 and is over 130 acres of land set aside for various animals.
We checked in and looked around a bit and then headed to the cabin. To get to it you have to cross over a pair of cattle guards and drive through a patch of land where the animals are wandering around. As you can see they’re used to people and cars because they were walking right up to us as we drove through. Except for the lazy deer, they just watched us drive by.
Curious Ostrich
We're Lazy
Camels are Big
Once we got to the cabin the kids helped unload the car and we had to make our shopping list for dinner. There was a Super S Foods just 3 miles down the road and the vote was that we’d have hamburgers for dinner and waffles for breakfast. William was in charge of the list and after a surprisingly uneventful trip to the grocery we headed back to the cabin.
View from the Porch
With the food unloaded it was late in the day and I decided we’d go on the tour tomorrow and spend the hottest part of the day in the pool. It was the perfect size and only 4 feet deep so I didn’t need to worry about the kids. And the fact I picked the cabin directly in front of the pool was a nice feature.
Perfect for Making the Kids Fall Asleep Early
I had the kids get out of the pool while I started the grill. It was fun “roughing it” and using a rickety old charcoal grill and getting it started with no lighter fluid or chimney starter. I swear it made the burgers taste better. As I was cooking the kids found an old toy nearby and started pushing each other around the yard. It’s funny, I have a similar photo of them but they’re about 5 1/2 years younger.
Who Needs TV?
After a few minutes I finished the burgers. I decided to cook up the extra patty and make a double. Apparently I was hungrier than I thought because I actually ate the whole thing. And for a burger with no onions, pickles, tomatoes, mustard or mayo is was really good. William actually ate all of his and Katie a good 3/4.
Yummy Dinner
After dinner they each had a Ring Pop I brought along and then they both asked to go to bed. I was going to rest for just a minute but also fell asleep at 8:30.
Since we had to stop at my work and we were already downtown I decided we should try one of the cool and trendy place on South Congress.
We stopped by the food trailers but nothing looked good so we walked down to Home Slice Pizza.
I’ve never been but have heard good things about it. It’s no secret that I don’t like Gatti’s because I think they use the cardboard from the pizza boxes to make their original crust. Well, Home Slice has what Gatti’s thinks they have. It’s a large, thin crust pizza with just the right amount of crunch and it’s frigging delicious. The kids each got a slice of pizza the size of their face for $2.75 and they liked it.
They were really good sitting in my office while I finished up my work so the deal on the table right now is if they finish their pizza we’ll stop at Hey Cupcake.
So during my two weeks in the summer with the kids I decided we’d go on a weekend tour of the Hill Country. After stopping at work Sunday morning to finish up some tasks we’re headed off to the Exotic Zoo in Johnson City. First stop will be lunch at one of the cool trailers down on South Congress.
Life has been busy lately so posts have been few and far between. Instead of trying to write a long post I figured I’d show some photos of the kids recent adventures with Daddy.
Daddy recently fired up the smoker and made some ribs. I wasn’t sure what they would think but they loved eating like cavemen and really liked the ribs.
Katie munching on rib number 4
William eating a rib and about to lose a tooth
Deciding to see what was in the freezer for dinner, I decided to smoke some chicken thighs. I put them them a quick brine solution and then added salt, pepper, sage and crushed garlic under the skin. They went into the smoker for about 2 hours and then I finished them with a honey-lemon glaze. While they were cooking the kids decided to relax on the patio.
Old Married Couple on the Patio
Katie approves of the "Smoky Chicken"
This is the second photo I have of Katie like this. Back in February when I moved into an apartment for a short while there is a photo of her in the back of the truck sitting on the futon. Recently the kids and I picked up a $10 leather couch for the movie room and of course Katie wanted to sit in the back and have us carry her in. Royalty….
Katie's Favorite Pose
William recently got some Pokemon cards. The first couple of games I won but he finally “pwned” me just like he said he would.
William Beating Daddy at Pokemon While Katie Captures the Event in Art
These photos are first in a series called “Mean Ole’ Daddy” where I teach the kids how to perform various domestic tasks. In this sample we’re learning how to vacuum!
Showing Good Technique
Am I Done Yet?
A few weeks back there was an air show in Waco so we made a day trip of it. They had WW2, Vietnam and modern aircraft on display. In one area they had a Huey helicopter the kids could climb into.
Bet She'd Make a Good Apache Pilot
Future Chopper Pilots
We're Going Down!
And finally, there was a recent school lunch I attended with the kids.
While most of the nation is gripped in a deep freeze they apparently forgot to tell Texas since one of our past weekends it was in the 60′s. And what better thing than to do in January than go camping? Camping season in Texas is very short. Well, comfortable, camping season that is. It’s about 2 weeks in our “spring” and 2 weeks in our “fall.” The rest of the time the daily highs are around 90-100 and the night it barely goes to 80.
So, while I’m looking forward to taking the kids camping this spring I figure a fun way to spend the weekend and do a “test-run” of the event was to do a little backyard camping. That way I could see what they thought of the
"Roughing It"
whole thing, check out my gear and see if there was anything I should get for the “real” camping trip later. Once I told the kids what we were going to do I swear just about every other sentence was about going camping. I made sure to explain to them we weren’t actually going anywhere but as true children they didn’t really care. They specifically wanted to know if we’d have a fire to roast marshmallows to which I replied “duh,” (not really).
I setup the tent before the kids got home from school and organized the tiny grill as our campfire. Since most of the grass was completely dry I made sure that the grill was standing on some solid patio tiles to avoid it getting tipped over or spreading burning embers. I also kept a fire extinguisher and garden hose nearby, “just in case.”
Once I got them home I told them we needed to get our beds ready. They both went to their rooms, grabbed their favorite blankets and pillows and then staked out a corner of the tent. After that they started playing around in the backyard and on the swings. They wanted to play soccer but I vetoed that since the chances of a high-velocity, youth-size soccer ball hitting the small 12″ grill containing a pile of white-hot charcoal was about 100%.
Once the fire was going it was time for hot dogs. They loved getting to cook their own and we were quite successful in that PD was able to only steal one of them.
Fire!
As we ate the hot dogs Katie remembered that she needed to look good for her fans and that when you’re cool the sun never really sets.
Fashion Plate
After we ate the hot dogs I then showed the kids a strange clue that I found in the backyard that was part of a mystery we needed to solve (but that’s post for another time).
Good Times
After going on an adventure and solving the mystery it was time for the smores.
Mmmmmmmm....
Delicious!
After enjoying the smores I brought out Katie’s awesome telescope and we looked at the moon and a few stars. It was a perfect night of fun but it was finally it was time to get in the PJ’s and climb into the tent. They wanted to play their Nintendo DS’s, which I allowed even though they weren’t standard issue camping gear. They’ve been having so much fun and behaving so well I didn’t see a problem with it and couldn’t tell them no. They played their games for a little while and I read my book by lantern light.
PD really enjoyed the tent and blankets as well and was resting near all of us. The wind wasn’t too bad and was just enough to keep a good breeze going through the tent. My cedar allergies started bothering me a bit but it wasn’t anything unbearable and was definitely worth the trip. The night passed uneventfully and while we woke up entirely too early the next day it was a great time. I’m already looking forward to the next trip.
So in a previous post I talked about how when the kids and I went to the park we made up a game to play and called it “Treasure Hunter.” It was something pretty fun and while they both had a few periods of crying because they thought they lost, it was clear they had a great time.
To help visualize the thrilling tale I’m about to relate I’ve used the new advanced Google Maps 2.0 to provide a map of the park and how we played.
Hi-Res Satellite Photo of Treasure Hunter Park
The Map
On the left you can see a climbing area with a red slide and the monkey-bars mentioned in the other post. Also on that structure is the circle device the kids were using to spin themselves around. The play structure in the middle has a set of stairs, two slides and an elevated area. That was the center of the area and designated as the “safe zone” where the kids were safe. It was also the place that they needed to return the various “treasure” that was scattered around the park. Most of the park was covered with those safety wood chips and had a sidewalk running along one side.
The Treasure
The treasure for the game was three small rocks about the size of their fist. They weren’t sharp and they weren’t allowed to throw them.
The Object
The object of the game was to collect the three treasures and get them back to their safe zone before they were caught by the Hunter. Daddy was the Hunter and if he tagged you you then lost one of your three lives and had to go back to the safe zone before you could try for the treasure again. If you lost all three of your lives you were out and had to wait until the game was over to play again. It was allowed for both kids to run around at the same time so it encouraged cooperation and planning.
Round 1
So we start off the game and at this point the kids are still thinking it’s the typical game of monster and that they just needed to run from Daddy. I had to tell them a time or two to go for the treasure and they also made the mistake of running together. I was able to catch each kid once which was promptly resulted in passionate yet brief crying and frustration until I reminded them they still had 2 lives left and just had to go back to the safe zone.
On William’s 2nd try he took off for treasure 3 but then turned and headed for treasure 2. He managed to get it but fell down behind the green bench and tried to say that falling down meant time out. As anyone who’s watched a horror movie knows, falling down is most definitely not a time out and I told him he better run. He ran around the side of the safe zone and when trying to get up the stairs slammed his knee into the metal ramp VERY hard. He had to sit down because it hurt so bad and when I tried to get him up he had a slight limp. I do think the limp was more dramatic than actual and you’ll see why in a bit.
Katie can be described as a determined opportunist and while the Hunter was taking care of the fallen Treasure Hunter she promptly grabbed the other rocks and won Round 1.
Round 2
So I announce it’s time for Round 2 but William says his knee hurts too much. I tell him I understand completely and he can go rest by the bench (near treasure 2). He sits down and has some water while Katie and I get started.
Round 2 is underway for an estimated 40 seconds before William is up and headed to treasure 3.
Katie was headed to treasure 3 as well but quickly realized that the Hunter would get her and she doubled back to treasure 2 and ran for the safe zone. I let her go and switched to chasing William as he headed for treasure 3. He didn’t quite get to treasure 3 before I chased him to the corner of the park and we played a game of cat and mouse while he decided if he could make a break for it.
By now Katie had collected treasure 2 and was smart enough to run and get treasure 1 while the Hunter was distracted. However, the keep-away game between William and the Hunter seemed like too much fun because instead of dropping off the treasure at the safe zone she brought it with her to treasure 3 and the stand-off between the Hunter and William. She gets a little too close and the Hunter tags her so she has to drop treasure 1 where she’s standing (near treasure 3) and then head back to the safe zone. Again there is a small amount of crying until I remind her she still has two lives left.
At this point William smartly grabs treasure 1 and 3 for the win (treasure 2 was already in the safe zone) and heads along the sidewalk and gets near the water fountain before the Hunter is chasing him again. Now that I’m between him and the safe zone he realizes he’s stuck and not sure what to do.
Katie has returned to the safe zone and is back in the game and William tells her to come over to him. I could see the wheels turning and I remind William he can’t throw the rocks. He tells Katie to run around the left side of the water fountain to get to him. Once they get together William tells Katie he has a plan; he hands her a rock and tells her to run that way while he runs the other.
Of course at this point I’m really impressed and proud since he was able to assess the situation, come up with a counter-strategy and implement it. Katie heads left while William heads right. I chase William but he ducks around the playscape on the far left and then runs around the other side. I try and get him but he makes a good leap and makes it to the safe zone. Katie has taken the long way around and I chase after her at which point she drops the rock right by the safe zone. She picks it up before I get her and touchs the safe zone and wins the game. She thought she lost because she thought she lost by dropping the rock but once I explained it to her she was immediately happy.
I give both kids a handshake and tell them “congratulations” as we’ve been teaching the kids to do when they lose at a game and then we pack up and head home. It was a good time and I’m looking forward to future treasure hunts.
One of the things Santa brought the kids were new bikes. Both of them desperately needed upgrades and Katie received a stylin’ new bike with 18″ tires and training wheels while William got a flashy red bike with 20″ tires.
The New Rides
Well, turns out that the 20″ tires are just a shade too tall for him right now. He’ll grow into it in a few weeks or months but for right now it’s a tad, er, uncomfortable, when he tries to get on the bike. He can touch the ground with his feet but other parts of him are in contact with the bike. We had to have a couple practice sessions on how to get on the bike and I knew the next major problem was going to occur once we got started even though it hadn’t occurred to William yet. How to dismount when you come to a stop.
No Photos, Please
In my opinion there are few practical exercises in life like riding a bike that if you stop to consider it, it’s window into what you can expect from life in general. Sometimes you’re going to fall, it’s going to hurt and that’s OK. You could crash in front a bunch of your friends while trying to take your bike off some sweet jumps and look like a complete fool or knock the wind out of yourself so badly that you can’t help but cry. These things happen. It’s about understanding that sometimes things don’t turn out how you want but you don’t give up and you keep trying. I wanted to have this discussion with William but kept it at his level.
Me: “You know William, when you ride a bike sometimes you fall and get hurt, right?”
William: “Right.”
Me: “And if you do, is it OK to stop and cry?”
William: “Yes.”
Me: “What’s the important thing that we don’t want to do?”
William: “Give up.”
Me: “Right. That doesn’t mean you can’t stop and take a break if you need to or even try another day. But we don’t want to give up. Just keep trying.”
William: “Right.”
Me: “And what’s the reason we’re doing this anyway?”
William: “To have fun.”
William is an amazing young boy who is very bright, observant, and sensitive. We’ve had discussions like the one above a time or two before and he really does get it for being almost 7. I just know that being almost 7 we’re going to have a couple of bumps today on the way to the park. With the parenting talk out of the way it’s time to go have fun. During this discussion Katie has been packing her front bike pouch with the essentials for any bike ride, Hello Kitty, Strawberry Shortcake and 2 bottles of nail polish and she’s ready to get going.
I load up a small bag with some water, band-aids, camera and jackets in case they get cold and we’re off. Since Katie has training wheels she has the lecture that she’s allowed to go out ahead of us as long as she stays in sight and on the sidewalk. She listens extremely well which is good since I’m paying closer attention to William.
Shannon already taught William how to ride his bike a long time ago and he does it very well. It’s the new bike with the new height that’s an issue. We work together to get him mounted and he’s off. Knowing that the first stop is going to be somewhat painful depending on how he dismounts I literally run next to him the entire time. We break the trip to the park in small parts that allow Katie to go far ahead while staying in sight but let’s William practice riding.
Mounting The Bike
Each time he rides well but when he tries to dismount but doesn’t do it as well as he’d like. He’s harder on himself than anyone and several times when I give him honest (not parentally-baised) praise he’s not listening. At one point when he came to a stop he landed on both feet and I said how great he did he was upset. I just let him have his feelings and we move onto the park.
So at the park they immediately head to the monkey-bars and some kind of spinning circle device. I have no idea how it’s supposed to be used but they figure out that if one starts and drifts to the bottom then the other can jump on and they can spin. The bearings of this thing squeak badly and I make a mental note to pack WD-40 for next time so they can really get some velocity out of this thing.
Yin and Yang
After this they move to the monkey-bars. They both easily handle the side-to-side method but I ask them if they can do the harder way of swinging with your arms in front of you. Both tell me “No” but I tell them, “I bet you can. “ I show them by trying myself but don’t do that well. Just seeing me try seems to inspire them but in an uncommon but not unheard turn of events William decides to try first. Katie didn’t want to do it and firmly tells me so.
Me: “Katie, do you want to try and go across the monkey-bars the new way?”
Katie: “No, I can’t do it.”
Me: “Katie, we’re not supposed to say “can’t.” You haven’t tried it yet.”
Katie: “No, I don’t want to do it.”
Me: “OK, but I know that you can do it if you tried.”
Now while William was having some problems finding his confidence on his new bike none of that was present here. I stayed next to him in case he needed to drop but he didn’t. The first time through he made it and then I was able to get a video of his second time through.
Once Katie sees this she wants to try. She insisted that I had to hold her waist as she went through, which I did. She made it halfway and needed to drop down into my arms. She took about 20 seconds and then said, “I’m ready.” She then completed the other half of the monkey-bars.
At this point I think she’s done but then she immediately wants to go again and this time insists I don’t hold her. I think she’ll be able to do it so I get down at the other end and get the camera ready. I end up getting some great video of a girl who just turned 5 in August going through the monkey-bars.
So now William has conquered the monkey-bars and is ready to play a game. He wants to make up some kind of game and we come up with a game together. We end up calling it “Treasure Hunter” but that’s a post for another time.
It’s getting close to 5 and we need to head back because it’s going to get cold rapidly, they’re already tired and I need to get dinner going. So we head back and I stay close to William as he tries his bike again. The break has given him time to build up his confidence and when we leave the park via a twisty road I ask him if he wants to walk it out or ride it out. He says, “Ride it out.” (that’s my boy!) and so off he goes. Of course the poor boy doesn’t have luck on his side and he hits the only thing possible in the entire path.
What Are The Odds?
The park department has this post here because the cement path is pretty wide and some moron in a 4×4 could go tearing through there. But also they need to make sure that young boys on bikes can hit it and then knock the wind out of themselves and possible damage the family jewels as they come to an abrupt stop.
Well, he handles this setback better than I thought he would and we spend just a few minutes setting on Daddy’s lap as we let the pain ease. He was a little mad at me because when I saw this coming and tried to stop him he thought I was laughing at him. I tried to explain I wasn’t laughing but was warning him. Oh well. We get one more ride in and then most of the way back is me pushing the bike and him walking next to me talking about the multiple injuries he’s sustained and how this is the worse day ever. I just agree with him and don’t dispute it. “Yes, that does sound like it hurt.” “Yes, I can see how that would bother you.”
He’s eventually worked through his feelings enough that when we turn the last corner and can see our house I ask him, “Do you want to walk it home or ride it home?”
William: “I want to ride it home.”
Me: “That sounds like a good idea. You know you might make it home OK or you might fall down and get hurt again.”
William: “I know.”
Me: “What are you going to do if you get hurt?”
William: “I’ll be sad again.”
Me: “Well, it’s OK to feel sad and if you get hurt I’ll pick you up. So let’s go.”
And we make it home with him earning a 5.5 score on the dismount in the front yard. He was sad for a little bit but it wasn’t anything major. All in all it was a good time.
One of the gifts Katie received for Christmas was an Easy-Bake Oven. These things have stood the test of time since I know that I wanted one when I was young (and yes, I’m comfortable in my manhood to say that).
The oven itself is constructed of the high-grade plastic that we’re accustomed to and once you add the 100-watt bulb you’re in business. You get a couple of small pans, a yellow broomstick-looking device to push the little pans into the furnace (typically used as a club on siblings) and some annoying measuring scoops that are almost guaranteed to be inaccurate.
Of course in this day and age we all know that Wall Street requires that businesses show a constant revenue stream otherwise they’re considered a bad investment. The way the sellers of the Easy-Bake Oven, Hasbro, Inc., provide that revenue stream is to sell the additional cake and brownie mixes at $5-10. Once again proving the Internet can solve (and create) any problem I found several recipes online that you can use to bake things from scratch.
So we started with a brownie recipe that looked promising. I promptly ignored the stupid scoops that came with the oven and used real utensils. Katie did all the work of measuring and leveling of ingredients, mixing them together, greasing the pan and getting ready to bake. There were a few things I tried to show her but I received the typical “I can do it!” and left her to figure it out on her own. Anyone who knows me knows that I can’t let as recipe go as-is so we added some chocolate chips to the first brownie which of course she agreed to.
Once in the pan it takes 12 minutes to cook once you’ve sufficiently pre-lit the oven. And those 12 minutes give you to best time to teach your little chef the secondary skill critical to being able to feed yourself. Cleaning up after yourself. Katie really enjoyed the idea of doing the dishes and of course wouldn’t let me help.
Actually Enjoying It
Cleaning the Spoons
During this time William was playing with Legos nearby but soon gravitated over when he heard that the brownies were almost done. The kids became more and more excited as the timer counted down to zero and then we took the brownies out of the oven. Note in the foreground yellow club mentioned earlier in the post.
Proud Chefs
Here’s a photo of the first brownie and cross section of how it turned out. It was surprisingly good. Of course it was closer to a cake than brownie, I could tell it was going to turn out like that from reading the recipe but it didn’t taste nasty. The kids of course enjoyed them and for about 3 cents it really can’t be beat.
The First Brownie
The Brownie Internals
About to Chow Down
With the brownies out of the way it was time to move onto bigger and better things, namely fudge. The recipe was titled “Peanut Butter Fudge” but it used almost as much cocoa as it did peanut butter. If it was possible to make halfway decent candy with a light bulb then they could name the recipe “Essence of Green Beans” for all I care. Since William had seen (and eaten) what was possible with Katie’s new toy he really participated this time around. The kids took turns measuring out the ingredients and here’s a photo of the mess before we mixed it all together.
Ewww
Having made really fudge a time or two I actually thought this had a decent shot of turning out. It used powdered sugar and while we weren’t actually going to be cooking this to the correct candy stage I figured the light bulb might get the job done.
While the Fudge Cooks...
The fudge only had a 5 minute cooking time but needed time to “setup.” This gave the kids the time necessary to do one of the most important things related to cooking and being a kid, cleaning the bowl and spoons. With the fudge finally done we had to let it cool and it was scheduled to be the dessert for this evening provided everyone behaved. As typical with any sweets left out during the holidays people started coming by and wanted a sample. I told them they had to wait as well.
Strawberry Shortcake and St. Nick Eying the Fudge
I’ll report back on how the fudge turned out. Since it’s made up of over 75% sugar I really don’t see the kids giving it a thumbs down. I partially hope that it’s not that good of fudge otherwise I’ll probably be firing up the oven once the kids go to bed.
…and you catch more kitties with the Elefun game nets.
Aaah. The adventures of Kitty. Shehasbeenthroughalotwith our family. As I was picking Katie up from her very last day ever of Montessori School, (that brings a little tear to my eye) I saw that Daddy had let Katie take Kitty to school. Very early on when Katie was in the toddler room, Kitty got banned from Montessori School. It occurred to me that Kitty was the one constant for Katie through these past 3 years. She went to the first day of school… and the last.
At what point should I have Kitty bronzed? Or should I pack it away? Show her first boyfriend that comes over? Or maybe keep it to give her when she has a baby girl…
