Yes, I used some sick time before Zach and Emmy started back to school, and up first was taking Emmy to Six Flags:
I had to make them pose with Bugs! Why should I have to make anyone pose with Bugs...ah well...
Emily: "Hey Dad, why is there a giant hearse at Six Flags?"
Me: "I think someone died about fifteen minutes ago...maybe the guy who runs the Merry-Go-Round."
Camryn: "OMG this place is depressing! I don't want to be around dead people!"
Me: "Not people...person...singular."
Camryn: "Ohh...okay...I feel better then."
Next stop...Dallas Vintage Toys! I've been following them on Facebook for about a year and now that I had some free time, Zach and I made our way to see what all the fuss was about. Let's start with the location! It's in the middle of not-so-spectacular Dallas...on the 6th floor of what looks like a totally deserted office building! I spent 10 minutes driving around before I realized where exactly this place was. But, we managed to make our way in and up and when we got there they had just about everything you could imagine ever having as a kid. Zach had a look of wonder as well:
See? Wonder. I think I lost track of him for a bit because there were so many rooms! It was basically an office converted to a toy store. And, he managed to find this:
A hoverboard from Back To The Future! To my utter shock, it wasn't a working model. Shucks.
I don't even remember these being released back in the day. Of course I was about 11, so that may have had something to do with it.
We were wondering if that was the real R2-D2, but he didn't really say anything. Just sat there. Ah well.
I always feel better when I'm able to take them out to do something fun. I'm not sure why, but I get this nagging feeling that if we don't have these excursions every now and then, they will start to feel like I don't want to spend time with them. Yeah, it's probably as far-fetched as it sounds, but maybe more parents should try and do that out of sheer guilt. I watch Zach in the bath and he'll start talking about something that's really exciting to him and I just watch him in complete amazement as he talks. I guess it's true what they say...the most valuable thing you can give your kids is your time. I think that have that from me.