Fun and Games

DINO DAY: It was Day 3 of Yoga/Music camp in Columbia City. Today's theme was dinosaurs.

When I asked them about dinosaur related activities, they both raved about a book the group read, "When Dinosaurs Came with Everything."

When I went to pick them up, they were all outside playing with a parachute, having a ball. They were taking turns being in the center of the parachute, and the classmates would walk toward the center, where one student was sitting on the parachute, and then they'd walk backward quickly, lifting the parachute sitter. In the photo below, it's Annabelle's shadow you see in the center.

Of course, CJ got a turn, too. But being the biggest (by far) in the class, he didn't catch as much air as the rest of 'em. (You can barely see a shoe of his in the photo below.)

WHERE THERE'S A (GOOD)WILL: While the kids did the yoga thing, I headed up Rainier to Dearborn, where a Really Big Goodwill store awaits. The kids love going "treasure hunting" at Goodwill with me, but about 20 minutes of it is enough for them. Today, I was able to spend darn near two HOURS in the place (and I could have spent more, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like to shop).

At one point I found myself standing in the electronics aisle - near stacks of old, used gaming equipment. There were no original Nintendo NES units to be had, but I did spy a first generation Sega Genesis. I picked it up and found one controller for it. I was deciding whether to take my chances and spend $15 to get it and the controller when I heard a male voice say, "Here's another controller for that." The voice belonged to a 20-something guy. It soon became apparent he is a huge game hardware geek. He pointed me toward a version 2.0 of the Sega system, but I told him my 7-year-old son is an old school purist and would want the first version. Then the guy found the appropriate RF cable for me and he began making suggestions about where I might find a power supply cord for the Sega. Oh, and he told me to go over and look in the aisle with the audio tapes, because for whatever reason, there are a few Sega games for sale there.

And so I did go over there and score, for $1, Madden '94. What a flashback those team rosters provide!

Christian took the unit apart when he got home and did some electrical testing, so the kids got to see its inner workings, which was a good learning experience for them. (It's not just a "magic box" - it's capacitors and connectors and chips and a processor and a motherboard and switches and plugs). Christian got the Sega working by MacGyvering a power cord (it involved reversing polarity or something). Then, he and the kids played some Madden. He and Annabelle went head to head for two full quarters and Annabelle beat his pants off!

STOP THE CAR!: On our way back to the MPA campus, we couldn't help but notice the sprinklers at our neighborhood park were going full blast. You know what that means!

Funny story - walking to and fro the sprinklers, Annabelle was going, "Eww ... eww ... eww!" all the way. Why? Well, she thought the park grounds were covered in dog poo.

I can see why she thought that - the ground had been heavily aerated and the resultant plugs looked, well, exactly like dog crap. I will admit that even though I knew exactly what it was (just good ol' dirt), I, too was thinking, "Ew, ew," as I walked over them and felt them smoosh beneath my feet.

CAMEO BY CJ: I got a nice note this morning from a woman who used a photo of CJ to accompany a blog post with tips about about submitting a synopsis to editors. You can see it here: http://www.susanuhlig.com/2010/07/the-synopsis-shrink.html

INSIDE INFORMATION: There's something CJ wants you to know. He asked me to write down what he says, exactly, so I did.

"In Super Mario 64 there's a Secret Room. Make sure you aim for the top castle window. Use the cannon when you have all stars. Get the wing cap and return to the cannon. Aim for the window - but don't get stuck at the 1 percent lower place or else you'll have to start over. It's how you get inside without using the door."

You're welcome. :)