NEW MEMBER OF THE FAMILY
A Geek Daddy added a new member to the family with the addition of our new Boxer puppy that we named Penny. We caller her that because her brown coloring reminded us of the color of the coin. White fur on her front legs also make it look like she is wearing socks. I wanted to call her Sox after the White Sox but the kids vetoed that name idea saying it sounded to much like a cat's name.
She sure grew up fast! Penny went from 10 pounds when we brought her home to weighing 50 pounds by the end of the year. For the first few months we had her, Penny would sit on my lap while I would type up blog posts. She is a bit heavy for being a lap puppy now but still has been involved with the blog doing some reviews for a water fountain and dog toys from Petmate. We are looking forward to celebrating Penny's first birthday coming up in February.
GOLDEN EXPERIENCES AT GOLDFISH SWIM SCHOOL
My family served as brand ambassadors for Goldfish Swim School in 2018 and I have to say this has been one of the most wonderful experiences we've had related to ageekdaddy.com. The twins have not only learned how to be safe in and around water but have also excelled at being able to utilize a variety of swimming strokes. Goldfish Swim School even hosted the girls soccer team I coach to visit for a special water safety presentation with their mascot Bubbles and to spend a day having fun playing in the pool. This was a great way to kick off their summer break!
My son is still making his way through the last level of Goldfish Swim School lessons, but my daughter graduated in 2018. What do you do when your child has passed all the classes at Goldfish Swim School? You have them join their Swim Force club which teaches kids about participating in swimming as an athletic sports and hosts competitive meets for them to race in. My daughter was so excited to participate in her first competitive swim meet in 2018. We also had some great times stopping by Goldfish Swim School during their open swim times when families can have fun together in the pool. My kids even went trick or treating with Bubbles last Halloween.
If you have a child between the ages of 6 months and twelve years old, you are missing out if not involved with Goldfish Swim School. Based upon the incredible experience my family has had, Goldfish Swim School absolutely has earned A Geek Daddy nod of approval. In fact, as you can see from this post a lot of dad's appreciate this place. Visit goldfishswimschool.com for more information and to locate a pool near you.
DOWNTOWN DETROIT STAR WARS ADVENTURE
The science center staged a "Science of Star Wars" show which had experiment styled skits with demonstrations on how sci-fi move special effects are created and how a real life light saber might work. The center's Spark!Lab also was featuring activities tied to the Star Wars movies like letting kids construct their own droids and space craft mock ups. The planetarium show at the Michigan Science Center even incorporated Star Wars references into it including imagery of one of Saturn's moons that looks like the Death Star.
After spending a morning over at the Michigan Science Center, we headed across the street to spend the afternoon at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). The whole family was excited to see their special exhibition "Star Wars and the Power of Costume." This provided the chance to see more than 60 costumes and 150 sketches used in the producing the Star Wars movies.
Wow! This exhibit would make any Star Wars fan roar like a wookiee in excitement! It was amazing to get a close up look at an actual Chewbacca costume that appears in shots of the movies as well as an R2D2 prop Kenny Baker sat in and Princess Leia dress worn by Carrie Fisher while filming 1977's original Star Wars: A New Hope motion picture. I'm a big fan of Ralph McQuarrie's artwork and it was incredible to see some of his original concept art for the Star Wars movies on display at this DIA exhibit.
The Force with us during our downtown Detroit Star Wars adventure as it was really one of our most memorable days of 2018. While the Star Wars activities may be over now, there are always interesting things to see and do at the cultural center which in addition to the DIA and Michigan Science Center is also home to the Detroit Historical Museum, main branch of the Detroit Public Library, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, College for Creative Studies, the Scarab Club and Wayne State University.
DINOSAUR EXPEDITION
It was a father-son weekend on an expedition to Pittsburgh in search of dinosaurs. We took a dinosaur trek through the Pittsburgh Zoo and strolled around one of the world's most prestigious fossil collections at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Spent some time at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh making dinosaur crafts plus saw a Tyrannosaurus Rex made from LEGO bricks on display at an art exhibit hosted by Carnegie Science Center. We also saw Jurassic World 2 on an impressive screen 38 feet tall at the science center's Rangos Giant Cinema.
Our dinosaur road trip provided a great bonding experience. Our time in Pittsburgh searching for dinosaurs was an entertaining and educational opportunity for us to spend some quality time together. We discovered why the city has earned the nickname "Kidsburgh." It really is a great place for a family vacation with lots of interesting and fun things to do throughout the city ranging from going to the Kennywood Amusement Park filled with thrilling rides to taking in a baseball game at PNC Park. We are absolutely going to have to make a return trip soon bringing my wife and daughter along with us.
ROADKILL NIGHT
I was so geeked that Dodge invited me to participate in their Detroit area Roadkill Nights event that took place at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan over the summer. This is an event meant for gearheads! It includes a car show, vehicle demonstrations, and actual drag racing. Oh yeah!
It was time to buckle up because I jumped in a Dodge Challenger Demons and Charger Hellcats to swerve around a skid pad and speed around a race track. That was so much fun!
I also competed in a virtual reality racing simulator. Didn't do too bad either winning 2 out of 3 races. It took me a race to get down shifting the manual transmission than I dominated on the simulator. Hey, I won a t-shirt!
Then it was time to watch real drag racing taking place on historic Woodward Avenue. The smell of motor oil and burning rubber as a mix of hot rods, sports cars, and even a classic 1980s era station wagon raced down the street was intoxicated. That combined with a great meal and open bar with front row track side seating courtesy of Dodge made for a perfect evening.
TOY STORY LAND GRAND OPENING
Walt Disney World invited ageekdaddy.com to participate in the grand opening festivities of Toy Story Land at its Hollywood Studios amusement park. That was an invitation that we of course weren't going to turn down. So, my wife, I and the kids were off to Orlando, Florida!
The twins were some of the first kids to get a chance to ride the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster before it opened to the public. What an amazing opportunity! That is now there favorite ride at Walt Disney World! It may be mine too … Slinky Dog Dash really is fun roller coaster that little kids as well as adults can equally enjoy riding.
We also rode the Alien Swirling Saucers ride over, and over and over again.
Disney Imagineers really did a fabulous job with this new addition to Walt Disney World. Kids and kids-at-heart are going to love stopping by to play with Woody and his gaggle of Toy Story friends. We can't wait for the chance to go back again!
TOP OF THE ARCH
Did you know you can go to the top of the famous St. Louis arch? There is a viewing deck 630 feet up in the air at the pinnacle of the Gateway Arch. Head up there for a birds eye view of St. Louis.
While walking the grounds around the Gateway Arch and visiting the museum underneath it are free there is an admission fee to go up to the viewing deck. Explore St. Louis provided us some complimentary tickets during our visit, but otherwise it would have cost us $40 for our family of four to go up to the top. That being said if we hadn't been offered a perk I would have paid for the tickets for the tram ride to the top of the Gateway Arch anyhow. It is just too unique of an experience not to do while you are there in my opinion.
We've been to the top of the Arch in St. Louis. A family vacation moment to remember forever. Another thing I can cross off my bucket list!
From our road trip to St. Louis, I learned that this city really is a great spot for a family getaway. Did you realize they have a number of attractions with free admission including an art museum, science center and zoo. I hadn't realized just how great a place it is to visit until we actually spent some time there this year.
HELLO 2019!
2018 was full of family fun that also included camping trips, some special events at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Michigan, and enjoying some theatrical shows among other neat things we did throughout the year. Looking forward to what blogging adventures are in store for us during the new year! Stay tuned to ageekdaddy.com and travelingdad.com to keep up with what we are doing in 2019.
