This has most definitely been the longest stretch without writing of my stay-at-home parenting career. 2025 was kind of an adventure of a year for our family but I’ll get into that some other time. I’m a little bummed though when I think about all of the really cool experiences that Ellie and Ethan had that I neglected to write about.
There was another soccer season for Ethan where he got
better and better each week. Ellie tried volleyball for the first time and
quickly fell in love with it. She’s not half bad either. I spent twenty-something
days subbing at the kids’ elementary school over the first semester of the year.
Honestly, it’s not a bad day’s work. I inevitably get to see them in passing several
times. I get to know some of their teachers and friends. I also get a nice little
paycheck so I feel like I’m contributing to our household finances.
I know there were tons of other things from this summer and
fall that I missed documenting. However, I can’t go back now. Instead, I’ll
just try to make sure I do a better job not missing cool experiences moving
forward. Also, in case you’re wondering, yes, the #DaddyWrite count is correct.
I actually went back and checked out personal calendar for the year, taking out
every day off work for Bethany and each day I subbed.
I know I mentioned up above how there were lots of cool
experiences for the kids that I failed to document. One of those cool
experiences though that I can document happened this week as Ellie, Ethan, and
myself were able to spend the morning putting our brand-new yearly passes at
Science City to good use.
In case you’re unaware, Science City is Kansas City’s most
popular children’s museum. Housed inside Union Station, it’s very easy for one to
spend several hours engaging in a variety of hands-on activities. While I
mentioned our passes being brand-new, this was actually our second visit to
Science City since purchasing. I would be remiss if I neglected to mention how
much the kids love the place. One of the great things though is just how easy
it is to find something new to really gravitate towards each time you visit.
For Ethan, he was super intrigued by a tug-of-war station
attached to a giant lever. I’m sure this doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone
who knows Ethan and his competitive nature but he wanted to keep challenging me
to a game of tug-of-war over and over and over. While I feel like I would
normally match up decently well against the little man, that was not to be the
case with this particular game. Ethan’s rope was attached to the top of the
giant lever whereas mine was attached to the bottom. As a result, no matter how
hard I pulled and yanked, I could never overcome the advantage that the rope’s
position gave him. Ethan, for his part, didn’t brag about his victories TOO much.
For Ellie, the thing that really caught her interest resided
in the “Brain Games” section of Science City. That thing was called “Mindball.” Essentially, what Mindball does is allows you
to channel Eleven from “Stranger Things”. Two players will sit down at opposite
sides of a table and strap a sensor around their foreheads. Then, you simply
stare at a ball in the middle of the table. The sensor somehow senses your ability
to stay calm and focused and will cause the ball to move. The calmer and more
focused one is, the more the ball will move towards your opponent. When the
ball reaches one end of the enclosed track on top of the table, then someone
loses. Ellie and I had to attempt this game several times over the course of
our morning. At the risk of bragging, I am proud to admit that I never lost to Ellie
at “Mindball”. My ability to remain calm and focused much outweighs that of my
daughter. Ok, maybe I am bragging just a bit.
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| I know he might look bored but he's actually just really studying hard. |
Obviously, there was an entire world of activities for us to
explore at Science City but those were definitely two of our favorites. Knowing
Ellie and Ethan, I’m sure we’ll find ourselves latching onto a different
experience every time we make our way to Science City over the next year.
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| The sand station was one of my personal favorites. |
Or, you know, I might just be destined to forever lose to
Ethan at tug-of-war. Time will tell.
#DaddyWrite
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| Always looking at the stars...or large kaleidoscopes. |
