Rooster Cogburn’s Ostrich Ranch

So the girls and I have been to numerous zoos, normal or petting, but rarely do they ever intersect. Tigers and bears stay in regular zoos, while horses and goats are usually reserved for petting zoos. So the girls were very surprised to learn that there is an Ostrich Ranch right outside of Tucson and that you could actually feed them (they regularly see them from a distance at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson). While initially a little reserved (their mother has a surprising fear of ostriches), they eventually gave in and ended up having a great time feeding (and sometimes petting) miniature donkeys, fallow deer, rabbits, and yes, even the ostriches.

Size check, just so they know exactly what they are getting into.

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Pajama Night at the Movies

So I picked up the girls from Texas almost a month ago and I am just now getting some time to write. And a lot has happened in that month. Elaina started Kindergarten and Gabriella started Pre-K. The girls are signed up for soccer. And I am crushing my new job and about to be promoted. Things are going well in the Calkins household. But as far as getting back into the routine of writing, I figured we should start with something small, like going to the movies. Good thing that The Lion King (live-action) was playing at the on-post theater… and that it was Pajama Night.

Get your pajamas on and let us head into the theater!

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Calkins Family Game Night

Family Game Night seems like a weeknight staple in the United States, but it can be a little difficult when you have a five and three year old. We still find time to get in a game every now and then though, as they are finally getting old enough to understand the rules and develop a seemingly coherent strategy. Coming from an avid board and miniatures gamer, it is good to see my girls get into the hobby, and it is great to have another activity we can do as a family.

Building a Puppet Theater with the Girls

One day when my daughters and I were making sock puppets, Elaina very casually asked me to make her a puppet theater. She wanted it to be pink and purple, with pink curtains. Challenge accepted. While I am not much of a DIY person, this seemed like something fun that we could all do together as a family.

Ok, Puppet Theater / Restaurant / General Store

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Elaina’s Graduation

There comes a time that when your little one grows up and finally leaves the nest. But that will not be for another 13 years. Elaina completed her Pre-Kindergarten class and had her graduation ceremony before she headed out to San Antonio, TX for the summer. While it was just one of the many graduation or promotion ceremonies that she is likely that have over the next two decades, it still meant a lot to both of us.

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The Calkins Girls try LARPing

Anyone that refers to themselves as a nerd knows that there are many tiers of nerdom. For instance, liking Star Wars may seem a little nerdy, but since it has become pretty mainstream, it is certainly a low-threat. Liking Star Trek though, means that you are delving further down the rabbit hole. Everyone has a different scale too, one that likely includes less mainstream board games (check), Dungeons & Dragons (check), and even miniatures for wargaming that you painted yourself (*hangs head*… check). Of all the possible tiers for me, Live-Action Roleplaying (in tandem with cosplay) is my red line (for some it is Star Trek, others Dungeons & Dungeons, while some have nothing that is “too far”). Having said that up front though, I always aim to be a good friend first. And when my friend Steve invited my daughters and I to join him and the local Amtgard chapter at Veterans Memorial Park in Sierra Vista, we would not have missed it for the world.

This guy might have wanted to miss it though.

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Swim Lessons

Whether it was for pure survival skills or because we were letting the pools go to waste at Walt Disney World, it was only a matter of time until I put the girls in swim lessons. Their mother also likes to take them to Great Wolf Lodge and they can only wear floaties for so long. While this class only lasted for two months, it was an excellent introduction into the wonderful world of swimming.

Make sure to get up and stretch, because we are about to dive in!

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(Early) Easter with the Girls

So with less than a month’s notice, the Army tagged me to attend a joint military exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA. Since this was our last duty station, it would be nice to visit some of the restaurants, coffee shops, and game stores that I use to frequent. The bad news is that not only was I going to miss my girls for three weeks (our parenting plan states that they will go to their mother’s location if I have to go on a temporary duty assignment longer than two weeks), but I was not going to be able to spend Easter with them. Since adjusting to change is no longer a serious problem for us, we simply moved our Easter celebration up a week.

“Please do not look at me like that. This is going to be fun, I assure you.”

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Month of the Military Child

So if you have not figured this out by now, my girls love to dress up. And not just like princesses. They like to come prepared for every possible situation. Given that April is Month of the Military Child on post and that every day promoted different activities, this was the perfect opportunity for them to dress up (“fabulously,” as Elaina puts it) for every day that offered a unique outfit. This became a great family activity every morning by looking at the calendar then going through their closets (and sometimes their playroom) to properly dress for the occasion.

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“Pass on what you have learned:” Taking Yoda’s Advice and Baking a Death Star Cake with my Daughters

So we are a unabashed Star Wars family. I play a Star Wars tabletop miniatures game. Elaina is a huge fan of Rey from the sequel trilogy and continues to ask me when she is getting a lightsaber (Me: “You got one at Disney World.” Her: “No, Dad, a real one.”). And Gabriella enjoys learning her colors, letters, and numbers from Star Wars children’s books, because, why not? Because of this and being a relatively good baker, it was no shocker that my friend’s wife contacted me about a making a Star Wars cake and surprising him with it during his party. But of course, I cannot do anything in our house without being interrupted by two wonderful little girls, so I just let them in on the baking fun. So here goes the Calkins Family’s attempt to bake our very own Death Star.

“I got a bad feeling about this.” (Note: The applicable Star Wars quotes will not end here)

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