Monday, March 25, 2019

Spring Break '19: Our Staycation

Last year was the first time we traveled on a plane with Charlotte for spring break. Visiting San Francisco was fun, but this year we decided to stay home again.

While Char was at the Science Center with a friend, Daphne and I had quite a lunch at Wasabi in Johnston. 


The Blank Park Zoo is Des Moines isn't very big, but you can get pretty close to the big cats.




The only time we left town was to visit Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. Seeing elephants and cheetahs isn't something we can do in Des Moines.




Charlotte thought these little guys in the bottom of the tank were fascinating. I forgot to note what they were called.



My favorite part about visiting the Omaha Zoo is eating at California Tacos & More afterwards.



Their puffy tacos are similar to the ones at Tasty Tacos in Des Moines, but their California Taco is larger and they have a great condiment bar. Their steak filling is chunks of steak... sooo good.


Charlotte chose to be Harriet Tubman for the 3rd Grade Wax Museum. She needed a costume, so we all went thrift store shopping.


Char used this illustration of Harriet for inspiration.


Here's the dress they found. The white piece came from Hobby Lobby, and Daphne sewed the buttons  on the front by hand.


Char gave her new lantern from Bass Pro Shops a test run before bedtime.


The 3rd Grade Wax Museum is this Friday, and I'm looking forward to seeing Char's performance.

We also hung out at the local park when the weather was nice.


We bought Char a tie-dye kit for Easter last year, and Daphne decided it was about time to put it to use. The gals dyed six shirts and six headbands.




After 24 hours, the fabric was ready to be washed. First you have rinse the fabric until the water runs clean, and Daphne will tell you that is the worst part of this process. I bet it took 45 minutes before she felt they were ready for the washer. 

The shirts and headbands turned out good, though.



Char's other project was to construct two forts/mazes for the cats to play in. She was inspired by watching cat videos on YouTube. 

Daphne brought home a few boxes from work...


They're held together by tape for now, but if the cats use them, we'll secure the boxes with the cardboard screws my buddy Rob 3D printed for us. 


The big fort is called "Maniac Mansion."


This one is the "Cozy Cottage."


Okay, here's where I come in. Charlotte wanted to play a video game on the TV using a controller, "You know, Dad. I want to go old school." I dusted off a GameCube and went hunting for a game she could play. I came home with a copy of Animal Crossing from Half Priced Books. The game was first released in 2002, so I hoped 17 years was old school enough for her.

"Animal Crossing is an open-ended game in which the human player character moves into a village populated with anthropomorphic animals. Throughout the game, the player can interact with the animals, as well as other players through the GameCube's memory card. The game is synced with the GameCube's internal clock and calendar, allowing the game to be played in real-time, which also follows seasons and holidays." - from Wikipedia

Char loves this game. She named her town Meville and has a small house there that she's paid off by working for Tom Nook and selling him items that she finds. She's looking forward to getting a bigger place with a basement. 


I bought her an Animal Crossing guide book on Amazon, and she's been studying it. 


Tonight, if she does her homework and practices the piano without complaint, we're going to change the game's calendar and have a Thanksgiving dinner in Meville. Char wants to steal the silverware for Franklin the turkey so he'll give her gifts in return.

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