Way back in 1985 while living in Dallas, Texas a friend invited me to go see a Christian rock band named “Stryper”. I had heard a few of their songs from an album called “Soldiers Under Command” and liked it, so I agreed to go along and check it out. They were playing at something called the “Bronco Bowl” which sounded like a big arena to me (thinking Rose Bowl or Cotton Bowl), but it turned out the ‘bowl’ actually meant ‘bowling alley’! LOL! This particular bowling alley had a small theater in which many bands played including U2, The Clash, Bruce Springsteen, and lots more.

Bronco Bowl concert hall seating 2500

When Stryper took the stage, I have to admit at first I was a bit stunned. Here were guys in revealing spandex and big teased hair screaming out some rock music… and even throwing bibles in to the audience! It was strange. But I liked it. I liked it a lot.

Stryper wasn’t quite famous yet. That would come only a year or so later with the release of “To Hell with the Devil.” That album put them on the rock-n-roll map and covers of rock-n-roll magazines. It also landed them several spots on MTV with videos such as “Free” and “Honestly”.

Anyway, years pass and Stryper eventually fades away along with much of the 80’s hair bands. But by 2010 they are back together and begin to experience a renaissance. By 2013 they are releasing their most critically acclaimed album to date: “No More Hell to Pay.”

So when they roll into Houston for a show, I’m there. They do a sell-out show at a place called “Concert Pub North” and rock way into the night… past midnight actually. The crowd was obviously familiar with their music and would sing along with nearly every song. These guys have become great musicians – I mean really great musicians – and put on a rockin’ good show. Yes, they still throw bibles into the audience. I loved it! I look forward to seeing them again, although they say they will not be touring for at least 2 years.

Today, while pumping gas, I noticed my car door was smirking at me.

Success! Ivy has now completed PreK and Kindergarten. Now we go to REAL school! 1st grade here she comes!

Mom came for a visit. She wanted to visit the Zoo. So we did.

She was also wondering where they got the fresh meat for the burgers?

Here’s a pic of mom peeing in the bushes.

I got this dog in April of 2004 while doing a satellite installation job at a house in Arkansas. The house was very trashy and full of cats and dogs. All of the dogs were running free in and out of the house except one. This puppy was on a chain because the owner said he kept running away. “I can’t imagine why!?” I thought to myself.

I felt kind of sorry for him and petted him for a minute or so, then the owner said, “You can have him if you want.” At first I hesitated, but then I thought I’d let him off the chain at least and play for awhile. The moment I let him off the chain, he ran to my truck, hopped in, and sat there tall and proud as if he had been waiting all day to go.

So I took him home and he quickly became an great dog and and excellent friend. I’m not exactly sure of his birthday, but I regard April as his birthday because that is when I adopted him. So 10 years later, he’s still around and available for scratching any time of day or night.

March 29th-30th was the annual Children’s Festival in Houston. It seemed to be better organized and a little bigger this year. Ivy actually got tired and was ready to go before I was. We didn’t actually see the whole thing, but we certainly had a bag of loot by the time we left.

Rusty had been acting strange for a few days, but on Sunday morning I awoke to find him sitting out in the yard and shaking feverishly. The slightest touch would illicit a yelp, so I knew something was wrong. I did a quick search for emergency pet clinics and found one on Katy freeway. So off we went to spend the morning fixing my dog.

Rusty stoned

Turns out he had three problems: First, his kidneys were not functioning properly. Second he was having the first signs of arthritis in his spine at his shoulder blades. Both of these are fairly common problems in older dogs. The third problem was his ‘cherry eye’ had become infected and bleeding. He kept rubbing his eye and making it worse, so hence the doggie collar – which he completely hated.

The drugs they gave Rusty seemed to do a great job! His shivering and whimpering (presumably from pain) went away within about 24 hours. I continued to give him medicine for about 2 weeks, and each time he would be stoned for hours. I think he kind of liked it.

It’s a recliner, Ivy. You’re doing it wrong.

Um, I think that’s meant only for dogs.

It’s a Happy Meal, Ivy. That’s not how it works.

Are you rating my parenting skills again?

Woot! It was rodeo time once again, so Ivy and I snuck off to the carnival one morning. It rained on us for awhile, but in the end it was a good thing because the crowds cleared out and we could ride everything over and over!

Every time I pop in a game into the PlayStation, my daughter Ivy scrambles to sit beside me and demands a turn at bat too. Unfortunately, many of the games these days aren’t really suitable for a child to play or watch, and trying to play a game with a 5 year old team-mate can be an exercise in frustration anyway. Still, on the few occasions I let her play I noticed she was surprisingly adept at following story lines and controlling the characters on the screen. So one day I set out try to find at least one game that she and I could play together.

Turns out, there are a few good games out there that both a parent and a 5 year old (or thereabouts) can play together at the same time and both be engaged and have a good time. In fact, there are several games that girls actually find engaging because they are more social, inclusive, and collaborative. Some games can have up to 4 players on the screen at the same time, so while she’s enjoying chit-chatting with you and playing with the digital dolls on the screen, you can be instilling some team work and communications skills. Oh, sure, my daughter still has her moments where she wanders off and gets distracted by a shiny object, but for the most part I can say, “Okay, Ivy, I need you to pull that lever over there so I can open this door over here.” She gets it and usually gets right on to the task. Along the way we laugh and bicker and cheer and boo until we finally reach our goal.

Overall, this has been a great way to spend some father-daughter time. Here’s a few video games that I’ve found which are clean, creative, and that a parent and child can play together at the same time.
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LEGOS!
Anything LEGOs is good. All the Lego games are multi-player, clean, non-violent (well, cartoony type violence I should say) and have hours of puzzles, problem solving, treasure finding, and multi-player action. Many of the puzzles require one player to perform one task, while the other player perform a different task at the same time. All the LEGO games are good… and there are a bunch to choose from! I liked Pirates of the Caribbean the best. We’ve also played Indiana Jones, as well as the Star Wars Lego games. All were fun and provided hours of playtime. There are plenty more that we’ve not tried yet including Harry Potter, Batman, Lord of the Rings, and Marvel Super Heroes.

LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean

LEGO: Indiana Jones

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Little Big Planet

Probably the best game I’ve ever seen that both a parent and child can play together is Little Big Planet. It’s like playing with dolls and stickers – two awesome essentials for a kindergarten girl. But I like it too because it is creative and imaginative that I found myself eager to get to the next level just to see what cool stuff the creators had come up with next. Little Big Planet is loaded with puzzles and pitfalls and amazing gears and gadgets. There are lots of jumping and popping bubbles, as well as pushing blocks and pulling levers. There’s very little violence, and if your doll (called a Sackboy/girl) does happen to get electrocuted or squashed beneath a tumbling block then her death is cartoony and short lived. Pop! She’s back again at the next portal. I loved LBP 1 & 2! They can keep making these games forever, as far as I’m concerned. These get a big thumbs up from me! Ivy too! 🙂

Little Big Planet 2

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SSX

SSX is a snowboarding game with some amazing scenery and action, although it isn’t multi-player in the sense that you can sit beside your child and play at the same time. However, Ivy and I would take turns doing a ski run and that worked out just fine for both of us. SSX doesn’t contain any violence at all, which is great, plus zipping down the mountain as fast as you can go is kind of thrilling. Controlling the character might be a bit much for a 5 year old, though; getting the super speeds and 1st place finish of a race (which allow you to advance) you must do some quick combinations of squares, triangles, circles and squares. Ivy could only master a few moves on the controller, and beyond that she mostly just tumbled and sauntered down the slopes to the finish line.

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Diablo

Diablo is a multiplayer game that literally the whole family can play at the same time. 4 people can play at once and go on missions together to do various things like release prisoners from a dungeon or kill an evil Warlock. This is similar to old-school Dungeons & Dragons games with it’s hit points and combinations of weaponry, so some of it is over the head of 5 year old. It also contains spells and wizardly, and LOTS of typical video game violence as you wield your sword and chop away at ogres and zombies and all kinds of vile beasts. But if those things are not troublesome to you, then you’ll enjoy going on missions with your kid and working together to defeat the devils that have taken over this evil world.

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Here’s some great articles on playing video games with your kids:

• Why Parents and Kids Should Play Video Games Together
• Why Playing Video Games Makes You A Better Dad
• 7 Reasons Why Your Kids Should Play Video Games (and you should join them)
• Why Parents Should Play Video Games With Daughters

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