My son Kenny was on a Greco-Roman kick last summer and wanted to buy some basic supplies like plywood for shields, wood dowels for javelins, PVC and insulation for swords and daggers, and of course duct tape. Lots of duct tape.
Therefore, we piled the family into the van to visit every guy’s favorite store. It’s the one with power tools, lawnmowers, and lumber. Lots of lumber.
Upon arrival, we chose the “Race Car” shopping cart option and entered the play zone.
“You take the youngers and find the plywood. I’ll take the olders to look for the PVC.” My wife game planned (Oh, and when you have 4 kids, the “youngers” are the 2 youngest).
I agreed and set off to the lumber aisles with my 2 and 4-year-old boys and a “Race Car” shopping cart. Right away, the idea struck. Mario Kart. One is Toad and the other is Koopa. I’m Wario. This was a fine idea and great opportunity to race down the aisle and record a Dadnamics video.
There were two miscalculations on my part. First, I had no experience racing a large shopping cart with one hand (other hand to record said Dadnamics video). Secondly, I didn’t survey the race track. If I had, I surely would have noticed the 12-foot rolling, metal staircase directly in my racing lane! Lights, camera, … action! Zoom!
The start was flawless and as Wario, Toad, and Koopa mounted speed, miscalculations 1 & 2 collided and so did we. Boom! Waaah. Waaah.
We crashed into the lumber racks. My 2-year-old was crying, my 4-year-old was laughing, and I was bleeding (just a scrape, no children or Dads were injured during this Dadnamics Live video). If you ask me, I think that Bowser planted a banana peel, causing our Kart to veer off course. The recording is classic. It ends with the crash and the cry, but for obvious reasons, I did not include this blooper footage in Episode 9. However, I may be persuaded to upload the video later…
Wario, Toad, and Koopa regrouped. We found the plywood and met the rest of the family. I was quite embarrassed to tell my wife about the “incident“. After the confession and apology, I picked up Peach and Yoshi and headed to a personal favorite, the Doors & Windows display and the possibility of time travel if you go through the right door. I learned this on my various trips with my Pop-Pop, 30 years prior. What a blast! All of my kids were walking into doors, opening up windows, playing Hide-n-Seek, and locking doors on their Dad. This success gave me the positive energy to try Dadnamio Kart again.
I handed over filming to my 10-year-old (a.k.a Yoshi), so I could focus on the task at hand. It was a major victory and the youngers loved it! There was no crying, no blood, only screaming.
Wait, is that good? You be the judge.
