Dad Camp 2025

Every year, I take the week before school off to spend time with the kids. Camps are over, and they're still too young to stay home for a week by themselves, so we (meaning me) come up with ideas of things to do. I write this post annually as a reminder of what we did each year.

Monday: Costco, Miniature Golf

Errands need to get done, and this was a chance to let the kids pick snack options for lunch and after school. Plus, free samples! And it turned out not to be exactly free samples. They enjoyed both the Chobani flip yogurts (which I bought on sale) and Pickle Balls (which I bought not on sale). 

We almost always go miniature golfing during Dad Camp week. This year, we tried out Perch Putt located 11 stories up in Tysons. Thanks to Groupon for the deal.

Tuesday: Movie

Fairly low-key day. The Moose had a dentist appointment (he should get his braces off in 2 months!), and then we saw Bad Guys 2. It doesn't seem like I missed anything from not seeing the original Bad Guys movie. An unexpected surprise was hearing the voice of Alex Borstein in the film. I'm currently watching the last season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and it was different hearing her not swearing! (And yes, I know Borstein has been been a voice on Family Guy for decades.)

Wednesday: Pinball Arcade

I thought this would be something different and that the kids (and I) would enjoy. While it was about 45 minutes away, we went to Jackpot Pinball Arcade in Purcellville, Virginia and played for hours. Took a break for a delicious lunch at Magnolias at the Mill. Big success. 

Oh, while it was mostly pinball games, I got the second high score on Centipede!

Thursday: Back to school day. 

The Moose had high school(!?!?) orientation in the morning, and Pedro Tulo and Luigi met their teachers in the afternoon.

Friday: Pickleball & Soccer Match

Played pickleball in the morning which is always an adventure with the three boys. The Moose thinks he's Ben Johns (a really good pickleball player) against his younger brothers. Later in the day, we attended an exhibition match between Pitt and George Mason men's soccer teams. Pitt is ranked #7 this preseason but didn't look like it in the first half with Mason taking an early 1-0 lead and Pitt not getting many chances. While I'm not sure how much or how many starters played for each team, Pitt absolutely dominated the second half and ended up winning 2-1.

Throw in a Nationals game and the pool over the weekend, and I think it's been another successful week of Dad Camp. Now, I'm excited that the kids are going back to school!

2022 Steelers Draft Recap: The Missed Picks

The 2022 National Football League draft took place last week, and the Steelers used their first two selections on QB Kenny Pickett from the University of Pittsburgh and WR George Pickens from the University of Georgia. With no disrespect to the remaining draft picks of Demarvin Leal, Calvin Austin III, Connor Heyward, Mark Robinson, and Chris Oladokun, the Steelers missed an opportunity for a truly historic draft. Here are just some of the people the Steelers could have "picked" instead.

Wilson Pickett - Rock and Roll Hall of Famer best known for his songs Land of 1,000 Dances, Mustang Sally, and In the Midnight Hour. No one will get the Steelers energized like Wilson Pickett! Seriously, go to 1:50 of this video and try not to nod your head or tap your feet. It's impossible.

By the way, Pickett's WikiPedia page might feature the best thing I've seen in a long time. Are there a lot of people who confuse Wilson Pickett and Wilson Phillips? I'll "Hold On" while you get back to me.

T. Boone Pickens - Billionaire oil magnate and hedge fund manager. While I'm sure the Rooney family is doing just fine financially, this selection would infuse some money into the organization. 

Jean-Luc Picard - Captain of the USS Enterprise. There was no better leader available in the 2022 draft!

Kellie Pickler - She's more than an American Idol contestant. Sure, she can sing, but Pickler can also write, act, host, and dance as evidenced by her Dancing With the Stars win. She's a 5-tool player!

Tobias Picker - Grammy-award winning composer and current Artistic Director of the Tulsa Opera. He's versatile and looks to have a long career!  

Andrew Pickens - American Revolution militia leader and member of the US House of Representative. If you want a fighter and someone in the trenches, Pickens is your guy. Unfortunately, he's undraftable because he was a slave owner 

Joe Picker - He's an Australian rugby player. Those guys are tough. He would have fit right into the Steelers culture and locker room.

Tommy Pickles - Rugrats character. He's very young (and a cartoon), but Tommy has a good motor and a high upside.

Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz - While the guys from "American Pickers" aren't ready to play in the NFL, they'll be huge additions to the scouting team. They will be such an asset to film study and finding things others might miss.

Ben Johns - He's the #1 pickleball player in the world and just won the US Open Pickleball championship. Proven winner!

Overall, the Steelers draft seems fine and could become great, but there were definitely some missed opportunities here.

T. Boone Pickens photo by Sue Ogrocki/AP. Joe Picker photo by Anthony Johnson in the "Sydney Morning Herald."