3. Totally PWN Their Butts In HALO

I would never tell my 8BD Editor, Zach Rosenberg, this, but I HAVE actually had some spare down time while I’ve been here in Afghanistan. The most upsetting thing for Zach about that fact, is that I’m not at least weekly kicking out some rad article for the site. What might alleviate his rage somewhat, is that I’ve picked up an FPS for the first time since I left the genre, just as Quake II and Unreal Tournament were tapering off. Long time, right? Well, a few of the folks here with me got me playing HALO: Reach, and, if I can say so myself, I’ve gotten pretty good (shut up, Steamin! Shut UP Lunchbox! Check my assists!).

But when I’m home, I like to relax and play Wii with the kiddos; a little Rock Band, a little Wii Tennis, and, of course, multi-player Super Mario World. The latter is a particular favorite of my oldest, and before I left we were stuck somewhere in the second desert world. Since I’ve left, my oldest managed to blow through all the way to world six, without the help of his old man (please reference reason #5).

Suffice it to say: Dad is a little intimidated, and not looking forward to the imminent smack talk his oldest will certainly deliver when his old man can’t keep up.

But I’ve got the ace in my pocket. I’ve got some sweet HALO skills now, and if things start going down the tubes playing Mario (you see what I did there?), I’ve always got a chance as soon as we get our HALO on!

2. Daddy-cize!

I know I wasn’t the first dad who had fun by lifting, tossing, and swinging his little toddler around, all the while the kid is giggling and laughing and probably getting dizzy as heck. I probably wasn’t the first dad to break a sweat doing all that playing around and say, “heck, I could probably sneak in some exercise doing this!”

A lot of the play movements duplicate exercises you’ll pay to perform in a gym. For example: a foot-horsey ride is a simple leg extension, and a rapid kid-lift from the ground to the sky is just as good as a kettle-bell swing. For a while, I considered making a series of instructional YouTube videos called “Daddy-cize!” where I would demonstrate how to have fun with the kids, and exercise at the same time. Unfortunately, my distraction level spiked at the same time that I chickened out on the idea altogether. But no worries, there are still dads out there who are putting together amazing products to put it all together for aspiring Daddy-cizers!

So I’m going to get right back to it as soon as I get home. I love to exercise with my kids, and my kids love to exercise with me. It’s a fun activity, and it creates a culture of fitness within the family, which is a goal of my wife and I.

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