I spoke about the garage sale page last week and got excited about using it on the weekend. so I went to https://dadsjustwannahavefun.com/garage-sales to see whats happening around me. So I filtered it to Ancaster, found a community sale nearby, and we went. I had no idea how this was going to go with a two-year-old. If she finds a puddle, nothing else exists until there is nothing left to splash.

But she was great. I had snacks in my back pocket, which helps. She ran around, charmed everyone, and at one of the tables a vendor just handed her a toy. That was really nice of the vendor and she still plays with it in the car.

We're thinking about moving so I couldn't go down the furniture and home goods path, though there was plenty for anyone with a renovation or a DIY project in mind. I did stop at the box of books and CDs and DVDs like I always do. That box is my childhood in physical form. Every cover reminds me of something, an artist I forgot I loved, a movie I need to rewatch. Id see the books they have for sale and wonder what kind of life the vendor leads. If Riri wasnt around, I would have engaged more and asked more questions.

There was a double-deck stereo for ten bucks. I stood there thinking about showing Kiki, then started thinking about where it goes when the novelty wears off, and I walked away. I'm still thinking about that stereo.
But the thing I actually liked most about that morning had nothing to do with what was on the tables. There was no agenda. No goal to hit, nowhere to be. Just a beautiful day, a curious two-year-old, and the question of whether the next driveway had something worth stopping for. I'd chase her and play with her going to and from the car, glance at a few things, if there was nothing, we just ran back to the car. Three hours went by and I didn't notice. Im really eager to do it again.

Dads corner

Insert Dad to continue

I saw someone on Instagram remake Tetris using AI. I'm a curious person so naturally I thought what could I make for Kiki?
He loves video games. He wants to play games online, which other parents have flagged concerns about and honestly I get it. So I figured, why not just make him one. Something his. No lobbies, no strangers, no warnings.

I asked AI to build me a Space Invaders game. It came back rough but it worked. A few hours of tweaking later, I had something I was actually proud of. I called it Kiki's Mission. His job is to save his sister. He's flying through the Andromeda galaxy in a fighter jet I referenced from an Audi R8, shooting down bosses modeled after monster trucks. Two things he loves, one game.

The building part was genuinely fun. It moved fast. Most of the time when I'm putting together a tool there are bugs that multiply, fix one thing, break another. This wasn't that. It was mostly just adding, personalizing, making it more his. The results came back quick and it kept me going.

But the best part was his reaction.
He was amazed. Not just that the game existed, but that I made it for him specifically. Every element in there was chosen for him and he could see that.
With the age gap between the two kids, I'm always aware that Riri pulls a lot of the attention just by nature of being two. This was just for him. Nobody else. And watching him realize that was worth every hour I put into it. Here is a link to check out where I'm at so far. https://kikismission.dadsjustwannahavefun.com