Every Kid Should…

I am reading referencing a book called 101 Things Every Kid Should Do.  As a parent, this book has become words that I shall conquer alongside my two daughters. 

Examples include:

3.  Every kid should go outside at dusk and stay there until it’s dark, watching the stars come out. 

44. Every kid should decorate the driveway.

65. Every kid should run a lemonade stand.

It’s not just the statement that is neat, it’s the explanation and ideas on how to follow through that proceed each “thing” that are really cool.  Following number 65 regarding the lemonade stand is, a recipe for Old-Fashioned Lemonade, along with advice on how (and where) to set up a successful lemonade stand with the help of your kids.

I was reading a few to Brent on the way home from Duluth last week. He was probably humoring me a bit in acting like he was as excited to hear them, as I was to read them to him.  I turned it into a game asking him to pick a number and then reading the one he chose. This, I suppose, helped keep his interest.  We then made a pit stop and I closed the book.  As soon as we pulled into the parking lot of the gas station Mallory quickly asked, “Can I get my picture taken with that big bird?”  And just. like. that. I came up with my own number 102 of Every Kid Should Do…

(When on a road trip) Every kid should be able to take a picture with silly statues they see along the way. 

(I cannot wait to show this picture to her future husband.  Her pants are a tad too short, she is squinting in the sunlight, and she was so excited to take a picture with the Rock Creek Cafe’s chicken.  What is the Rock Creek Cafe?  A small truck stop cafe, not sure how the food tastes, but I do know that the line to use the men's restroom was long and slow…)

We then thought about the different areas in the state with memorable statues that are worth posing alongside of; Paul Bunyan and Babe in Bemidji, the great Northern Pike in Hayward and the World’s largest Prairie Chicken located in Rothsay MN. 

Now it was on our way home that I thought this would be a fun thing to attempt with the kids on our road trips.  It wasn’t until I downloaded our trip pictures that I realized  that on our two days away, we had already managed to take 4 other pictures with interesting statues.  Most Mallory chose on her own, and one (for old time sake) I helped recreate.  Apparently it was in our destiny to make our 102nd thing come to life…