Last year, when Little Ted accompanied me to the Decorate Downtown event, we had to work around 5,000 people queuing Downtown waiting to receive a free turkey from the back of an 18 wheeler courtesy of one of the larger local Downtown law firms. This year the DMD Marketing Committee decided to bring the event forward one week to avoid this conflict. So, normally decorated the weekend before Thanksgiving, Downtown has taken on a somewhat early festive look. My helper this year was Eddie and I have to admit that she only agreed to help me if I took her to the mall after the event. (10 going on 16)
Eddie helps to distribute the pizza
However, even although she was bribed to help her Daddy, she was in fact very helpful and carried the garland and bows to each lamppost and then wrapped the garland around each pole as I returned to firm ground to secure the bottom end of the garland with a zip tie. We decorated two streets this way and also managed to visit with other groups of volunteers to record their efforts in photographs and video. 
Click the icon for a link to the Youtube video we made of the event. After everyone was finished we returned to the House of Rock on Starr Street for a pizza and soda lunch.
Eddie in toy mode
Eddie in teenage mode
No sooner had the pizza and soda been consumed but I was reminded of the price my daughter’s help commanded and so it was off to La Palmera Mall where Eddie had very specific ideas about which shops we were going to visit. Picking up a directory on the way in I was impressed with my little girl’s navigation of the mall utilising the map. It was a confusing time for me as I was led from store to store first looking at 10 year old toy like things then moving on to clothing and jewelry type stuff more toward the 16 year old spectrum (I imagine – what would I know,
Eddie standing on "Mr Fishy"
I’m just the Daddy) Eddie purchased a stuffed toy (category 1 I suspect) and appeared to be very keen to remain within sight of her Daddy. Then she disappeared amongst the jewelry and seemed quite content to not know where I had gone. (For the avoidance of my dear wife’s doubt – I always knew the whereabouts of our daughter!) Eddie was determined to purchase earrings and took much time selecting a pair of little yellow ducks; sadly I felt the need of telephone consultation with Mommy who delivered the sad news that Eddie’s choice was not of suitable quality. It’s an allergy thing, we know from past experience that if Eddie wears anything “cheap” she will suffer an allergic reaction and so precious metal is the way to go. Thinking to avoid disappointment I heard myself say “Never mind Pet, I’ll take you to the Treehouse Art Collective on the way home”. And so it was to be that we visited the Treehouse, Eddie bought two pairs of suitable earrings, and she got to visit with Mr Fishy again (the 10 year old coming out again I guess).
And so the denouement of our Daddy / daughter day drew to a close. We headed home via Aransas Pass to collect Little Ted who had been staying with a friend overnight. When we picked him up he was full of horse riding stories the likes of which he might wish to moderate prior to enthusing to his mother – just saying.
Little Ted with "the attached bike"
On Sunday Little Ted volunteered to get started with our training for the 2012 Conquer the Coast bicycle event. I thought he had forgotten all about it or simply didn’t want to take part. However, like the proverbial elephant, Little Ted has a) remembered and b) decided to eat the task one bite at a time – starting today! Of course there was a catch. He also remembered that, when suggesting that an eight year old cycle 65 miles with me, I had told him we would use “the attached bike”. When he is 9 going on 10 he will be much bigger and heavier and therefore, in my opinion, able to use his own bike. This is not his view at all.
Little Ted and Ted
Anyway I am grateful for anything he is happy to do with his Daddy and so we put the bike together and set off to the local park to begin our training with a 6.5 mile cycle. I’m thinking he has his sights set on the time trial stage of Conquer the Coast (dream on mate!) as he was obsessed with reaching 21mph in the park. I have told him that I once reached 42mph going downhill from Scotland into England and so he decided 21 mph would be a fair target for us (for us read the Daddy engine) to reach on a flat course. We did achieve that speed and Little Ted went to sleep early and exhausted. (Still not sure quite how he comes to be the exhausted one!)
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