by Big Brown Dad | Jun 1, 2018 | Play Date
Dads, we must wipe away our snot and snivel because our daughters are counting on us to look our damned dandiest at this year’s Father-Daughter Dance.
In fact, take these 3 simple tips with you as you venture bravely into the jiggly, giggly, wiggly night
1. Get Dressed Fresh To Death
Set aside your basketball shorts and slip on some slacks, Daddy Mack. It’ll make the night all the more memorable, plus you paid $45 for those Dockers and you shouldn’t have to wait for another wedding to wear them.
Your daughter (and wife) will appreciate the gesture.
I hope you liked grilled cheese. Or waffle fries. Or white rice with catsup. Kids liked the darndest things and tonight, it’s her choice. She chooses the location. OR, if you’re up for it, you can surprise her with a trip to a place you know she likes. Adding a layer of surprise raises the level of fun for the night.
Can you whip? Can you nae-nae? How about the sprinkler? The mash potato? I hope you have something in the tank because YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED to stand against the wall. Get out there and boogie, buster.
Also, take a ton of pics. You won’t regret it.
by Big Brown Dad | Aug 27, 2017 | Play Date
Kids are often confused by the injustice they see in the world, and many of them have an impulse to do something about it. As responsible parents and engaged citizens, it’s our responsibility to support these big ideas by seizing, believing in and evangelizing our child’s BIG idea for a more just society.
This is something my wife Angie Covarrubias Aguilar and I learned while helping our 6 year old-daughter, Maya, start The Cozy Collection. The Cozy Collection is a project that gathers donated socks and blankets for the homeless in the San Gabriel Valley.
So, what counts as a “BIG” idea?
A BIG idea is one that tackles a global challenge at the local level. Focusing on BIG ideas helps your kid understand the connections between the larger world and her community.
Issues like poverty, access to water and jobs, clean energy and civil rights all have both local and global faces.
1. Seize
Listen for what excites and/or concerns your kid and then grab hold. Listening is passive but SEIZING AN IDEA requires a layer of attentiveness that prompts the listener (YOU) to ask questions.
The Cozy Collection was started after Maya noticed a homeless person at a freeway exit. She wanted to help by giving him the money she’d set aside for my birthday gift. Angie Covarrubias Aguilar seized the moment and asked Maya what she might do that would have a greater impact than a one time gift. Maya decided she wanted to help the homeless stay warm during Winter and The Cozy Collection was founded.
Our kids will surprise us with their kindness and concern for others. Let’s seize that.
2. Believe
True belief is an act of both mind and body, faith and works. In order to give your kids’ big ideas some legs, you’ll have to provide the foundational support. C’mon, they’re just kids after all.
You need to believe your work will have an impact. And you need to back that up with some action. So, your kid wants to start a project to clean up the pollution at his school. Now, it’s on you to put something together to keep the momentum. Don’t let it die with you, Dad. Who will you email? What goal can you set? What’s the deadline?
Our first order of business was to decide on a name and Maya jumped right in with The Cozy Collection. We found an organization that we could support with the donations, The Mercy House in Ontario and set a date for delivery.
We reached out to family, friends and local businesses. The Cozy Collection gathered over 1k pairs of socks in the first year, 3k pairs in the 2nd year and we’re hoping for 5k pairs this year.
Don’t let doubt ruin this opportunity to have a life long service project with your family.
3. Evangelize
Tell people what your family is up to. They want to help. Let them surprise you. Start an FB page, attend parenting conferences, tell the local AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization), tell your kids’ principals and teachers, neighbors and businesses.
Open your self up to the joy that a big idea can bring to your family.
This September, Maya received the Claremont Community Hero Award at the LA County Fair. And now her 5 year old brother, Joauqin, has joined the effort.
Joy, joy, joy.
You can learn more about The Cozy Collection by watching the video below:
Carlos Aguilar
Big Brown Dad
by Melissa Ramon | Jul 30, 2015 | Play Date
If you’ve ever driven on the 5 South to San Diego I’m sure you have seen these signs from the freeway.
Who knew that about 5 minutes up the street from here there would be an amazing park for the whole family? Cedar Grove Park in Tustin Ranch is just 10 minutes from Santa Ana and is full of nature, trails, open space and distinct play areas for kids!
Cedar Grove Park 11385 Pioneer Rd Tustin, CA 92782
Run kids, run!
My daughter is a ball of energy; this park has so much to do and see that when we strategically plan a visit before bedtime it’s the earliest and easiest bedtime of the week!
There are three main play areas for the kids, a basketball court, huge cedar grove trail, an amphitheater, and a covered entertaining space (with tables and benches, we see people host baby showers and bday parties here every weekend). You and your family can spend all day here.
The first kid’s area is the covered play structure where they can be heard planning their latest pirate ship attack:
This area is really well thought out and is beyond safe. All the kids seem to be drawn to the reptile and amphibian residents who (I’m not gonna lie) are a little creepy but inspire great adventures.
The second area is over a troll’s bridge and has some modern art looking climbing structures and two baby and toddler swings.
This park makes me wish I was a kid again!
Play area #3 has been taken over by the kids but is an exercise space for everyone. Maybe one day I will be bold enough to work out with my 4 yr old…hmmm…on second thought let the kids have it!
At the back of the park is a trail that leads to an 8 mile hike called the Peters Canyon Hiking Trail. You can explore aquatic animals all year from this underground spring-fed creek. The park and the surrounding canyon areas are so expansive it’s easy for one to find some zen and a nice escape from the city here.
by Big Brown Dad | May 29, 2015 | Play Date
Before Maverick and Goose were slapping together uncoordinated high-fives, the San Gabriel Valley had squadrons of Mexican-American kids strafing imaginary flight towers from the grounds of Palm View Park in West Covina.
You might be surprised to learn that the plane at Palm View is an actual F-86D Sabre Jet, the backbone of American mainland defense in the 50s. During the Korean conflict, the F-86D made the MiG 15 its yeoja.
The Palm View Park Plane in service circa 1955
In the early 60’s, enterprising civic organizations from West Covina coordinated the relocation of the plane to Palm View. They’ll be happy to know, kids from far and wide have been pissing in it, on it and around it for decades.
But sunlight and time are disinfectants, so I let Joaquin have at it.
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Dad is my Co-Pilot
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Eject! Eject! Eject!
The park is good insofar as it has 2 distinct play areas for kids of varying dexterity.
Play Area #1
Play Area #2
it’s empty bc Joaquin doesn’t play that baby shit.
While the park provided plenty of options for fun, we were appalled by the amount of trash littering the playground. I took pictures.
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Empty Bag of Weed
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Picnic @ Palm View
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Then Dessert!
I started to see a story emerge in the trash. Someone got faded, ate lunch then dessert and then bounced.
As concerned as I was by the litter, I wasn’t bout to pick that shit up.
The Lord knows I wasn’t bout to touch this:
But this? Wait, what is…that…
Presidents found dead at Palm View Park
Now that’s some trash I CAN pick up. I asked Joaquin if we should take the money to the park office or blow it on ice cream and he asked what time Baskin Robbins opened.
Big Brown Dad
by Big Brown Dad | Jan 11, 2015 | Play Date
Kelby Park 815 N Barranca Covina, Ca
Covina has parks aplenty, each distinctive.
See my reviews of Hollenbeck, Heritage and The Secret Park.
I’ve had my eye on Kelby Park for sometime. It offers a vast expanse of green space, perfect for picnics, soccer, football, racing, freeze-tag, three-flies-up, volleyball and indelible grass stains.
The distance from parking lot to playground is 91 furloughs.
Kelby’s playground, though, can be a source of worry for parents with kids under 5 years old.
And the Devil said, “This play area has been designed for children 5-12 years of age.”
According to the signage, the playground is rated for kids up to 12 years old. First, If your 12 year old is still having fun with swings and slides, consider yourself very lucky…or very unlucky, I can’t call it.
On my view, parks in Covina would be better utilized if they included kids ages 3 and up in their design plans and let the 10-12 year olds commence with drug use and snap chat. Really tho.
Of course, since Jocko can’t read, and because I have unreasonable expectations of my kid(s), I allowed him to rush the playground unencumbered by the shackles of fear…and reason.
“Dad, do you have the Kaiser card on you?”
Now, as far as I can tell, Kelby Park has the best slides in Covina. Take a look at Big Red and Lil’ Red Rivers. Jocko rode both of them till the paint started to rub off on his clothes.
Big Red: high velocity, difficult dismount.
Lil Red Rivers: slippery but scalable.
But their swing set is wack. It lacks child seats for heaven’s sake!
Swingle and ready to Mingle.
But what disturbs me most about the park is the lackluster signage–as in, it can’t be read from the street because it lacks an adequate amount of luster. This must change…now!
mas luster, por favor.
Please, if you love your children, send your donations to the Mas Luster Foundation and help us fight the blight.
Big Brown Dad
by Big Brown Dad | Sep 20, 2014 | Play Date
Del Norte Park, 1598 W Rowland, West Covina, 91790
This highly prized park has attracted unauthorized migrants from Covina, Baldwin Park and Irwindale for decades. And for good reason. It. has. it. all.
It sports an expansive playground with a NASA motif.
Houston, we have reports of urine in Sector 6.
And a dog park.
Houston, we have reports of urine in Sector 9.
And a splash pad, too.
Hou guessed it.
It was a great place for Joaquin to make new friends.
follow me, boo.
And at least one enemy. Take a listen for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsc4xMRPcjI
I guess now is when I tell you they were arguing over who was going to pay for shorty’s lunch.
by Big Brown Dad | Jul 29, 2014 | Play Date
I had the good fortune of attending Occidental College during the height of its commitment to a diverse campus.
Exhibit A: 1998 Graduation Party
I met PK (far right) my first day at Oxy and learned we shared an appreciation for the bible, sports and laughter. He’s since burned his bible and given up on winning (he’s a Clipper’s fan) but he hasn’t stopped making people laugh. He’s Founder of Kollaboration and a host of Asian Nights at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. And now he’s dropping a guest blog (w/video) for Big Brown Dad. Enjoy!
Hey Everyone,
One of BBD’s Occidental College roommate’s here, Small Yellow Dad. My name is PK and I’m a proud father of two, soon to be three. I’m terrified of having a third because financially we are just getting by and I need to make more money. I already know its making me a better person overall because I’m being more frugal with my spending and eliminating things I don’t need.
In addition, I’ve been cutting down on the “adult entertainment” that I watch as a married dad. I know you’re not supposed to watch any of it, but let’s be real…
the access is too easy. I REALLY Worry about the next generation and their access to porn. It is just way too easy. I remember when I was growing up, I went to the local bookstore and had to imprint the image of a sports illustrated issue in my mind to get excited. Now its just ridiculous and I’m just as guilty as anyone. God help us all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP0MBy0eQAQ
Be sure to follow PK @
www.youtube.com/channelpktown
www.instagram.com/channelpktown
www.twitter.com/channelpktown
by Big Brown Dad | Jul 17, 2014 | Play Date
The name Hollenbeck is enough to throw any Los Angeleno’s intestines into a tizzy.
intestinitus fortitudinis
It’s a legendary mammoth burrito from Boyle Heights whose namesake was one of Southern California’s earliest real estate magnates–straight tycoon status.
Hi, I used to own your entire hood.
Covina’s Hollenbeck Park is named after the same cat. And sho’ nuff, like the burrito, the park can be a tummy turner.
The playground is rated for kids 5-12 which means my 2 year old needs constant supervision. I don’t understand the reasoning behind having any city park unavailable to such a large swathe of park-goers, kids ages 2-4.
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This? Yeah, I got this.
The remainder of the park is a mixed-bag: it has a great basketball court that nobody uses; there are sizable green-spaces usually taken up by an organized sport; there’s great shade but zero BBQ grills; there are 6 swings but zero with baby guards.
So, if you plan to make a playdate of Hollenbeck Park bring some water and some Tums and if you have a chance, stop by Manny’s and grab me one of these:
soiling sheets since 1849.
If my son can scale the Pyramid of Pain, I can do this!
Truly,
BigBrownDad
by Big Brown Dad | Jul 14, 2014 | Play Date
Listen, I can’t tell you where exactly this park is located. Nor can I tell you the name.
It’s a secret.
All I can tell you is that we stumbled across this pleasant patch of paradise while looking for a shortcut to downtown Starbucks.
I know, I’ve said too much already.
Like most parents, I’m looking for a park with decent shade and age-appropriate activities. The trees line the westerly perimeter and provide great shade in the afternoon. And the park is one of the few in the city rated for kids as young as 2.
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go, go, go, go, go, go, STOP!
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baby swings, FTW!
This means you won’t have to spend every second hovering over your yungin’ as he attempts to scale the formidable obstacles like the Wall of Death at Hollenbeck Park or The Ladder of Lost Tears at Joslyn Park.
This park isn’t without its problems though. First, there’s a train track near the park (clue #3!). This means a train is barreling thru and tooting its horn hella loud, hella often. I’ve seen it scare kids with less than steely resolve.
Another problem is this shameful construction oversight, likely the result of a lazy supervisor.
they all…fall…down.
The design allows for an optional floor board to be placed between the two platforms. The slots for the nuts and bolts are right there. Instead, there’s a 18″ dip that kids fall into time and time again.
And then there’s this:
false advertisement much?
We searched high and low, on top of trees and under the litter that the grandmother who was babysitting 8 kids left (WE SAW YOU, LADY!). Yet and still…no see-saw.
Use the clues provided here to cruise the city and find your way to this park. It’s a quiet alternative to the hustle and bustle of the Covina’s more visible parks. And if you see a grandmother with 8 children, ranging from from 1-12 years old, reading a trashy supermarket romance novel in between flipping thru her phone and doling out Cheeze-Its, make sure she picks up her shit!
by Big Brown Dad | Apr 28, 2014 | Play Date
This is an exceptionally safe micro-park with an extraordinarily dull playground. Heritage Park is connected to the Covina Police Station which means you won’t find any of the ‘drifters’ here that you’ll find at Hollenbeck or Covina Parks. While the playground is tiny, it’s a great place to spend 15 minutes working off some energy before strolling through Old Town Covina. And it’s dog friendly, too!
floor fountain for Fido.
Slide. Slide. Slippity, Slide.
by Big Brown Dad | Apr 24, 2014 | Play Date
You can’t front. Before the home gaming systems explosion of the late 80’s, Chuck E Cheese restaurants were the lick. Tempest was my joint. Centipede, my jam.
Launched by Atari founder, Nolan Bushnell, in 1977 the chains 500 restaurants have seen brighter days. As it turns out, switching Chuck’s swag from hip hop to rock had their dough looking like their dough.
Chuck lost…weight, a hockey jersey and street-cred.
This past Saturday I was sitting on some left-over tokens from a b-day party earlier this month. So I rounded up Maya & Joaquin @ 8:45 am, determined to be the first in line to squeeze life from this 8-bit reliquary.
Chuck E Cheese is fashioned after old-time Vegas casinos: alternative currency, absence of clocks, robo-tainment and disgusting food. But it remains a great place to keep kids occupied. Always the concerned Father, I established two inviolable rules:
- We leave as soon as we run out of tokens.
- Don’t put your mouth on anything, especially the pizza. CEC has always been more petri dish than deep dish.
holding a half-hour in my hand.
Gimme the loot! Gimme the loot!
Score!
Beep. Buzz. Bam.
Alashazam.
22 minutes later, we were ghost! And 45 minutes later, Joaquin asleep.
