Princesses

Hi folks,

So, as a father, I feel like I've dropped the ball somewhat.  I swore to myself, back when I first found out I was having a daughter, that I would never end up raising one of those 'pretty, pretty princess' girls.  No daughter of Col. Brian J. Hough would ever grow up idolizing Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella.


Screw that.


My daughters would end up liking pirates, Star Wars, and punk rock.  They'd wear throwback tees, dye their hair, and blast rock and roll.  For Halloween, they'd want to dress up like Boba Fett, not Rapunzel.

Yet here we are.

This year, we decided to let the Cannonball pick out her own Halloween costume.  Last year, we steered her into the Punk Rocker direction, and while that was a sweet costume - and despite the fact that we got continuous positive feedback throughout last year's Halloween weekend - she really didn't pick the ensemble out herself.  We were more or less living vicariously through our daughter.

...and I always thought parents that did that sort of thing were lame.

So now Halloween is almost upon us, once again.  This year, Alayna is choosing her own costume, and she wants to be Rapunzel from Disney's Tangled.

I have officially raised one of those girls.  Obsessed with Disney princesses, an avid supporter of all things 'pink,' and a sucker for anything with thin-waisted cartoon characters plastered across it.  On the plus side, having raised such a child plays out in our favor - there's a ton of bullshit out there with the Disney Princesses on it.  Dolls, books, toys, clothing, home decor, movies, accessories, you name it.

...And gigantic, frickin' vehicles.

One day, while out scouring local garage sales, Kris stumbled across a Disney Princess PowerWheel in nearly pristine condition.  It was missing a AA-battery cover on the dashboard, and there was no battery charger with it, but that's seriously about it.  Initially the people selling it were asking $50, which is a steal considering this particular model - a Little Tikes two-seater Disney Princess Jeep - retails for around $300.

Well, as luck would have it, this was a charity garage sale, and they were taking donations.  Kris dropped off a bunch of baby clothes that Abby had already grown out of, as well as a horrible stroller we had picked up at a similar garage sale a year earlier for $5 (and only used once) and a few other toys.  Taking this all into consideration, the people offered to give Kris the PowerWheel for $30.

Alas, Kris only had a $20 on her, and offered to drive out to the bank and withdraw more cash for it, but the sellers wouldn't hear of it.  They gave it to us for $20!!

Or, in other words, 93% off.  That's somewhat of a good deal, right?


Shittin'-A, it is.

- Brian