Dad, My Doll Needs A Spaceship.

My daughter did very well at our garage sale last weekend.  She picked a number of her toys to sell and made a nice little profit.  She reduced the number of stuffed animals in her collection by about 12...so roughly a 3% reduction.  She also let go of a large box of old toys.  We decided that anything that didn't sell would go to Good Will. She was thrilled to make some money and wanted to go to the store right away! She'd had her eye on a new doll.  This wasn't your average doll!  A new line of dolls called Novi Stars has come out...it's a bit like Barbie as an alien with an alien pet.
She willingly and excitedly payed her money for Una Verse and her pet Molecule. Here's a quick video from the manufacturer...

As she showed me her new doll, she asked a question that would bring joy to any geek dad. "Dad, could we make a spaceship for my new doll?  I kind of thought I could help you build something I can put her in."

Over the last few days, we took some time after homework was finished and we scrounged around the house looking for some parts.  I told her about how I used to make toys when I was her age because we didn't have much money.  How, sometimes, those toys were more fun than the ones we could buy.  We put all the pieces in the shop and then we started building.  She had a good idea of what she wanted.  She guided me as I connected, fabricated and assembled the pieces.  We talked about school, how excited she is to start Band, and why alien dolls make so much sense.

I helped her paint the ship, and then it was time to bedazzle it.  You see, if 9 year old girls were engineers, spaceships would have bling.  I taught her how to use the glue gun, and broke out the jewels...

In a short couple of days we had the ship finished. I offered to add some stripes and other detail, but she said "No, dad...it's perfect just like it is".  As soon as the paint and jewels were dry, she was ready to take it out for a landing with her new doll.

There are days ahead as she grows into a teenager and eventually an adult that I know we won't agree. That's part of life.  For now, though, she thinks I'm pretty cool...I can build spaceships, make the best cheese popcorn, help with math, snuggle when a thunderstorm hits in the middle of the night and tell silly jokes.  I'm fine with that...just fine.