Luke M. Perez

My professional life might be going sideway right now—long story for another day—but the last week and half has been full of good family fun. The weekend before last my wife and I called an audible and took the kids to the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. It’s about an hour from Columbus, very close to the Buc-ee’s. We of course stopped to get our fill before the Europeans discovered the glory and greatness of that august American institution.

The USAF Museum is wonderful. At over a quarter mile in length, covering four large hangers, it is impossible to see everything in one visit. We wanted to take the kids to a Star Wars fighters. The exhibit has a tie-fighter and x-wing at life-side scale.

I really enjoyed the World War II displays; and my wife, usually indifferent about military things, pestered me questions about aircraft design. My boys, however, out gunned her (pun intended) with their rapid fire questions about planes, rockets, bombs, and everything a 7 and 10 year old can imagine. At the end of a very fast three hour visit, we surpassed ten thousand steps.

We followed up that weekend with time at the pool and then, last Tuesday, finally made it to Dime-a-Dog Night at the Columbus Clippers. We ordered 30 hot dogs and took more home than we ate, but perhaps on account that our friends who joined us gave us their leftovers. If asked to list how many I ate, I will plead the fifth. But the kids did not go hungry that night.

This weekend was an epic packed weekend. On Friday we had back-to-back events, watching the USMNT game at Columbus Commons and then met the Thunderbirds at the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. Commons was packed and we couldn’t get a good view of the giant screens. So we left at the half to finish at a local brewery that had the game and an outdoor seating area for families to watch. My 10 year old is starting to get into soccer. I was happy to oblige his budding interest.

Later that night, my kids met the 2026 Thunderbirds. My 5 year old was especially interested in meeting the “girl pilots”. They were so kind to her and bent down to talk to her at her level. I bet they did that for all the kids, but it makes for a special memory for kids when their heroes meet them where they are.

Saturday was my 12th anniversary with my wife. Between the newborn, my dad’s death in February, and the uncertainty about the future, we didn’t plan for a big weekend away. Instead we took the kids to see Toy Story 5 in the morning followed by a quick meet up with a friend from college who was in town (I’ve not seen him in 15-ish years). And then my sister-in-law watched the big kids while my wife and I went to dinner.

Toy Story was great. I was hopeful but worried that it wouldn’t hold up. So many franchises stumble and the odds of making a dud grow higher with each iteration. I was much relieved. My wife and I weren’t expecting the big reveal that reminded us of Paco. (No spoilers but IYKYK). But man did we cry.

Dinner was great. We went to the restaurant that we visited for our first anniversary. We moved a few months later for me to finish my PhD and haven’t been back. And since we might have to move again soon, we wanted to ensure we snuck this in. It was a surreal experience to be back after eleven years, fifth kid in tow. The manager paid for our dessert which made the night extra special.

Not to be outdone, since Sunday was Father’s Day my kids wanted to something for me. So they got to “surprise” me by taking me to the Air Show at Rickenbacker Air Force Base. And by “surprise”, I mean I bought the tickets and pretended to be surprised when my kids told me on Sunday morning. We had a blast. My wife stayed home—we thought it would be too loud for the baby—so it was just me and the big kids. My old Air Guard unit was there with a plane I used to work on. My daughter made us go back a second time so she could see “daddy’s plane.” I chatted with a few of the current maintainers who knew some of my old colleagues who were still in the unit.