The weekend is almost here which means that while work emails may subside, your other bosses (your kids) will be demanding your undivided attention. Finding things to keep them occupied while maintaining your own sanity can often seem like a losing battle. That’s why we’ve come up with a few simple activities that will keep your kids entertained without breaking the bank.

Here are three ideas to help you as a parent make the most out of family time and maybe even have a little fun yourself.

Take a Hike

Luckily there are often places within 15-20 minutes of where you live that offer miles of trails and natural attractions that you’ve likely passed by many times on your daily commute.

Head over to Google and search for “Hiking trails near me”. Chances are you’ll discover dozens of destinations you’ve likely never considered. While these trails may not have high-end amenities or breathtaking views, they each offer a unique look at local foliage and wildlife.

Also consider searching for wildlife preserves, conservatories, and Audubon societies. These organizations, often supported by individuals in the community as well as national initiatives, showcase nature in the least intrusive way possible by providing access to areas that highlight your areas unique topography and wildlife, all while paying respect to its preservation for generations to come.

Batter Up!

In a nod to America’s favorite pastime, why not load up the entire crew and head to your local batting cages? Beyond letting you relive your former glory days, these family-friendly locales are geared towards every age group with speeds that range from slow to blazing. With all the equipment you’ll need, its an easy spur-of-the-moment adventure that requires nothing but your family and of course your wallet. Watch for specials and group discounts to get the most bang for your buck.

In addition, these establishments often have other activities such as mini-golf or driving ranges on site or near-by. Grab an ice-cream or hot dog at the concession stand and make a day out of it!

Scale New Heights

These man-made monuments can be found at your local gym, community center and even at specialized “Ninja” training facilities that have now become fixtures of major cities and main streets alike. Beyond rock walls, these “ninja gyms” have dozens of familiar obstacles featured on the internationally known television series, all designed with different age levels and abilities in mind.

Day passes are typically available for most of these facilities and many offer open houses for the community to come in and try out the facility free of charge. Check first to see if any local parks have rock walls to try before committing to anything too large for their first time.

Whatever you decide to do this weekend, remember your kids are getting older every day and so are you. Try to keep up with them while you can, supervise and encourage them when you can’t, and most importantly, treasure every moment because it all goes by quicker than a fastball at the batting cages.

For more suggestions check out last week’s 3 Things to Do With Your Kids.

When you’re a Jedi, the temptation of the dark side is always there. Every single Star Wars movie (at least in the heretofore 8 films of the Skywalker cycle) deals with the conflict between the darkness and the light, and we’ve seen several characters both struggle to resist the dark side and fall prey to it.

The new trilogy has been no different, as we’ve seen Kylo Ren turn to the dark side after feeling betrayed by Luke, and then fully embracing it by killing his own father to cement his loyalty to the Sith. He’s the bad guy this time around, that much is clear.

Or is it?

The Last Jedi seemed to flirt with the idea that Rey might succumb to evil, but by the end, with Luke’s help, she seemed to dismiss any allegiance to Kylo Ren and the First Order and stick with the Rebellion. But new footage from Disney’s D23 fan expo may complicate that idea.

Fans in attendance at D23 got to see the cast take the stage to discuss the new movie (December 20th) and unveil Rise of Skywalker’s poster – featuring the Emperor’s sinister visage.

Then they watched a sizzle reel with footage of a thrilling lightsaber battle between Rey and Kylo Ren.

EW described the footage:

Images include a duel between Rey and Kylo Ren amid a stormy sea (transposed into a space backdrop on the poster). There’s a massive fleet of Star Destroyers. There’s a new shot of Darth Vader’s helmet. There’s Finn (John Boyega) and a new character named Jannah (Naomi Ackie) together in a cockpit. C-3PO with red eyes. A new glimpse of Leia (the late Carrie Fisher). A gang of heroes approaching a bustling desert city. But the shot that truly stunned the crowd was a scene with Rey in a hooded black robe revealing an unfolding red double-sided lightsaber (Darth Rey?!).

It’s that last bit that has the internet buzzing. Will Rey turn? Fans are skeptical.

So…Rey having a red lightsaber and wearing Sith robes HAS to be misdirect….RIGHT?! #RiseOfSkywalker

— Brad Hughes (@viewswithhughes) August 25, 2019

Rey’s going to see herself in a vision. Hello? Didn’t anyone see The Empire Strikes Back? pic.twitter.com/REWSKCkEhZ

— Lauren ✨ Gallaway (@LaurenGallaway) August 24, 2019

But some can see it happening:

i have pivoted from “it’s a vision” to “ooh damn rey goin bad” pic.twitter.com/jSRIg9I8fT

— lindsey romain (@lindseyromain) August 25, 2019

It’s a testament to @jjabrams and @rianjohnson that they’ve managed to craft a trilogy that is at once familiar and yet, at every turn, completely surprising.

That I can believe Rey could possibly go dark is due to their stewardship of Star Wars .

— Adam Lance Garcia (@AdamLanceGarcia) August 25, 2019

The actress herself is even teasing the possibility:

Daisy Ridley is definitely selling us on this idea of Dark Rey. Here’s what she told me: “I mean, the evidence is on the screen. Take that evidence as you will. But there’s no smoke without fire.”

📹 @ArjunaRamgopal #starwarstheriseofskywalker #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/7fjI1Ykzv2

— Kevin Polowy (@djkevlar) August 25, 2019

Rumor has it the footage from D23 will be online as early as Monday (fingers crossed), so we’ll be able to judge and speculate, for ourselves. But regardless of Rey’s fate, the cast is hyped for the final film of the Skywalker saga. Just take it from C-3PO himself:

“It’s hard for me to understand the story is ending,” Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) told the Expo crowd. “But what an ending. You’ll love it.”

Ever since the news broke that a Breaking Bad movie was on in development, we’ve been here filling in the details as they emerged. From the initial logline and vague synopsis to casting information and cryptic tweets, we’ve been sharing it all.

Just a few days ago, Bob Odenkirk revealed that the movie had wrapped, and what once seemed a pipe dream was confirmed to be in the pipeline. And now we have the premiere date, the title, and first footage. YEAH BITCH!

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, hits Netflix on October 11th (and will be aired on AMC at an unspecified later date), and is newly described this way:

“In the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity, Jesse must come to terms with his past in order to forge some kind of future.”

Written and directed by series creator Vince Gilligan, and starring Aaron Paul, who was thrilled to be back in Jesse Pinkman’s shoes, even if he didn’t realize it at first.

“It’s a chapter of ‘Breaking Bad’ that I didn’t realize that I wanted,” Paul told the New York Times. “And now that I have it, I’m so happy that it’s there.”

He assumed the character was finished after the series ended. “It was a hard, emotional thing for all of us,” Paul said. “And when the finale happened, we all got together and hugged it out and said I love you. And that was it.”

And then he received a call from Vince Gilligan about revisiting Jesse in a movie. He was skeptical, and then he read the script.

“I couldn’t speak for a good 30, 60 seconds,” he said. “I was just lost in my thoughts. As the guy who played the guy, I was so happy that Vince wanted to take me on this journey.”

And now we all have our first glimpse of it. It isn’t much, but it is Skinny Pete, discussing Jesse’s plight during the final season of the show, as the cops press him for information on his friend’s whereabouts.

Like us, Skinny Pete doesn’t know where Jesse is, but this October we’ll all find out.

“My best friend for almost twenty years was a man called Komani. He was a Zambian, and I met him when I started visiting Zambia as a Christian pastor in 1996.

He too was a pastor, and of all the things we had in common, the things I loved about him most were his unique sense of humour and his devotion to his family. He told me proudly of his four daughters in our first conversation.

Over the years, as my family moved to Zambia, we got to know him and his wife Prisca so much better. Through extreme trials, when everything about who we were and what we were doing was under threat, he was doggedly loyal and stood in our defence, even when it cost him.

Seven years ago, at the age of 44, he suffered a devastating stroke that robbed him of his speech, and a year later he died.

Prisca and his young girls were heartbroken. We knew that whatever we could do, we should, to stand with them as he stood with us. And whenever it has been possible for us to stand in the gap for them as they have pursued their education and their dreams, we have done so.

Saturday (24th August) was my proudest day, as his eldest daughter Taona asked me to give her away at her wedding. A bittersweet moment knowing how he would have loved to do it himself, but what an honour to do it for him.”

– Nick Lugg

Want to share a story about fatherhood? Email fatherfigures@thedad.com

Check out the previous editions of Father Figures here.

For over a decade, Nintendo and Sega have collaborated to bring us the ultimate video game mashup between their flagship characters in Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, but things are getting a bit interesting in preparation for the next year’s summer games.

Mario, Sonic, and all of their pals will be returning for Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Tokyo Games 2020, and this time they’re getting the retro treatment for ten “Classic Events” that use 2D sprites and environments.

This new game mode throws all of the mainstay characters back to the 1964 Olympics (also held in Tokyo) where they will rock their classic 8- and 16-bit looks in various events. Team Mario will include Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser from 1985’s Super Mario Bros. while Sonic’s squad of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Doctor Eggman will by styled after 1992’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

The graphical differences are not very subtle, but gamers from the ’80s and ’90s will probably be too busy dripping in all the nostalgia to care.

Plus, the minigames actually look pretty fun and engaging, requiring quick button presses and combinations in order to come out on top. For example, the long jump event pauses as the player reaches the sandpit, prompting the player to quickly select the angle of the jump. A diving event requires the player to perform increasingly difficult button combinations—hit the wrong button and all you’ll achieve is a dramatic belly flop.

Ready to jump back in time with your favorite video game characters as you remember them? Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Tokyo Games 2020 for the Nintendo Switch hits store shelves November 5th, 2019.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers wants what every football fan wants: cheaper beer prices. Rodgers, answering a reporter’s question about the ridiculous foghorn the Packers experimented with, said he’s in favor of anything that will make fans as loud as possible and that slashing beer prices is a good idea.

Yes, it’s obviously a pretty great idea to cut beer prices at sporting events. Spending more than $8 for a Bud Light is something that only happens at professional sporting events. You will be hard-pressed to find too many enemies of cheaper beer.

That being said, football attendance has been dropping steadily over the past few years, and that’s not just because the game is so much easier to watch on TV. Obscenely drunk and utterly hopeless fans have also done more than their part to tarnish the game day experience. I can’t remember the last time I went to an NFL game and didn’t see someone in my section who made me immediately think “this guy’s a problem.”

And that’s a problem that isn’t going away with cheaper beer prices. Ultimately, I think this entire campaign is a way for Rodgers to get people to forget about the fact that he’s by far the worse quarterback when it comes to chugging a beer.

What an offseason for NFL QBs 🍺

(via @Bucks, kbstafford89/IG, mackdemp26/IG and @Ky1eLong) pic.twitter.com/i6JJjDktoU

— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) August 4, 2019

Cheap beer does help the on-field product: At least that was the case for the minor league soccer team in Phoenix. Some of their most highly-attended games are for their $1 beer promotions. And, over the four years they’ve been doing it, it is working. The team has put together an incredible unbeaten streak during $1 nights, going an impressive 13-0-0.

It’s quite simple. Sell beers for $1. Win matches.

Check out @espn’s profile on the magic of $1 Beer Night.https://t.co/WybR4EScph

— Phoenix Rising FC (@PHXRisingFC) August 20, 2019

While everyone loves $1 beer, I don’t know that anyone loves it as much as this kid loves his foul ball he snagged. Watching the video, it takes all of a 0.5 seconds for this kid to fall completely in love with the piece of rubber wrapped in rawhide.

Boy who got a foul ball at Royals game simply couldn’t contain his happiness https://t.co/Cxtq8WO9cq

— Sports Daily KC (@SportsDailyKC) August 22, 2019

UFC fighter Conor McGregor has been making news in recent weeks as a video was released showing him punching an old man in an Irish pub. McGregor has come out and said he was fully in the wrong for attacking the decades-older man. If you haven’t seen the video, it is not a good look for Conor. His form is terrible and the old man barely looks fazed. Not the image you want to project as one of the best fighters on the planet.

Mike Tyson, on the other hand, seems pretty chill when it comes to ex-fighters. And it’s probably due to the $40,000 of weed he said he smokes every month. Which…is a lot of weed. But, definitely the right kind of press to get if you were opening a marijuana-themed resort. We should encourage a lot more fighters to go this route. You end up with a podcast instead of aggressively punching the elderly in bars.

The Little League World Series had a lot of cool moments. We’ve covered some of them, including the first female player in the tournament in 5 years. This coach speaking to his team after a loss is definitely near the top, as it’s one of those goosebumpy sports movie-esque speeches.

“For the rest of my life, I’m proud that you

guys get to call me coach.”

This is what it’s all about

( @DoveMenCare) pic.twitter.com/mR3hRsEZrS

— ESPN (@espn) August 21, 2019

Even though many folks now get some form of leave when welcoming a new addition, the few weeks of paternity leave are often not quite long enough when it comes to bonding with your newborn.

So when MP Tāmati Coffey brought his son Tūtānekai to New Zealand’s House of Commons this past Wednesday, most of his fellow members were more than understanding. However, Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard took a more hands-on approach, taking over babysitting duties during a floor debate. From soothing and holding the young boy to feeding him a bottle, the Speaker did it all while presiding over a heated discussion between his fellow Parliament members.

A video surfaced showing the Speaker holding tiny Tūtānekai while two other members went back and forth, debating over policy.

Mallard, a father of three himself, posted a photo along with a message of congratulations to the new dad on his Twitter account. The tweet has been shared thousands of times this week, netting over 11,000 likes so far.

Normally the Speaker’s chair is only used by Presiding Officers but today a VIP took the chair with me. Congratulations @tamaticoffey and Tim on the newest member of your family. pic.twitter.com/47ViKHsKkA

— Trevor Mallard (@SpeakerTrevor) August 21, 2019

Fellow members also shared well wishes to the Coffey family, including MPs Gareth Hughes and Golriz Ghahraman:

Lovely to have a baby in the House, and what a beautiful one @tamaticoffey pic.twitter.com/EP6iP9eQES

— Gareth Hughes (@GarethMP) August 21, 2019

Who needs to see this today? Every single last one of us, that’s who. Here’s a brand new papa holding his new born in our House of Representatives right now 😭❤️ pic.twitter.com/NU00SHfKFT

— Golriz Ghahraman (@golrizghahraman) August 21, 2019

Although bringing your newborn to work isn’t as common here in the states, Coffey is hardly the first New Zealand politician to make headlines for such an act. Last September, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern brought her newborn to the United Nations in New York for her first speech to the general assembly.

While business goes on, and governments govern, welcoming a new baby into the world has a way of making most everyone stop and smile — as it should.

No matter how much time you spend planning the birth of your child, life often has a way of throwing a few curveballs. So when David and Alli Printz of Michigan welcomed their son Duke six weeks early, all of their planning and preparation was dashed in an instant.

Due to Alli having high blood pressure, doctors made the decision to induce over a month before her scheduled due date, a complication that left David with a dilemma. His family needed him by their side, but having no vacation time banked, David was set to do so without a paycheck. He called his employer and shared the news.

His boss hung up and immediately reached out to David’s fellow employees to see if they could all find a way to help. Their plan was to pool together their PTO and gift it to their coworker. Each of his fellow employees pitched in, granting David plenty of time to be there for Duke as well as his wife Alli and their older daughter.

It’s an amazing gesture that David says he’ll never forget. He shared details and photos in a recent Facebook post.

“It goes to show when someone is in need people will do the right thing, that’s humanity at its finest. I believe when people do the right thing out of the kindness of their hearts, they deserve to be acknowledged for it, so here I am shouting from the rooftop how eternally grateful I am to work with such selfless people. The world needs to know what was done for my family and I, we are beyond blessed.”

Despite his early arrival, baby Duke spent just two weeks in the hospital, and is now at home with his whole family and is doing well. David’s coworkers and friends, happy to play a small but powerful part in Duke’s story.

Whether it’s about new beginnings or the promise of the future, there’s something about welcoming a new baby into the world that oftentimes brings out the very best in us all.

Life can be ruff for a dog who ends up in an animal shelter. Fortunately, adoption agencies and organizations give these orphaned pets a second chance at a happy life. However, one lucky pup has pawsitively hit the jackpot with his new forever home.

Adopted by a family from California last year, Monte, a 2-year-old terrier mix, will now be strutting his stuff on the big (small) screen in Disney’s new live-action remake of Lady And The Tramp — set to premier on November 12.

The tail of Monte and the rest of him for that matter has been profiled by outlets around the world thanks to news of his humble beginnings. Halo Animal Rescue, who sheltered Monte before he was adopted, shared a photo of their former furry friend in a Twitter post touting his newfound fame.

Celebrity dog in our midst! Monte was adopted last year from HALO & originally came from Las Cruces, NM. Monte will be starring as "Tramp" in the new live action Disney movie according to this @People Exclusive https://t.co/d1LgLx9R0H #HALO25yrs #HelpingAnimalsLiveOn pic.twitter.com/u6kaBhgkJM

— HALO Animal Rescue (@HALORSQ) August 12, 2019

“He was adopted from us in April of 2018, and we knew that the people that were meeting with him were considering him to be a Hollywood star, but we didn’t know for what, because it was top secret,” HALO President Heather Allen told the Arizona Republic. “We knew he had the potential to become a Hollywood dog.”

Now Monte, along with his cocker spaniel co-star, Rose, are stealing hearts along with spaghetti in the newly released trailer that debuted this week.

Justin Theroux from HBO’s ‘The Leftovers’ voices Monte’s Tramp, with Lady getting her voice courtesy ‘WestWorld’ actress, Tessa Thompson.

While reactions have been mixed when it comes to Disney’s live-action reboots, the media giant doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. With the launch of their new streaming service, Disney+, the studio has said they’ll release dozens of new films and remakes over the next few years. Whether you’re a diehard fan of the originals or just looking for something new to entertain your kids, chances are you’ll soon have no shortage of familiar films at your fingertips.

Start budgeting for another $12.99/month. Disney+, along with Lady And The Tramp, hits streaming devices November 12th.