On January 16, some familiar faces will be popping up in some new places, and it's all brought to you by the letters H-B-O. The all-new season of SESAME STREET makes its debut on HBO as part of the HBO Kids lineup, the official launch to the partnership between Sesame Workshop and HBO. Yes, PBS KIDS will still air SESAME STREET uninterrupted (new episodes debut there nine months later), but HBO will be your premiere destination for new and classic episodes. SESAME STREET has long-been one of our favorite shows here at Rock Father HQ (dating back to my own childhood), so we're looking forward to some new adventures in Season 46 - a season that will include 30-minute episodes, new preschool-relevant themes, new show open and closing songs, an updated set, a new segment called “Smart Cookies,” and a new cast member, “Nina.” Take a look at the first trailer below...

If you don't already have those DVR's set, get ready - today is the day that THE COOKIE THIEF premieres on PBS KIDS, bringing the first-ever one-hour Cookie Monster special to the masses! This Sesame Street special is "a classic chewdunnit" that guest stars SNL-alum Rachel Dratch as a museum security guard that's looking to finger someone for the theft of a priceless piece of cookie art - Leonardo da Crunchy's The Muncha Lisa! But why would Cookie Monster take such an iconic piece of art? Well, you'll just have to gather the kids to find out...

It was last May that I first made mention of a Cookie Monster Special that the folks at Sesame Street were cooking up. It was then that I came face-to-face with one of my childhood idols for the very first time, getting to sing a couple verses of "C is For Cookie" with the lovable blue Monster himself.  Today comes word that SESAME STREET: THE COOKIE THIEF will debut on PBS KIDS on February 16, placing Cookie Monster in the wrong place at the wrong time...

It was at last year's PBS Annual Meeting in San Francisco when I'd first caught rumblings that MACKLEMORE was getting lined-up for a cameo on SESAME STREET. Last Fall, the soon-to-be fellow "Rock Father" did make his way to SESAME STREET to film his bit, and this week the episode finally aired. In case you missed it when it appeared on PBS KIDS a few days back, check out Macklemore throwing down with OSCAR The Grouch and some other garbage-minded greenies in this parody of the Macklemore and Ryan Lewis hit, "Thrift Shop."

Ready to pop some trash?

When we kicked-off our first-ever family road trip earlier this month, my wife and I did a fantastic job of keeping our destinations largely a secret from the little ones. In fact, they only knew of one stop (Chocolate World), and that's because Addie caught me looking at it on the computer prior to our journey. The centerpiece of our trip was kept well under-wraps, and keeping it a surprise until we entered the gates was completely worth it as the reactions were priceless. After spending the night in Philadelphia, the family and I headed for Langhorne, Pennsylvania - home of SESAME PLACE - the Nation's only theme park based entirely on SESAME STREET.

Around 30 years ago, my parents took my sister and I on a road trip to Washington, D.C. Along the way, we stopped at several locations in Pennsylvania, making memories that have lasted a lifetime. With our girls hitting two and five this year, my wife and I decided it was time for our first family vacation - and as such, it was to be a road trip. We plotted several potential courses, with the Philadelphia area set to be the focal point and ultimate destination for a couple of reasons. First off, we were going to finally take Sprout up on a long-standing offer to stop by the Comcast Center and see Chica at the Sunshine Barn during a visit to the set of THE SUNNY SIDE UP SHOW. Second, we wanted to head for Langhorne to visit SESAME PLACE. During our planning, we attempted to pack in as much as possible, with potential stops in Washington, D.C., New York City, West Virginia and Cincinnati on the chart. Instead, we strategically plotted our trip to be centralized in PA - visiting some iconic locations in Philly (but scrapping the Sprout visit), our big trip to SESAME PLACE, a visit to THE CRAYOLA EXPERIENCE in Easton, HERSHEY'S CHOCOLATE WORLD in Hershey, and a swing back through Ohio to visit my friends at SMUCKER'S on our way back to Northern Illinois.