Let Them Be Little: 5,4,3,2,1...

BLAST OFF!

Such a blast to start our new year with a blast.

Camilla with Nathan.

This year we were not sure if it would be a good thing to get rockets in our stockings again;

we thought it might be too cold for launching.

Happily, we were wrong.

(Secretly, I had hoped we could launch from a frozen lake. Just imagine it...the rockets taking off from the ice, the kids scrambling, and slipping and sliding on the ice to retrieve them...oh, I can just see it now, ha, ha! Could be such fun!)

Just after Christmas, the weather became really warm, sunny and beautiful. We thought it would be the perfect weather for launching. (Not on a frozen lake).

During the break, the kids and Jonathan went to work on the rockets, constructing, painting, etc. Mine just had to be put together, which was great for me since I was plenty busy with other things.

On the day we were able to launch, the winds were howling at 50 - 70 MPH. There would be no launching with winds at that speed.

The next day we were planning to leave for UT.

So, we took the rockets with us!

No, there really wasn't any room. Larry was filled to the brim and beyond, remember?

But Jonathan was determined.

Funny story about that:

Earlier in the week, Smash had an epiphany of sorts.

While we were working on the rockets, Jonathan became a little intense and excited about working on them.

I like that he enjoys this sort of thing and that it has provided creative fun with the kids through the years.

Smash began to notice how much Jonathan likes building the rockets and he came to me with a look of surprise and disbelief and exclaimed,

"Wow, dad is really into this! He really likes the rockets!"

When I told him that I did know that, he said, again with shock on his face, "No, really, mom, he really likes this!"

Of course he does, he's an engineer! Ha, ha! I'm not sure why it took so long for Smash to see that but it was funny and provided lots of laughter.

So, when it was determined a few days later that we would not be able to launch the rockets, and Jonathan decided to make room for them to go to UT with us,

Smash came to me with that look of shock again and told me, "See, Mom? I told you he was really into this!"

We all laughed!

And laughed and laughed as Jonathan painstakingly went through everything in our vehicle to make room for rockets. :)

And we were happy to have the rockets with us in UT,

we had a great time, in perfect launching weather,

in fact the weather was better than the previous year in TX! (click on link to see last year)

My cousin, Teresa, and her children were able to join us for the day! They drove down from Morgan and I am so happy they did! Such fun!

I love the look of wonder and anticipation on Camilla's face:

Smash with a dive, hoping to catch the rocket before it hit the ground:

And a crazy catch for Nathan:

Success!

These kids had a blast also! Can't tell you who they are because I don't know! They, along with 8 or so of their friends, were very interested in the rockets. At first they searched for rockets, on the other side of the trees. We couldn't see them unless we were retrieving rockets also. After a little while, they inched their way toward us, little by little. Finally, I approached them and asked if they would like to come and launch with us and they did. Kids (of all ages) love rockets having a blast!