Surfergeeks

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So as many of you know a week or so ago I had this crazy idea pop into my head that we should get Alex into model rockets. I talk to Rob and he’s up for the idea too.

So later that day we head out to AVF Hobbies and look at what they have to offer. We find a good starter kit which pretty much only requires us to buy the engines separately. We pick up a package of A and a package of B engines. The bigger the letter the higher the rocket goes. Each pack also comes with 3 engines. So we are now set.

We don’t get a chance that day to set off the rocket for a few reasons. One Alex wasn’t behaving well at school and the rocket required assembly, plus our days were filled up with other things. Then the weather gets rainy for a few days so we have to wait for better weather.

So finally, today, we aren’t too busy, Alex has been good at school and the weather is amazing. Rob puts together the rocket and we set out and head to the park behind Laurier School, thinking it will do the job well. It’s big, open, no trees and no hydro lines.

We can tell the kids are excited. Alex can’t stop talking and even Ryan is making rocket noises and swinging his arms around when he does. It doesn’t take long to set up the launch pad, get the parachute packed into the nose cone and set the rocket up and get ready for launch.

We start off using the A engine, get the kids to stand back and I hold the ignition and do the countdown. After counting down from 10, I push the button and hear the tell-tale hiss, then whoosh and the rocket shoots up into the sky. It was great, it went up about 200 feet, still withing sight, you could see the cone pop and the parachute deploy and watch it the whole way down. It lands without damage about 30 feet away from us.

With a successful first launch we have to do a second. This time we go with the bigger engine. From the package it predicts to go about 600 feet. We set up, get back, do the countdown and launch!

Hiss…whoosh….! Up it goes. It goes so high it’s almost impossible to see until the ‘chute deploys. It slowly starts heading down, as it does we realize it’s going to get much further away than the first launch did. We start chasing it down the field, going, going, going. Ohoh. Even before it lands, it becomes painfully clear it’s going to go into the subdivision behind the school. We try and keep track of where it lands as best we can and Rob takes the van to try and find it.

I think he was gone a good twenty minutes before he came back. It took so long I was sure we’d lost it. But as Rob comes out of the van I see a vibrant orange thing in his hand. It the rocket! YAY!

I can’t believe he found it. Rob tells me he was quite lucky he did. He had almost given up on finding it when someone came out of their house asking if he was looking for a rocket. It had landed in their back yard.

Since we enjoyed the first two launches we decide to do one last one with the small engine again. And the kids wanted to do another one as well, even Ryan, as when we were bringing the rocket back he would run to the ignition and try to work it. Good thing it wasn’t hooked up yet and has a safety mechanism to prevent accidental launches. For the third attempt Alex asked to set it off so we let him. We explain that he has to be very careful, wait for us to tell him to start, he has to do the countdown to give everyone notice it’s going off and only push the button when it’s time.

It’s set up and I get next to Alex to help him if needed. He counts down as told and pushes the button. Hiss…whoosh! The rocket goes up into the sky for a third time. As with the first launch we see it the whole way and it only falls about 50 feet from us. Alex asks if he can run after it and get it and we let him.

The rocket has survived intact so we pack up and head home. If you ask Alex his favourite part was getting to push the button by himself. We are planning to keep doing this hobby, although we may not have any more launches this year, I can’t see the weather continuing to hold. Alex wants a blue rocket for the next one and I’m sure we will oblige. Although, if we want to shoot off the bigger engines we may have to find a bigger field!

So the little goober turned two a few days ago and today was the party for the family. It rocked. Ryan cleaned up. Like any kid he had absolutely NO interest in clothes and they were quickly (and literally) tossed aside in favour of the toys. If you want to see some pics click here. As you’ll see, he LOVES his swing that he got from Uncle Ken & Aunt Marlene. The ball pit is also a big hit. Really – everything is a hit. He spends some time playing with one thing before moving onto the other. I will neither confirm nor deny that the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks that Travis & Nicole provided are a big hit with me!

How about this?!?! SAME DAY SERVICE!!!! Snapped a few pics earlier today of the kiddos playing outside on their new swing set that the Bowler and Stewart families got them for Christmas. Lemme tell ya – INSTANT hit! Also a few pics of Alex on his scooter going up and down the sidewalk.

Click here.

Kind of a catch-all post to bring you loyal readers up to speed on what’s happening at good ol’ Casa del Surfergeeks.

First Up: Kinda pissed. DHL tried to delivery my autographed copy of Windows 7 Ultimate today and we were out getting milk. Damn kids and their need for milk. Okay, we were buying HE laundry detergent too.

Second: Speaking of HE laundry detergent (how’s that for a smooth segue?), our new LG Washer & Dryer get delivered tomorrow! Yay! Can’t wait to play do laundry with them. Had to finish unhooking the old washing machine today. THAT was a bitch! The water hoses were rusted/corroded onto the taps. Vice grips got the one off but the other held fast. Ended up breaking out the Dremel with a cutting disc attached and cut the fucker off.

Third: Speaking of cutting things off. Get well soon Mike!

Fourth: Mike H can’t make poker next weekend.

Fifth: I’m out of segues.

Sixth: Alex is doing okay in school. Not great unfortunately. I tried to convince the school that it was simply his absolute genius that was the issue but they weren’t having any of it. Just kidding. The teacher actually is very impressed by his reading skill. Apparently there is some type of level that JK/SK aims for and it’s level 4. He’s already at level 2 a few weeks in. Unfortunately, he’s also being bad at school. He’s switched from Mrs. Woods’ class to Mr. C’s class and I think it’s going to be really good for him. He’s already showing an improvement in doing what he’s told at school.

Seventh: We’ve all got some type of cold/flu in the past couple weeks. The worst of it is over and nobody died. Nikki still can’t talk very well and has managed to miss pretty much a full week of work. Thank god for sick pay.

Eighth: (the more I stare at ‘eighth’ the more I think it’s spelled wrong) I’ve registered for school! Yep; hopefully come January I’ll be @ Fanshawe taking Architectural Technology.

Ninth: Alex just reminded me that one of the fish died at some point last night. Poseidon, like the god he was named after, is no more. Alex & Nikki gave him (her?) the ol’ flush-a-roo before school. Gotta say, I’m pretty impressed that she managed to keep them all alive this long.

Okay, I’m about out of things to say that I can think of off the top of my head. Maybe if I posted more I wouldn’t need to do this huge catch-up posts. Until next time! Later!

Hey everyone, just uploaded a few new pics. Here’s the link:

click here

Enjoy!

Christmas this year was a blast. Alex was more aware of the Santa concept and the backstory to it. Here are some pictures from this year:

Christmas 2008

I surprised Nikki with a couple goldfish for a present. She’d made an offhand comment a month or so ago and it sorta sat there in the noggin’ gestating. You’ll see a couple pics of Poseidon and Neptune and the little goldfish bowl I got for them. Then at the end of the pics you’ll see today’s update and upgrade…

Ryan, while far more into it than Alex was for his first Christmas, still wasn’t too excited. He would grab at the paper and rip it but it wasn’t anything structured or thought out – more like reaching out to grab and pulling back.

Let’s see how Ryan is doing this month.

By seven months, Ryan…SHOULD be able to:

-feed self a cracker – I’ve given him an arrowroot cookie and he can do pretty well with those.
-razz – yup.
-coo or babble when happy – yup.
-smile often when interacting with you – yup.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

-sit without support – He still can’t do this.
-bear some weight on legs when held upright – yup.
-object if you try to take a toy away – oh yeah, big time.
-work to get a toy that’s out of reach – yup.
-look for dropped object – yup.
-rake with fingers and object and pick it up in fist – yup.
-turn in the direction of a voice – yup.
-babble – yup.
-play peekaboo – not yet.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

-creep or crawl – yup. The baby gates are back up.
-pass a cube or other object fron hand to the other – yup.
-stand holding on to someone or something – he’s very close. Rob keeps trying to get him to do this. He can do it for maybe a second or less.

…may even be able to:

-pull up to standing position from sitting – no.
-get into a sitting position from stomach – no.
-play patty-cake or wave bye-bye – no.
-walk holding on to furniture – no.
-say “mama” or “dada” – no.

Hey everyone, just uploaded some more pics. Here’s the link to view them:

2008 Fall/Winter Random Shots

Enjoy!!!

It’s another month and Ryan is a little bit older. The progression seems to be so much faster with him than it was with Alex. It’s probably because I know what to expect this time around.

Well, here’s the update.

By six months, Ryan…SHOULD be able to:

-keep head level with body when pulled to sitting – yes.
-say “ah-goo” – yes.

…will PROBABLY be able to:

-bear some weight on legs when held upright – yes.
-sit without support – not yet. He has a habit of pushing with his legs and rocking which knocks him off balance.
-turn in a direction of a voice – he responds to his name and always looks at Alex when he’s talking.
-razz – yes.

…may POSSIBLY be able to:

-stand holding on to someone or something – no.
-object if you take a toy away – maybe. He does cry when a toy he is playing with falls out of his reach.
-work to get a toy that’s out of reach – yes.
-pass a cube or other object from one hand to the other – yes.
-look for a dropped object – yes.
-rake with fingers a tiny object and pick it up – yes.
-babble – not yet.
-feed self cracker or other finger food – no.

…may even be able to:

-creep or crawl – no.
-pull up to standing position from sitting – he can’t sit yet, so no.
-get into sitting postion from stomach – nope.
-say “mama” or “dada” – nope.