Flying and Crashing

COLORFUL CRAFTING: Yesterday the kids received a cool rocket suncatcher DIY kit in a care package from their grandparents in Vancouver. They were itching to get at it, so we were crafting by 8 this a.m.

First, we poured the various plastic beads into their own bowls. Then I rounded up two pair of tweezers and the kids negotiated which colors would go where on the rocket.

Placing those little plastic beads wasn't easy! It was a lot like playing Operation, and definitely good fine motor skill practice. We worked really hard to remove all "strays" and keep the proper colors in their proper sections.

I was surprised - CJ had more stick-to-it-iveness on this project than Bee. (Usually on artsy projects she's the hardcore one.) Then again, she's not exactly a morning person, and CJ had been up since 6. ...

Once we got the beads in place, it was off to the oven for our rocket. Over the course of about 20 minutes it melted and turned into a fabulous creation.
The kids were very proud of their project, but both of them were a bit disappointed we missed one red bead that had apparently gotten buried beneath white beads around the rocket's window. Annabelle got creative and decided the red dot could be some kind of clock on the rocket.

TECHHIES: Being a big fan of "old school" Nintendo games, CJ is all hot to get an original Nintendo NES game system. I'm thinking we'll probably be able to score one from Amazon, Shopgoodwill.com, Craigslist or a garage sale for under $20, but I'm also thinking that since it will be over 20 years old and used/abused by mostly young boys and teenage boys, it will be beat up/in need of servicing to get it to work.

So this morning we spent some time learning about how to repair Nintendo NES systems and NES games. We found a couple of great tutorials that make me think we are completely capable of being repair techs. We also found a source to buy a new 72-pin connector for the NES if need be.

All this said, you can play nearly all the old NES games online, and you can purchase and download many of them to the Nintendo Wii via their Virtual Console feature, but I guess being the purist he is, CJ is seeking the authentic Nintendo NES experience ...

SHOWER OF GLASS: A shower is where you, hopefully, can count on 5 minutes or so of uninterrupted peace and quiet. Instead, today it was pieces and definitely NOT quiet.

I'd barely gotten wet when I heard a crash from downstairs. "I'm so sorry!" I heard CJ lament. I grabbed a towel and went to the top of the stairs and asked what happened. Turns out a vintage Empire Strikes Back glass had gone from the desktop to the maple floor. It didn't survive the trip. I told the kids (both barefoot) to CAREFULLY walk over to where we keep shoes and to put some on and then to stay away from the glass until I came down.

I shut the door keeping Kirby upstairs with me, finished up upstairs and then came down and swept up the Star Wars shards. Bummer.

TAKING FLIGHT: This afternoon we headed over to Ballard to participate in a summer reading series event put on by the Museum of Flight. A representative from the museum was on hand with supplies and instructions for building three types of funky paper airplanes. The kids first project was the most traditional looking type of paper airplane. There were quite a few folds involved but they managed to follow the instructions. After they completed their planes they spent a good 15 minutes flying them around the room with other kids, including their yoga buddy who met us at the library.

Next, the kids each made a wild model, it had a straw in the middle and at each end of the straw was a loop of paper (sorry, no photo!). We were all surprised at how well it flew.

We didn't get around to making the third model (a photo is at the right), but I grabbed the supplies for it. We'll tackle it at home this weekend.

GIMME SOME SUGAR: It turns out flying paper airplanes is draining - afterward the kids were in need of sustenance. Fortunately Cupcake Royale was only a block and a half away from the library.

CJ had a "classic" (vanilla cake with chocolate frosting). Annabelle had a seasonal specialty - strawberry. In fact, she had two - the first she dumped on the floor and it landed frosting side down, of course, so I had to order another. Sigh.

RECESS: After the library, we drove a few blocks north to the playground at Salmon Bay school . It's an alternative Seattle Public Schools school, housed in an enormous old brick building. Salmon Bay has only existed since 1999; I'm curious what this school used to be called.

Anywho, they had a decent playground and the kids had it nearly to themselves. There were only two other kids there. Unfortuantely, one of those two was a very nasty 5 year old boy who continually blocked the slide, etc. to antagonize the kids. The 5yo's mother HAD to know this was going on (the other kids were protesting - loudly after awhile), yet she sat on her butt on a park bench, doing and saying nothing. Finally Annabelle basically called her out. From the top of the slide Bee yelled, "Your son is blocking the slide so no one else can go down it and he refuses to move. Aren't you going to do anything about it?"

The woman trudged over to the slide area, did some half a*&ed 'stop it' and returned to her bench. Of course, the kid persisted. I told the kids to just bag the slide and play elsewhere. Naturally, the little pill eventually followed the kids over to where they had relocated to avoid him.