Show Time!

SMALL STUFF: Because of all the fondant we make, we probably buy two- to three-hundred times more marshmallows than the average household annually. And since we're so frequently trolling the marshmallow aisle, we get to see the seasonal stuff they trot out from time to time. New to us this year are adorable little marshmallows shaped like gingerbread men. They even have a little ginger and cinnamon flavor to them.

I gave the kids a bag full of edible ink markers and asked them to decorate some of the puffly little things. CJ kept his design simple. Annabelle spent nearly an hour in all, giving each of her gingermallows a different look and a backstory.

SPLASHY: There was another splash test of NASA's 18,000-pound Orion space capsule today, so you know we were tuned in for it. Oh, how we do love watching a capsule make waves!

The test took pace at NASA's Langley Research Center, in the Hydro Impact Basin. Today marked the eighth and final test of the year.

Orion is slated to be the next deep space exploration vehicle, carrying astronauts into space and back.

In the video of the splash test you get to see three different angles. One is straight on, the other is from the side and the third and final view is the at-water level cam, which the kids love. When the capsule goes in, the wave it creates inundates the camera. Oh, how CJ and Annabelle love that. They squeal every time, meanwhile I'm telling them to hold their breath! ;)

We all got a kick of this photo NASA Langley's Media Team posted to Twitter ...

You can read lots more about Orion on NASA Langley's Hydro Impact Basin's pages: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/exploration/hib.html

HITTING THE BOARDS: Tonight was CJ's "Theater of Possibility" play. First, he had rehearsal for about 90 minutes, then there was a potluck for the families for about a half hour, followed by about 90 minutes of performance time. Here's a photo of him waiting in the wings. ...

CJ was one of the lead characters in the first of three mini plays presented tonight. His play was a drama about a boy named Tyler who is fixated on videogames to the expense of his schoolwork.  

CJ did a great job - he nailed all his lines, enunciated well and even acted a little. ;) I was proud of him.

He was pretty proud of himself, too. :) 

Annabelle got in on the act during some audience participation parts, so she was happy as a clam, too.

THERE IS ANOTHER: We read some breaking news on Spaceflight Now tonight. Looks like billionaire Paul Allen (formerly Microsoft, now of Trailblazers, EMP/SciFi Museum and Vulcan fame) is getting into the space business in a big way. He's teamed up with aircraft designer Burt Rutan, Elon Musk of SpaceX, and former NASA boss Mike Griffin. Under the name Stratolaunch, they're working together to develop an air-launch rocket system. It looks wild - and like it would work!

illustration credit: Stratolaunch Press Kit. Check out the video of the proposed craft: http://youtu.be/sh29Pm1Rrc0

It would use two jumbo aircraft the size of two 747s side by side to carry a liquid-fueled SpaceX booster rocket and capsule to 30,000 feet, where it would be deployed, firing hardware and burning fuel to launch humans and cargo into orbit.

It's exciting to watch this new era of spaceflight unfold. Maybe Buzz Aldrin is right. Back when we saw him at the Space Needle a few months ago, he predicted the commercialization of spaceflight would be like the barnstorming era of airplanes. Time will tell.