rocketMEN

Hey friends and family,

After more than a week off work I am finally grasping the concept of vacation and not thinking about work at all. I get about 130 emails per day so the stress of going back to work soon and my ability to do simple multiplication means I'll be rowing my way through the sea of email back into work life.

My mom made banana bread so that means Easton is eating Nana Banana Bread. I think there may be some market-ability in that although the inside joke may not translate well to the rest of the world.


I decided to do a few special things with my nephews during this week and one of them involved explosives. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the perfect afternoon weather.


Then I broke out the necessary materials and we built ourselves a rocket!


Eli and Silas built it perfectly and we set up the launch site. I was a little uneasy about allowing Easton to get to close as we built and fired the rocket, but he was outrageously curious and chomping at the bit to be in the middle of everything.


Silas fired it off successfully, but the parachute didn't open so it crashed down onto the parking lot. Luckily only minor damage resulted so we put in the double-powered engine and Eli blasted it over 600 ft. in the air. I thought the recovery team would be Papa and Easton who were stationed in the same general area of the last crash.


Unfortunately the wind shifted on us so we watched helplessly as the parachute deployed and it floated across the main road into the local cemetery.
The "recovery team" was as successful as the launch, so we repacked the rocket for one more flight.


Eli and Silas were gracious enough to let Easton push the launch button and he was overjoyed to take their offer.


After a short countdown Eli held the safety key and Easton pressed the launch button and Whoooosh, it shot up into the sky leaving a distinct trail of smoke.


Easton's level of excitement was off the charts. The rocket went so high it was almost out of sight, but then the parachute deployed and we watched the wind shift... again... and carry it across the street into a stranger's back yard. The recovery team jumped a few fences and broke some trespassing laws, but we rescued the rocket, which is now sitting in my nephews room ready for another flight some other day. Here's a short video clip of Joanie chatting with him afterwards.



See you soon!