My Little Rocketman

Isaac as you you may know has been on a bit of a "space" kick lately. He has his books about space. He's got a growing collection of space theme lego-creations. He's even got some nifty "WALL-E" sheets (by the way - great movie!). I really dug space as a kid, too, so what better hobby to introduce my son to? Model Rockets!

I dropped by WalMart and for the low, low price of $20 we got a starter kit complete with launch pad, launch controller, 3 engines and - can you believe it? - 2 Rockets! Yes. The thought "Great! One for me and one for him!" did cross my mind, but only for a moment. Of course they are both for him ... my 4 year old. um...

In all honesty I've enjoyed this a bit, but my uber-nerdiness cannot compete at all with his genuine exhuberance! He cannot put them down. He runs around the house despite my measured warnings about their fragility.

We had our first launch last Thursday, and the result: We need a bigger field! Isaac loved it - the first one went off without a hitch. It was a larger rocket with a parachute that was easy to follow down to where it landed. The second rocket was a different story. It was considerably smaller with the same size engine as the first. We pushed the button and "Whishhhhhh" - completely out of sight. Uh, houston, we have a problem. Since it went considerably higher it could fall further away ... and it did! We tromped all over the field where we launched it to no avail, until I finally left Isaac with Mama and struck out to cover more ground before the daylight waned! I did find it a good 50 yards beyond the furthest place I thought it could have fallen. Whew! Next time, I'm going to find a bigger field!