TBnJ

Watching a shuttle launch with the kids is entertaining at best. Daddy-o was not yet home with B when T and J and I began watching the launch preparations on NASA tv.

The questions came fast and furious, and the answers to most of them were, "I don't know. Wait until Daddy-o gets home. Ask him."

T: Is NASA so big that it has to be in both Texas and Florida?
J: Why is the shuttle by that water tank looking thing?
J: Why does the clock seem like it is counting upwards?
J: Why does it take so long to launch the shuttle?
J: When is it going to launch?
T: I hope something like the Challenger or Columbia doesn't happen.

Then Daddy-o came home with B, and B told us, "Don't watch the TV until I get back downstairs." Yes, we have the power to stop the shuttle launch. Not that it took him another hour to shower.

When they got downstairs, Daddy-o asked J, "Do you know what my favorite book was when I was younger?" J guessed, "How to Build a Space Shuttle?" Daddy-o replied, "No, but close. The Space Shuttle Operator's Manual."

The questions resumed while Daddy-o worked on dinner.

J: What is this? (Pointing to a metal object with the mouse)
B: Are they launching yet?
J: Why did they say "Indian Ocean?" (location of the ISS, or at least upwards from there!)
J: How come there's a car or truck driving? (getting away from the launch pad)
T: Can I get out the stuff to make a sandwich? (No, Daddy's cooking dinner)
J: Where is the Space Shuttle blasting off? (Florida, Cape Canaveral)

Shortly thereafter we had to banish T upstairs because he began doing simulated launches with his toy shuttle. And they were loud. After he got upstairs, he was still very audible saying, "5-4-3-2-1! Atlantis Launch!" Over. And over. And over again.

J: There's a vulture! (in response to all the birds flying past the camera at close range)
B: How many more minutes?
J: T's doing crash landings. (which he was)
B: You call her Cherry and I call her Blueberry (about his doll which has been named Cherry since T christened it as such 4+ years ago).

At 20 minutes to launch, T came back downstairs with the toy Blue Dog with the Booster Rockets strapped to it (at upper right). He announced it was BDBR (Blue Dog Booster Rockets). And then poor Blue Dog made many trips to space via the family room.

We then tried to get a little bit of dinner in which was only semi-successful. Then the questions started up again.

J: Why are these moving? (Daddy-o said it was gimbling.)

And then, mercifully, we had lift off. And the questions continued.

J: Why do they fly upside down?
J: Will we be able to go outside tonight and see it fly over?
T: How many pounds of fuel is it burning per second?
T: (2:30 after lift off) I'm going to go eat.
J: (Atlantis Negative Return) What does that mean?
T: (Dragging his fingers across the window in the back door) Hear that screech?
T: Six whats in space? That's half a year! (about the astronaut who spent six months on the ISS)

And 15 minutes after lift off:

B: Can we watch Diego now?

We have calculated that the first summer that all of TBnJ and Daddy-o could be eligible to go to Parent-Child Space Camp is 2010; however, B will likely not be the 50 inches tall required for some of the simulations if we are basing his height on T and J's current heights at age almost 7 (48"). Therefore it may be 2011 before they go. Since the camp is for kids ages 7-12, that would work out ok since in 2011 they will be ages 8 and 11 (and 11). And Daddy-o would be slightly older.

Labels: around the house, dogs, kid sayings, movies and tv