How many days until the rocket launch, Daddy?
6 weeks, Son.
Is that a lot?
Yes.
* * * *
How many days now, Daddy?
3 weeks, Buddy.
Is that a lot?
Yes.
* * * *
But finally…the days ticked down…
What time is the launch, Mommy?
At 4:00.
Is that in five minutes?
No, Son.
Is it 4:00 yet?
Not yet.
But how much longer?
Like, 6 hours.
Is that a lot?
Yes, dear.
When it was finally time, we headed out to the viewing area.
It was windy.
If Jill’s hair wasn’t a dead give away for that.
The snot. The drool. The crazy hair.
As her Dad often tells her: “That’s a good look for you Jill. Do that when you’re 15, okay?”
The bigs sat on the hood of the car for a better view.
Henry explained to Lucy where to look.
And Mom made them cheese it up since they had a few spare minutes.
Oh that unruly hair.
How I adore it.
And the bitty freckles beginning to peek out on the bridge of her nose.
I just want to squish her up in a million pieces sometimes.
When the loud speaker informed us it would only be 30 seconds to launch, the kids decided they needed to stand to watch.
This was much too exciting for sitting…even if it was on top of Mom’s car.
Henry pointed. Lucy watched. In a field of flowers.
It felt very October Sky-esque, and like I should be wearing a wide brimmed bonnet and a fancy dress that whipped up around me.
Except that I was in jeans and flip flops.
And we counted aloud with the speaker.
10…9…8…
Because this is life in America. This is being a kid.
Mom hauling you all up a mountain in the middle of nowhere, with only 9 minutes to spare, the empty light on the gas gauge ominously bright…just to count out loud.
And then we wait.
And we listen for the rumble of the engines to make it to our ears.
Because it takes a while.
And we hear it get louder and louder.
And it rumbles in our chests.
And it is magical.
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love it! you are right that America!!
your children are so beautifully adorable!!
xoTiffany
tiffany day´s last blog post ..What I Believe
Seriously, my boys would die if they could see that. …they love everything rocket/spaceship related. Sadly we live way to far away for it to happen…You are lucky :-)
One of they current favorite book is “Moonshoot” by Brian Floca. If you don’t have it yet, I really recommend it for Henry.
We almost went, but with a sickie Marissa and some errands that couldn’t wait…
I’m so glad you went and documented it! Definitely magical. The loudness of the engines is inspiring, and that was even from much further away when they did it last year. Love it!
I love that it is in our backyard!
P.S. loving your ‘days until sign at your entry! And the little ruffly raincoats, oh man.
And, I know this isn’t the easiest, but I would love to see a picture of you and Walter. I know you’ve laid it out for us why we don’t see the weekly shots, and I respect that. Sigh. But seeing those cuties makes me want to see their Mama too!
(And yes, I don’t put a lot of pics of myself on my blog, either. I probably should do something about that!)
I love them. So much.
I’m speechless – no really….well if you can call it speechless when you are typing.
How awesome, truly, truly, awesome to experience that….seriously my kids would have been just exploding with excitement too, they love all things rocket ship related lol
Thank you so much for sharing as it is something so very different from what we would ever see here.
Charlotte´s last blog post ..School holidays
I totally remember doing this with my family when we were kids. I’ll need to get my kids out there too sometime….I’m sure they’ll love it too!
I remember doing this when I was a kid! I thought they weren’t launching rockets anymore though? That’s exciting you & the kids got to see!!
Linda´s last blog post ..A Month in Photos: March
I.LOVE.THIS.POST! Such a fabulous and perfectly described story with fabulous pictures to go with it. What a great memory for them, and you!
Michelle (Mama Said…)´s last blog post ..1st Annual Brothers Day!
SO fun! We get to see lots of cool jets, etc living so close to an air force base. The kids love it! I love your pics. The kids are adorable and look SO excited!
Alyson @EisleyRae´s last blog post ..InstaFriday
For a minute I thought you were HERE watching a launch…and i was super bummed we didn’t get to meet in person. Then I saw the mountains…a dead giveaway you were NOT in Florida : >) Happy Easter to you and your beautiful family!