- A:I wish J would sleep in past 6:30. Me:no wish she and W sleep in past 8:30. Too late I guess, J up at 6:40 so she got her wish. W up at 5 #
- just finished a hot shower after water fight with W in a thunderstorm So much fun, but chilly. temp drops quick in storms around here #
- 5ft by 3ft bathroom mirror just peeled off wall. luckily caught on towel rack. been there since house was built in 1981. mirror not rack. #
- W: “Where is Yaya going to sleep? On top of Papa?” #
- at walnut creek with whole fam. redmond off leash and loving it. http://is.gd/AMcE #
- finally gave into the cacophony of roofing noises and had our roof examined after hail storm. only two lightly damaged shingles
# - http://twitpic.com/5imos – kirby guy came and did a demo. of course for price of vac we could buy new carpet. #
- http://twitpic.com/5iozo – hotdog octopus anyone? #
- http://twitpic.com/5mpb3 – at the cameron park zoo in waco with mom and dave. cameronparkzoo.com gps http://is.gd/C4Mr #
- never at woodland park in seattle did I see people yelling at animals to get their attention. in tx everyone is. shut up already. #
- http://twitpic.com/5mt7p – zoo food for lunch! #
- http://twitpic.com/5myfu – at the otter slide. kids do most of the actual sliding. #
- http://twitpic.com/5n60v – w at the water park at the zoo. #
- http://twitpic.com/5n8m5 – at the giftshop. almost done with the zoo. kiddyup!!! saddles for parentsm #
- http://twitpic.com/5o07a – at baskin robbins getting dessert. http://is.gd/CcfC #
- getting ready to spend & whole day just amber and I. can’t wait! She is 29yrs and 364 days old today heading out to enchanted rock #
- http://twitpic.com/5p2pc – we are here at enchanted rock http://is.gd/Co2n goiing to meander up it and maybe around it too. #
- http://twitpic.com/5ph9z – and we are at the top. not exactly the same as an everest summit. #
- having lunch at Rather Sweet Bakery and café in fredericksburg. yelp – http://is.gd/CqNI #
- http://twitpic.com/5plm3 – food is here. yum! #
- Bellingham store refused to let 29yr man use bathroom, “the man retaliated by going completely batshit insane on them” http://bit.ly/kbkL4 #
Tags: twitter
- http://twitpic.com/4v9cy – j fell down the stairs. big bump. lots of ice and tears. #
- Our watermelons will not be heart shaped, however I will sell you one for $162. Heart shaped watermelons – Boing Boing http://bit.ly/Es7d2 #
- Here is a little pet peeve of mine: Typing “k” to mean “ok” when using IM, because I guess it saves so much darn typing. #
- “The idea is to always validate or overturn assumptions” http://bit.ly/2NDc63 #
- “When he looked down, he saw the big snake.” — What is unusual about that? http://bit.ly/5lE3u #
- http://twitpic.com/53kr4 – buy one get one at freebirds…crazy #
- Texas is so backward. they are just now working on a law to require seatbelts in back seats. now: front seat= belts, back seats= whatever. #
- RT @thatjgrl: “AirTran is now offering WiFi on flights….AND great prices on flights. SEA to BOS in Oct? Only $240 round trip!!!” in reply to thatjgrl #
- Moved computer to livingroom. Now @reygnbull has access to internet during upcoming visit. Reminds me of old apartment setup. #
Tags: twitter
- And potty jokes are officially funny in our household. W: “toot…ha.ha.ha!”, “poop!…ha.ha.ha!” #
- http://twitpic.com/4g22y – At Chuck E Cheese. J scared of big mouse. W tried to sit down on urinal. http://is.gd/uzoW #
- http://twitpic.com/4g969 – playing air hockey #
- http://twitpic.com/4g9n0 – riding the “roller coaster” you must be this tall is just a suggestion #
- http://twitpic.com/4hoh2 – launching pop bottle rockets with W. he loves it and we haven’t even added water yet. #
- All it needs are the onlookers that DO NOTHING while an innocent man gets electrocuted “Don’t Tase Me Bro” Automata http://bit.ly/1DHOiZ #
- Sugar Stacks – How Much Sugar Is in That? http://bit.ly/VNBwg — now if I could get them to sort them I’d know where to start eating #
- RT @Frauenfelder: “A clown at noon is there to entertain your children. A clown at midnight has a different agenda.” http://bit.ly/nZiNs” in reply to Frauenfelder #
- Gimme, Gimme, Gimme! — Virgin Media Trials 200 Mbps Service http://bit.ly/148dCm #
- http://twitpic.com/4orw5 – playing in the sprinkler. only about 90 today so they are wearing pants #
- http://twitpic.com/4osec – J sprinklering it up too #
- Only three more free Monday movie codes from redbox. Sad… http://bit.ly/bbrEF #
- A little bit of Texas in Washington state: Gun-wielding pharmacist responds to drugstore cowboy – Boing Boing http://bit.ly/I2P7K #
- Road Trip! Texas Pie Company: http://www.texaspiecompany.com Heard on Splendid table: MP3 of the show (at start): http://bit.ly/UdjC9 #
- http://twitpic.com/4t1d8 – My actual tools make less noise than the toys Amber and the kids bought at the thriftstore today. #
- How long can a dog spend chasing a pink monkey stuck in his collar? If he doesn’t give up before I fall asleep we may find the answer. #
- Short Interview with Mr. T. As awesomely weird as you’d hope. Mr T | Bizarre Magazine UK http://bit.ly/fQZ09 #
Tags: twitter
I made my first pop bottle launcher maybe 12 or 13 years ago with my dad. I used it to launch hundreds of 2-liter bottles with kids from Best SELF, Together For Youth, ARIS and of course just for the fun of it. As far as I know the original launcher is still in my mom’s garage somewhere just waiting for a bottle. I thought the kids would really get a kick out of it and being a few thousand miles away from home I decided the best thing to do was to build a new one. This one is a bit different, but basically follows the same pattern we came up with the first time around.
We picked up the parts at the hardware store for less than $20 and I put it together in an evening while the kids were asleep. It is very simple to assemble and kind of amazing that with a bike pump, a bit of PVC and a few pieces of hardware you can launch pop bottles way, way up in the air. I use 1/2″ PVC (which I had to sand a bit to get it to fit the bottle) and I epoxied in a pool toy inflator stem that comes with the pump into the end of the pipe. Put the bottle on, insert the nails into the eye-bolts and pump it up.
Pump it up, pull the rope and blastoff!
The next day Wesley and I shot a few “air only” bottles from the driveway (easily clearing the house and into the neighbors’ yards). Later that night we went to an empty field at the park and shot them off with water. We garnered a good deal of attention and had a blast (pun intended). One-third full of water the bottles go two to three times as high and get you a little wet which adds to the fun. We got it up to about 75 PSI before it started leaking too badly.
Jillian helps pump.
Wesley pulls the pins...
3...2...1...Blastoff!
Did I mention they loved it?
Jillian like launching them too.
Redmond wasn't so sure.
Next weekend we head out with the Myer’s family to blast some more off. More people means more fun (and more people to do the pumping)!
Tags: Jillian, Pop Bottle Rockets, Wesley