Air and Space

Since we’ve moved to the DC area and left all of his friends behind Lincoln has been a little bored. Here he is reading a book on our bed. He’s very committed to his future in the NBA.

We took a break from unpacking last week and went on an excursion to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the companion facility to the Air and Space museum. It is a huge hanger full of all kinds of aircraft. Lincoln was in seventh heaven. When we arrived he was running around in circles and shouting, “Airplanes! Airplanes!”

We were especially excited that the first thing we saw was this Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest plane in the world. We had read about them in a few airplane books and it was really neat to see one in person. The plaque said the last time it was flown, from LA to Washington DC for display in the museum, it made the trip in just over one hour.

                                                                                        

We were also pretty excited when we thought there was a space shuttle in the museum. However, it was the space shuttle Enterprise, essentially a test shuttle that was used in atmospheric test flights. But it was still pretty cool. And big.

                                                                                        

There were so many airplanes and other aircraft (including the very Jetsons-looking helicopter below) to see that I’m sure we only walked by a fraction on them. But since we live so close now and Lincoln’s love of airplanes doesn’t seem to be diminishing, I know we’ll be back!

                                                                        

Lincoln and Norah Say Goodbye

Lincoln, sadly, had to say goodbye to his first friend a few days ago when we moved from Ithaca. Lincoln and Norah have been together since Norah was first born, just three months after Lincoln. They’ve spent a lot of time together over the course of their two+ years and Lincoln still asks to play with her daily. It’s hard explaining to a two year old that their friend now lives more then 300 miles away.

Even though they didn’t understand that we were about to leave forever, Lincoln and Norah sure seemed like they were trying to make the most of their remaining time together. They spent about 30 minutes running toward each other with open arms (I wish it had been lighter so I could have gotten some action shots) and hugging tightly, only to release and repeat.

They would pat each others’ backs and laugh. It was incredibly cute.

                                                

There were even a few smooches exchanged. While helping me write this, Lincoln exclaimed, “Norah kiss!”

Hopefully we’ll still get to see Norah (and her parents) on a semi-regular basis because I know Lincoln misses her already.

Rochester Air Show

When Lincoln developed his love for airplanes (and watching the Blue Angels on YouTube) I began scouring the internet for an airshow we could attend. The closest one I found was in Rochester, NY about two hours away from us. When thinking in distances from Ithaca (at least 45 minutes from anywhere), that wasn’t too bad and we figured Lincoln’s joy was worth it. So, last Saturday we made the trek to the ESL International Air Show in Rochester.

It was a hot, hot day, but there were hundreds of planes on display for us to explore. Lincoln loved getting to walk right up and touch them. Even for those of us a little less enthusiastic about airplanes, it was pretty interesting.

                                                 

One of the highlights of the day was getting to climb up to the cockpit of this huge carrier-based aircraft. We had to wait an hour in line to do it, but it was worth it (and a lot cooler inside the plane then outside.)

                                                

We got to look at a lot of smaller planes lined up around the airport including the replica of “The Memphis Bell” that was used in the film of the same name.

                                                                                     

                                                                                     

Lincoln really wanted to get in the cockpit of this little plane until he discovered it was the pilot that had to lift him up and put him in. When he discovered said pilot was also going to talk to him, he decided he’d had enough and that it was time for lunch.

                                                               

Here are all six Blue Angel planes lined up on the runway before their show.

We bought these special noise cancelling headphones for Lincoln on Amazon the week before the show. He calls them his “mail” (because they came in the mail.) The week leading up to the airshow he’d wear them around the house and sometimes even out, but he only wore them for about six seconds when we actually wanted him to. Oh well, I guess we’ll have to attend more airshows! (Look at those poor red cheeks! I was so worried he was getting burnt, but I had been faithfully putting sunblock on him. It turns out he was just hot so the redness went away when we finally got back to some air conditioning.)

                                                                                             

The Blue Angel’s show was really, really cool. Lincoln was breaking down a little by this point (it had been a long, long day), so I’m not sure he was able to fully appreciate it, but we filmed a lot, so he can watch it later.

Whirlwind Washington

We recently returned from an extremely fast paced trip home to Washington State. We spent time in four cities and three airports, saw almost all the relatives I have, and drove close to 1500 miles over the course of the week. We were pretty tired when we got home.

Lincoln got to meet his little cousin, Savannah, for the first time. She’s only four months old and he didn’t seem to find her that interesting, but he sure loved her Bumbo and her cat, Hope. I wish I had a picture of him “hexing” the cat; it looked like he was pretending to throw something at the cat with both hands or like he was casting a spell. Poor Hope would hiss and back away, but Lincoln thought it was hilarious. He was a bit less enamored with their giant husky, Legend. Whenever Legend came bounding into the room, Lincoln would shrink away into a corner and pout nervously.

We spent our first (and only real free) day Point Defiance Zoo with Jeremiah and Savannah. Lincoln really enjoyed checking out all the animals and even got to touch a starfish at their touch tank! We especially enjoyed an exhibit called “The Scoop on Poop” (it was really interesting), and (Jonathan in particular) liked the walruses. But, then again, what’s not to love about walruses?

                             

                                                                                             

That evening Jeremiah and Kariah were kind enough to take our family pictures. I haven’t got the CD yet, but here is a link to some samples on their blog, if you’re interested.

I thought Jonathan and Savannah looked so cute sitting next to each other in this picture. We get to see them so rarely, it was nice to be able to spend a little time with Les Phillips, even though it was pretty short.

We went to Washington specifically for my Grandma’s internment. My side of the family hasn’t all been in the same location for quite some time, so it was nice to get to see everyone all in one place even though it was a sad occasion. I tried to take some big group shots, but they didn’t turn out as well as I would have hoped. First is everyone, then just the grandkids, then the great-grandkids.

                                                                       

When we were growing up we often went to a seaside town called Ocean Shores for our family vacations. Accordingly, we thought it would be fitting for all of us to head over there since for a brief weekend getaway. We had a great time walking on the beach, checking out the sand castle building competition, and eating s’mores.

                                                              

Jonathan is still in the middle of studying for the Bar exam, so he often volunteered to stay in the hotel room while the little boys took naps so he could try and keep up with his studies. As a result, we didn’t get to go down to the beach together until the morning we left. Lincoln was pretty excited about the water. Whenever he saw a particularly large wave he’d say “Big water!!”

                                                            

From Ocean Shores we drove to Spokane, my (our) hometown. It had been a while since we’d been back, so it was nice checking out my (our) old stomping grounds. I caught up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years over lunch at the always delicious Zips Drive-In, and we spent some time with my more rarely seen family.

Lincoln shares his love of airplanes with my Dad. He loved watching Grandpa wind up and throw this rubberband-powered glider. I wish they got to see each other more regularly because my Dad has always had a lot of sweet model airplanes I’m sure Lincoln would really enjoy.

                                                

We had a long trip home as we had to drive back to Seattle, then catch a ridiculously early flight the next morning, and then drive home from Philadelphia. We are happy to be back in Ithaca.

New Wheels