Daily/Weekly Thoughts

Happy 8th Birthday

Emmett had one wish for his 8th birthday party - and that was to launch pop bottle rockets with his grade two classmates at his school. So we did. It was a process that may have taken longer than getting his 29th injection of Spinraza via lumbar puncture just a couple of weeks ago on the 16th of March (which went flawlessly, by the way!) Emmett and I discussed how to talk to the class about how to understand about air powered pop bottle rockets and we decided that we would take a class on Tuesday to have a discussion about air pressure, a class on Wednesday to decorated our pop bottles so they looked like rockets, and then on his actual birthday that we would launch the bottles. And Thursday was a picture perfect day - although still a bit chilly. And 22 rocket bottle launches took place with extreme excitement with each launch.

Happy Birthday, Emmett!

 

Yes, the faces are distorted but that is because they're guests on our blog. This is when we're getting ready for the launch.
 
We've already discussed safety but Emmett and I took a few moments to discuss the need for safety with air pressure - that we must respect the power of air. Emmett's was the first rocket that we launched. This was his design.
Each rocket that Emmett has built has been different. This one had large stabilizing wings and a 'doughnut' on top to hold parachute man in place. We don't have a picture of parachute man floating down on his parachute, but it did work. We've never launched a plastic person into the air before!
Yes, the launch is pretty spectacular!
You can see the air hose snaking across the ground. That the children are a safe distance away. That we're launching into an open field. The wind did carry a few rockets so that they landed close to us - but a plastic pop bottle isn't going to hurt if it drops onto someone!
In addition to his school birthday fun, Emmett and his family (that were close by) went to Fort Langly, a local historical site, and spent an afternoon exploring and seeing what a fort built in the 1800's would be like. We even got to use a steel and flint!

So that was the past few months. The 29th lumbar puncture with Spinraza, the excitement of turning eight, and in a few days a camping trip. Well, we hope there will be a camping trip. Right now the provincial park we are going to head to is closed because of snow! It will be better weather in a few days, right!

 

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