Kennidy Space Center

It has been a few years since we have been to the Kennedy Space Center. During spring Break we decided to take a Break from building the Tree House for The Cisco Kid and head on down to Cape Canaveral Space Center.

The Chief and The Cisco Kid are reading all about the masive Space Shuttle engine.

We are no longer sending the space shuttle on any more missions.  They are removing all the space shuttle launch towers and replacing them with rocket launch towers.  The rockets are going to explore deep space.  

This is one of the new rocket towers.  

The moon rover.  

This space suite is on loan from Jim Lovell the astronaut of Appollo 13.  

The Apollo 13 capsule. You can see where it was on fire during re-entering the atmosphere.   

The Tree House is 99% DONE!!!

Yes....This tree house has been eight days in the making.  We took a break on Thrusday and went to the Kennidy Space Center. ( I will post about that tomorrow).  On Friday we were back in action.  The only thing we have left to do is the Zip Line. 

The Cisco Kid told me he wanted a crane for the top of his tree house. We went to Lowes and I brought him to the section where they sell PVC pipe. I told him we could make the crane out of PVC. That was all it took. As soon as he saw all the different shapes and sizes of pipes, he was in design mode. I gave him one small pointer about how one larger pipe can fit on tip of a smaller pipe so the crane would move. He found the angle he wanted and he knew he wanted the arm to extend going up. At one point he grabbed a couple of people that worked there and asked where he could find a cap for the crane and the pulley. The people spoke to him with such regard and respect. I was amazed. 

The stair case leading to the top deck.  

 

The view from the top of the Tree House.  

The zip line might be done next weekend. I will post about it then. 

Happy Easter

The other day I asked the Chief to get something for the Cisco Kids Easter Basket and he came home with two Nerf Guns and a Lego Plane. I had previously got all the candy and the little goofy Easter toys. The little goofy Easter toys are my favorite.  This morning The Cisco Kid had a blast seeing, eating and opening it all.  I had to cut off his sugar intake before he went into a sugar coma. 

They could not wait to build the plane.   

Because we were so busy building the Tree House we did not have enough time to color eggs. I will post about the tree house later in the day. We made some real accomplishments.  

Day two of building the Tree house

All the 4x4x16 foot posts are set in three feet of cement and the bottom perimeter is bolted to the frame. We now have a very strong foundation for the tree house on stilts.

Before one of the poles could be set, this very large root had to be removed.  These two men divided and concored.  The Chief tackled the root and The Cisco Kid tackled some dirt.  

Spring Break and Big Holes

Now That Spring Break is here we can take the time and finally keep our promise to the Cisco Kid and build his tree house for him. Yesterday we started to dig six’s holes to support the base of the tree house.  Since the tree house is going to be so tall, we needed to make sure it was going to have a good foundation.  There will be 6 - 4x4x16 foot poles placed in these holes filled with cement three feet deep.   

For as long as I could remember there is something with The Cisco Kid and digging holes.  For Some reason he loves a good hole.  I just don’t get it!!  I know, it is a boy thing.  This was really very funny when the Chief finished digging this hole, The Cisco Kid could not wait to jump in.  Acording to The Cisco Kid "This was the best hole ever. "

After jumping in the hole, he decided it was just not deep enough.  Go Figure!! 

This is one boy that is not afraid to get dirty.

 

Karate Test

The Cisco Kid has been going to Karate since July of 2011. He wants to go all the way to become a black belt. In July he started out in a white belt and four months later he graduated to a yellow belt. Saturday he tested for his new belt color. Yellow with a Black stripe. In a couple of months and once he knows all the requirements he will be eligible to participate in tournaments. Tournaments are people pitted against each other and using martial arts moves you gather points if you get the first strike or first series of strikes in. They call it sparing... TV makes karate sparing look something like a dance with karate movements. Right now it is not like that at all. This is a full contact sport. They are being thought to do a series of different high kicks, low kicks, extended punches, jabs and lots of blocking also combination movements. A combination example: two jabs, back step and then a round kick. The test he did on Saturday was for eight different combination movements. Now with his new belt he has to learn 20 different combination movements. I have to say that sparing looks very difficult to do. Not only does he have to worry about his opponent getting the best of him but he will have to try to anticipate their moves so he can do the right combination to score the highest points. Recognizing the combination is a two way street. Now the competition begins. Who will be able to get the best combinations and make the most points.