Ah... Houstin ?

Scene: The Local Playground. A, M, and J have come to launch a vinegar and baking soda plastic rocket.

J (Looking around flat playground equipment with relatively dry wood chips): "Where shall we launch?"

M (indicating a morass of grassy mud): "We can put the launcher here."

J: Oh.... Okay, A; you hold the rocket. (Squirts vinegar from a washed out soap dispenser into the rocket fuselage) One, two, three... (vinegar approaches fill line) ... ten."

A: "We're filling it up with fuel!"

J: (scooping baking soda into launch base) "One, two, three. Okay, give me the rocket."

A: "Okay."

J: "Alright; (tilts rocket and attaches it to base) I'm going to mix the baking soda and vinegar!"

M: "Stand back!"

M and A take several steps back.

J: "Here we go!" (Mixes chemicals and hastily places base down on a grass clump. Jumps back. Chemicals fizz inside rocket, which slowly falls over so that rocket is pointing straight at A.)

M & J (squealing): "Aaaah! Run! A! Run!"

J (Scampering back and forth away from and toward rocket alternatively trying to right it and running away from an imminent toy explosion): "Aaaah! Aaah! Look out!"

M runs toward A. A takes several steps away from the rocket, but manages to stay in its trajectory)

Rocket: "Ppfffffffft!!!" (Rocket sprays carbon dioxide, neutralized vinegar, and baking soda from its tail and lurches five feet, coming to rest at A's feet.)

M (to J): "You aimed that right at the kid!"

J: "It tipped over on a grass clump!"

A: "Let's do it again!"

Four Time Zones Off

A has pretty much been about to explode from all the Christmas excitement.

So it wasn't too surprising when he woke up this morning at 3AM. M tried various attempts to get him to go back to sleep. Eventually they just got up and around 4 AM went around the house, inside and out, looking for signs of Santa. I think they found a wrapper.

M's plan, which I was too asleep to cooperate with, was to open presents at 4 AM and then go back to bed. What happened was that I woke up (for about the twentieth time) and stumbled out of the bedroom at 7:15.

Insert present opening scene here.