Flying high

California Capital Airshow 9/11

Maria, Aggie and Nicole went to Toogood Winery in Fairplay for the day.  Nate and I had the day to ourselves and after reading the morning paper decided we should go check out the air show.  I've never been to one.  Now I've seen the planes flying, but was never allowed to go on site before as it was too expensive.  Figured it would be a great way to entertain Nate and let him see some of the planes up close.

We did see better planes than this, but Nate likes being a ham for the camera.

I couldn't believe how small these helicopters were.  Looked like little remote control helicopters.

I'm sure it seemed bigger to Nate.

We ran into our neighbor at the show.

Nate on a jump seat. This plane was truly massive.

Here's Nate at the front of the plane pictured above.  The front and back open up, you could drive a tank through this thing.

Nate got to hop into some cockpits, last time he did that was on a United flight.

Nate liked the painting on the plane.

Of course there were planes in the air too.

Here's a U2 spy plane

They call this a stealth plane, but we all saw it.  Must not have been cloaking properly.

We even saw some rocket ships.  Nate's favorite part of the show was the bounce area.

Just before jumping and sliding down, he'd yell "Cannon Ball!"

Then he'd jump, catching air on the way down the slide.

Got to admit it looks like he's having a great time.  More than me standing around in the heat watching him play.  I wanted to watch more of the planes in action.

Nate standing at the front of the engine.  Glad it didn't get turned on, that would have really sucked.

More cockpit time for Nate.  Tried to tell him this is where our neighbor Tom works, flying all these planes.

Ready to run through another plane.

Time for a break.  The jet fighters were going by and it was loud.

Told Nate this is probably one of Tom's planes, since we know he fly's for fed-ex.

Nate getting his face painted.  Flag on one side and a plane on the other.

We're trying to get him to stop biting his nails, but aren't having great luck.

Robosaurus

Nate agreed to go to the air show because we were going to see Robosaurus in action.  This huge fire breathing robot dinosaur.  No schedule was posted, so we didn't know when it was going to happen.  It started and we were on the opposite side of the airfield.  By the time we ran over to it, it was almost over.  Barely got a photo or two.  Although I asked Nate why we were running towards the monster instead of away from it, he just said it was going to eat me up.

By the end of the day, we had spent about 5 hours there.  We had a great time, but Nate was hot and tired.  We drove home and were greeted by Logan, who along with Jake came over and swam for the next several hours.  Nate went to sleep at Aggie's that night and didn't even make it through stories he was so tired.

It's a Dog's Life

Our dog Lilo

Got several photos here of Lilo.  These were taken in our kitchen about a week ago.  I was playing with my iphone camera and a new app that Gerhard had recommended called Hipstamatic.  I purchased a few "lenses" for it and they provide some of these different effects.

Like the black and white one here

She got a little bored of the picture taking.

Can't see it here, but her paws are a little sore from all the ball chasing.

She's such a good dog and a great addition to our family.

Rudy's 5th Birthday Party

Rudy ready to make a wish

Nate and I took a little drip  down to Elk Grove to visit John, Andrea, Toby and Rudy, as the Mader's put together a party for Rudy's 5th birthday.  It was a great opportunity to catch up with them and let Nate have a day to play with some other kids.  We wound up spending almost the full the day there and had a great time.

Hard to believe Toby is in college now, funny to hear myself say "I remember when he was ..."

Nate awaiting the entertainment and head bashing about to ensue.

John hanging the Pinata.

Darth Vader's head, soon to be a victim of head bashing by a young rebel alliance.

Rudy's ready for the chance to swing the bat.

The rest of the party waits patiently in line.  Although the main even will be over when the biggest kid swings.  As he proudly says, I've been working out.

Nate scores some candy

While the candy may have poured from Vader's head, there's enough left hanging to provide some additional fun for the kids.

It's a hit!

Rudy takes another shot at it.

Nate keeps at it.

John taking it all in.

In addition to the Pinata, they had a Slip N Slide and a pool for the kids to play in.

The two sides decide to battle it out in a prolonged water fight.  The sliders versus the poolers.

Rudy stops for a little nourishment

What you don't see is this is Rudy's 5th bite, at some point he'll actually swallow, but for now it was how quickly he could get back to the water fight.  Felt like watching a NASCAR driver making a pit stop. 

Nate stops for a hot dog as well.  We were in our Outrigger canoe club shirts.

It's been awhile since we hung out, outside of a golf course.

Nate and his godfather John.

Nate was willing to pose for a few photos, but was more interested in the cat across the way diggin in the flower box.

Nate and Rudy winding down after 5 hours of playing.

Happy Birthday Rudy

The Pinata fragments still provided some late afternoon fun.

Darth Vader has been split in two, representing the conflict within.  "There is good in him, I can feel it."

The piece that Nate is wearing looks like he should be welding.

Episode V, the Empire struck out!