I know it's not quite summer yet..... but..... I am going to try and regularly update you on our various activities and give you a glimpse into how we keep ourselves entertained. Joe usually gets 2 days off work back to back so we aim to reserve one day for us as a family just relaxing and relating to one another and the other day is for errands/ chores/ social life.
This weeks "relaxing day" had varying winds..... thus the perfect opportunity for a kite! Yes please. Our location on the end of the canal and the close relationship we have with our neighbors afford us a decent amount of ground to cover. There is only one tree close, but it was down wind. Houses, a fence and of course the water are our only obstacles. First thing in the morning, (before he even wanted breakfast!) Joe was out trying to get the kite up. We tried a few times without much luck and then with a little aid from the neighbors Joe let out a lot more string and he was able to keep the kite up fairly well as long as it flew above the houses.
This was all well and fun off and on throughout the day. But the best.... was after dark. It's been insanely warm lately so we've taken advantage of it as much as possible enjoying some time together out on the patio after Rhea is in bed. The wind was a little more steady after the sun went down so of course Joe decides we must fly the kite again. So we stretch out the string and get it up and going and can't hardly see it. Really, my eyes had to work real hard to keep track of it. Thankfully it had a very long flappy tail. Idea..... we need to light it up somehow! What can we use? After the realization that we don't own anything glow-in-the-dark we thought we'd try a flashlight. So down comes the kite and Joe heads in to find a flashlight. He returns successful with one of the little LED kind. I mentioned my concerns about the flashlight going in the water and they were dismissed on the account of the flashlight being an enclosed unit so it shouldn't hurt anything. So here we go. Joe fiddles with the string and flashlight for awhile attempting to get a good knot (challenging due to the fact that it's dark out). Flashlight is attached and here we go..... Joe goes clear across the yard and I hold up the now wobbly and kinda heavy kite.... string is tight and Joe takes off at a run and I toss the kite upwards...it darts sharply towards the water at which point the 'knot' fails entirely and the flashlight falls and bounces off the dock, ploop into the water it goes! I jog over and stand there laughing.... Joe comes up beside me...
J: 'What's so funny?'
E: pointing to the water 'The flashlights in the water' (evidenced by the eery light cloud near the paddle boat)
J: looking up at the kite 'Oh, it is'
We laughed and the of course Joe goes after the flashlight. [The string handle of the kite somehow fit securely on the bar above Al & Lida's swing so the kite is flapping overhead] He climbs out onto the paddle boat and uses the fishing net to try and retrieve the flashlight, but all he is managing to do is stir up a bunch of mud making a black cloud over the flashlight glow in the water. Again, it was eery. Finally he just reaches down with his hand and grabs it off the bottom, soaking his sleeve of course. (The water is really low right now)
Ok, so it's not as funny unless you're here. And sadly, I don't have any pictures since A) it was nighttime and B) I drown our camera (hoping to get a new one next month).
The kite did go in the water twice and the extra long flappy tail got caught in the patio supports once so I cut it to about half the length. I imagine we'll have more adventures with this kite through the summer. $3.99 well spent.
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