Unofficial Summertime Kick-Off

Memorial Monday found the Zoo Crew flying our American flag proudly and thinking of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Thank you to all who serve. And thank you to their families, who often sacrifice more than we know.

The holiday found us playing host to our favorite Piggs. On the agenda for the day: BBQ, ice cream sundaes and amateur rocketry.

After a flying trip for more ice for the ice cream maker (who knew we'd need 22 pounds of ice?), our luscious French vanilla was ready for tasting. Steph took the first taste....

Amazing what 12 cups of milk, some vanilla extract and a 75 cent package of mix can become!! (We won't mention how long it took to cook first or how sore our little arms got from all the stirring. Let's just say that we were happy the churn is electric!)

After an inspirational visit to NASA on Saturday (followed by a trip to Hobby Lobby), the Crew were all set to become Rocketeers. Ah-hmm...Chuck prefers Rocket-MEN, thank you. (And, YES, several choruses of the song were sung...not well, but sung nonetheless.) We launched after dinner, and blew the minds of everyone.

This naive mommy will admit that she had NO CLUE that the "beginner" engines we bought would launch handmade rocket projectiles into the cloud layer! Steph and I even had to mount a vehicle based recovery mission to retrieve a rocket that landed more than a block away!!

While the big boys tinkered with their toys, the kiddles enjoyed some sunshine fun & frolic in the pool and on bikes:

Summer always kicks off better with friends! More pictures here (seriously worth a look!): Memorial Day 2010