Airport Run

"Can we go somewhere?" is a common James question these days.

On early evenings like tonight, this is still our go-to spot:

For those of you at home who answered "Airport" - you win!

Santa Rosa still has a pretty sleepy little airport, despite recent growth. The REACH helicopters continue to be fascinating. The blinking blue and red lights are fun, and when the sun goes down, the colours in the sky and surroundings are magnificent.

We watch the planes take off and wonder where they are going. We wave them goodbye and tell them we hope they have a good trip. It feels like our family airport.

Then we take the back roads for the short trip home.

Special Exposure / Wordless Weds: Twighlight

I took this photo earlier this month. We were at a special event at our local air museum. Jazz music floated on the breeze at sunset, as we saluted days gone by.

James is wearing my scarf - he looks like a junior aviator.


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visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.






               and ... Wordless Wednesday

June Mornings

James has summer school for a month. At first, he was not very happy about this. Now, however, we've found an incentive to make going to school a fun affair -- after dropping Daddy off at work, we head down the road to the airport, to look at the planes taking off and see if the REACH helicopters are out on the tarmac.

One of several craft being fixed up by the Air Museum.

Score! They are both there.

On our driving tour of the airfield, we get to pass by all the wonderful aircraft on display at the Pacific Coast Air Museum. It's been a while since we stopped by. We'll add that to our list of summer activities.

Toward the end of next week, we'll see the hot air balloons practicing for the big annual hot air balloon festival. What a lift for summer school!

Air Traffic

What did we least expect to see on our morning drive?

That's right -- a helicopter. James was delighted. He loves the airport, air museum, and machines that fly!

He can say the word "helicopter," with the "l" being a little weak, but in the moment of absolute excitement, it comes out "airplane!"

Show and Tell

James had a great morning at the new preschool today. Fridays are show and tell days and today he brought his first thing to "show and tell." The letter for the week was "A" and James adores airplanes. Therefore, bringing a toy plane seemed like a great way for him to make a start.

We practiced a bit what he could say and how he could talk about an airplane. James must have a zillion thoughts and observations about those suckers, but it's so hard for him to verbalize what's going on inside his head.

So when his SHAPE assistant later told me that James stood up and shared his airplane with no problems or anxiety, I did a Kuzco* victory dance, on the inside. I am so proud of him and delighted that he is doing so well with this new school and program!

* Kuzco: Woo-yeah! Look at me and my bad self! I snatched you right out of the air! "Ooh, I'm a crumbly canyon wall, and I'm taking you with me." Well, not today, pal! Uh-huh! Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!

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