Sprinklers!

One of the boys' birthday gifts (this one was technically for Josh, but who are we kidding, they only get proprietary rights to their toys for the first 30 minutes or so before they become communal), was a Buzz Lightyear sprinkler. Rather than being a passive outlet for water, this one is interactive. The water goes through the hose to a control lever, which you can ease forward (or blast forward) to control the flow of water past the lever and into the base for the rocket. The force of the water determines how high the rocket goes and how fast it climbs.

Lucas likes to BLAST it. Even if he starts slow, it is just a trick. At some point he will send it full throttle. The rocket shoots off the spray of water, and Josh tries to catch it as it comes back down. Here is Lucas starting a blast-off:



Josh is getting pretty good at controlling the flow of water and easing it upward, so he can raise the rocket steadily and get it to stay on the water beam even when it's way up high.

Initiating launch:



And higher:



And higher!



Enjoying the sprinkler effect with a steady, set flow:

To infinity, and beyond!

On a side note, Portland is having record June rainfall. It is not warm there yet either. We are enjoying our Texas summer!