Fizzy Rockets and Lazy Blimps

The title pretty well describes what brought the week's excitement.

On Sunday after church and sundaes, Mom and Landon tried their luck at baking cookies Grandma M. had brought over the week before. 

They seemed to be a little low on flour, but they tasted good! 

On Monday, Eliza had an impromptu playdate with Max while Max’s mom took his little sister to the doctor. The two played very well together, independently as three-year-olds will do.

We kept Landon home from school on Tuesday to experiment with the idea of homeschooling. Mike tutors a child who is homeschooled, and his parents have had a mixed experience. We know other families who really enjoy homeschooling, so it remains a possibility in our minds. He passed the experiment, but we'll keep playing wait-and-see for the next little while. We may see about getting him into one of the local magnets. 

On Wednesday after picking up Eliza from school, we all went to the original Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop. The Camarillo location is the one that started it all. The store reminded us of the Halifax Freak Lunchbox with the exception that (in addition to candy galore) the store was stocked with Rocket Fizz sodas in a rainbow of varieties along with novelty pops from all over (including Detroit’s own Faygo). Hallie picked up some Cheerwine to go along with assorted candies of unusual and unique flavors.

Just a nondescript storefront on Ventura Boulevard

Salt water taffy in dozens of assorted flavors

Check out the sodas inspired by the likes of Wink Martindale, Mighty Mouse, Judge Wopner, and The Wizard of Oz! 

"I sentence you to drink my soda!"

And then there are the tin signs with the nostalgic/cheeky/sarcastic sayings, all suitable for kitchen or rec room.

And then, there's this.

And this. Who wouldn't want pincers for hands? 

With the nice weather, the kids and cat have spent a lot of their afternoon time outside,

something that has preserved our family’s collective sanity (a borderline proposition under the best of conditions). Of unusual note this week, we saw a MetLife blimp (Snoopy Two, evidently) float over the house. Living fairly near to the local airport, we do get some interesting flybys, but what made this one unique was how the blimp flew quite low and kept circling our neighborhood instead of just curving around and going down to the airport. Do people hire the blimp just to go on leisurely rides over their fellow neighbors’ homes? 

Landon helped Mike move a couple of different families on Saturday. Mike appreciated having a work buddy, and Landon appreciated getting donuts for his efforts.