Let's Go Fly a Kite

Saint Louis enjoyed some really beautiful fall days (highs in the 70s, full sunshine) the week after Sawyer was born. We hit a park every afternoon, and Kevin and I got the itch to fly a kite. A few snags in the plan included A) no kite, and little luck in finding one; and B) little experience with successful kite-flying. As luck would have it, a trip to Once Upon a Child for more Sawyer clothes yielded a two-pack of "Easy 2 Fly" kites. Two first-born, over-achievers should be able to handle "Easy 2 Fly" - right?

We now had kites in our possession; however, the weather was now even colder than usual - cloudy and in the 40s. Determined, we arranged for Kevin to come home from work early to take advantage of a windy, but not freezing day. Reiley, having poured over a treasury of Spot stories (by Eric Hill) from the library, which included a tale of Spot flying a kite, was thrilled for the chance to fly a kite. She was also mildly concerned that our kite would get stuck in a tree (which was Spot's fate), and unlike Spot, we wouldn't have a talking, top-hat wearing kangaroo to jump up and save our kite from the tree. We promised we would hold on tight to the kite.

We packed all the kids and my mom (GrandMar to the kids) into the van and set off for our local elementary school down the street with a big soccer field perfect for kite-flying. Kevin spent a nerve-wracking 5 minutes trying to launch the kite. Kevin and Reiley share similar frustration tolerances, and I could sense their anxiety escalating simultaneously. "Is the kite ever going to fly high in the sky, Mom??"

After several sprints from Kevin, the kite was successfully launched to the sound of cheers from the rest of us! I love the sprinting stance from Kevin in this picture.

The kite rode on the wind for about 20 minutes, which gave everyone a chance to hold it and watch it, and for parents to attempt artsy photos.

Reiley was so genuinely thrilled to fly the kite. It was another opportunity for me to experience excitement and wonder through the eyes of my children. Such a simple act - flying a diamond-shaped plastic sheet in the air - created a great family memory for all of us.

Ainsley was mildly entertained by flying the kite, mostly because she was able to sing "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins repeatedly. She became distracted by the playground next to the soccer field, and after we had spent a while with the kite, we headed up to the playground. The grown-ups were in charge of steering the kite away from the trees around the playground. Unfortunately, on my watch, the kite plummeted onto the school roof, and then into a nearby tree. Reiley, reminded of Spot's misfortune, burst instantly into tears, and asked us how we were ever going to save the kite.

The tree was too high to climb, and Kevin proclaimed it a lost cause. However, GrandMar and I combined our woman power to grab the string and pull it down with some random things we had with us and saved the day!

Here's a video of our adventure