He really can make a kite!

My dad has always told us stories of his childhood and one of them is about how he and his friends used to make their own kites. Kite making was for fun, but they also flew them and pitted their kites against the other children in the area. Think of it as 'olden days' Pokemon cards! I remember a story about how he and his friends would glue finely crushed glass to the thread of the kites so that they could cut the strings of other kites flying in the sky. I guess it's ruthless out there in the world of kite flying! :)

Recently Maddy had become interested in the flying a kite and since we couldn't seem to fly the stunt kite I bought for Josh, my dad said that he'd make one for us. Maddy was very enthusiastic and I thought it would be great for the kids to see Gong Gong actually make the kite. My dad however just started to make the kites on his own (four of them in total) and now that I've seen how much work they are, I understand why. A couple of weeks ago we took them out and my sister Joanne and I were stunned to find that the kites actually flew! Actually they flew way better than we imagined. My dad still had the one for Ethan to make, so we got to see him make one after all. I was impressed with the skill he had and I enjoyed watching my dad do something that I could see brought him a lot of joy in his childhood. As he made Ethan's kite, he told us of how in the 'old days' they made their own glue out of starch and vinegar. They didn't use starch and water because the bugs would eat the starch if they only used  water. He told us how they'd save/gather scrap pieces of paper to paste together to make the body. All I can think is, "Wow, our kids (and us for the matter) have it way too easy."

Anyway it was a great family bonding time and a memory that I will cherish.

Gong Gong working on the spine of Ethan's kite.

Here is Maddy adding the decorative touches to her 'fish' kite.

Gong Gong attaching the line to the kite.

"Run, Maddy run!!!"