Birthday Boy!

My first-born baby has turned 7!  To celebrate we went to Houston to see an Astro's Game.  Doug got us fantastic seats!

 Aunt Courtney, Uncle Marty and Bryce came too!

 We got to eat dinner in the owner's private dining room.  The food was amazing!  We felt so special.  :)

 The kids had a blast going from Gramma, to Pa Jon, to Nana and back again.  :)  You can see Jane shelling and eating peanuts with Gramma as Peter cheered with Nana.

 Justin got to sit with Pa Jon for a while too.  It was so wonderful to have so many people to share this special day!

 Seventh Inning stretch!  1,2,3 strikes you're out!

 After the game we got to go down and run on the field - a rare privilege! The kids loved it and went crazy.  :)

 Peter got a game ball!  Woohoo!

 The next day we got to celebrate and have a big family party and Pa and Nana's house.  Peter picked a Super Mario Brother's theme.  So many memories of my own childhood.

 Gramma and Pa Jon bought the kids matching Mario shirts for the occasion.  :)  So cute!

 I had such a great time putting the decorations together...especially making the "chompy plants" as Peter and Justin called them.

 Opening presents!  Justin was so excited for his brother.  He cheered more loudly than Peter did at some of the gifts.  :)

 Bringing out the cake and singing...

 After presents we all enjoyed the beautiful weather and played.  The boys love their GG.

Mister Big Man 7.  Peter, you are such a blessing to our family and we praise the Lord for your life.  Hugs and kisses from Mama and Daddy.  XXOO

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post!  We have been busy with sicknesses, ministry and school.  But a few weeks ago Brent went to Cali for the Shepherd's Conference and I went to Houston with the kids for Spring Break.  We did a lot of cool stuff while we were there and we got to spend time with family.  The coolest thing we did was go to Space Center Houston....

 McDonald's breakfast is always the best way to start the day...

 Daddy called during breakfast and we got to talk briefly.

 When you first get to Space Center Houston you watch  short film on the discoveries and strides we have made in space exploration.

 Peter and I go to try our hand at manually landing the space shuttle on the moon...

 ....trying to see if we could lift weights on the different planets...

 ..and seeing what type of bird we would be.  We all came out as humming birds.  :)

 So right about now, my inner science nerd started to get giddy.  We got in line for the guided tram tour of Nasa...

 A short time later we found ourselves at the base of the stairs leading to THE Mission Control.

 We got to sit in the seats that were reserved for the family of the astronauts that were gone on missions.  If you listen carefully, you can hear my inner science nerd starting to hyperventilate.  :)  This is the room where Neil Armstrong's famous words were heard!  "One small step for man...one giant leap for mankind"....chills.

We also got to go on a tour to see the astronaut training center for the International Space Station.

This is a docking simulator.  When they are trying to dock, they are going 5 miles per second...that's like getting from Houston to Paris in 17 minutes!

This is the Orion mock-up capsule.  The current mission is to get a man to Mars.

This guy is one of the coolest parts...the robotics here are so advanced that he can bend both ways at the knees, has the dexterity in his hands to turn a single page of a book, and has clamps on his feet to allow him to work anywhere in or out of the ISS!

Another short tram ride took us to Saturn V and other rockets...

She was HUGE!

As you walked down the side of the rocket you got to see a memorial to all 17 missions that she took.  Here I am with the Apollo 1 team.

Back at Space Center Houston visitor center we watched a video that made you feel like you were flying over the Earth...

...and saw Galileo - the shuttle used in some of the early Star Trek movies.  Yeeeessss!!

We toured a model of a space shuttle cockpit,

got to take our picture on "Mars" ( I love the little alien, lol!)...

...and see what it would feel like to sit in the rocket, ready to launch.  I'm not necessarily claustrophobic, but it was hard not to get an uneasy feeling in your stomach as you lay there...

Moon rocks!

We got to see an exhibit that made you feel like you where standing on the moon, looking back at the Earth.  Strangely peaceful...and eerie.  I was glad to turn around and see that I was still firmly planted with my kids running circles on Earth!

To Infinity and Beyond!
Thank you Mom and Dad for taking us!  We had a BLAST! :)