"We're Back!!!!"

Yes, our week of fun in the sun has come to a much-too-soon finish. Why is it the weeks drag on and on but when you're off work it zooms by in a blur! We did quite a lot of things in 9 days. First up:

The Johnson Space Center


I'm not sure what that look on Zach's face is, but this is a crystal replica of the solar system. Pretty cool.



Some really good shots of us riding the tram. It was a long ride! But it took us around the entire complex.


This is the actual command center where they monitored the space shuttle launches back in the 1960's and 1970's. They don't use it anymore because the needs outgrew the space.


Me: "Okay guys, smile!"
Emmy: "What's that loud roaring sound?"
Me: "Oh, it's just the rocket above you about to blast off in fifteen seconds."
Zach: "What???"
Me: "Oh I'm just kidding..."
Emmy: "Whew, that's a relief..."
Me: "Yeah, you have twenty seconds."


Hey, a great family shot! the rocket behind us is almost as long as a football field. And the booster behind us is one of FIVE.


The crew of Apollo 13! Jim Lovell is in the middle I think. Some people say the movie "Apollo 13" is based on this very mission. Sounds possible.


This was a really cool homage`.


This was one of the capsules in a starry background. Had to turn off the flash so it looked especially luminous.


Me: "Hey, what are you doing with those moon rocks?"
Technician: "I'm preparing them for storage."
Me: "Hey, wait a minute! You're not even real! How are you talking?"
Technician: "We are communicating on a level light years ahead of everyone else."
Me: "Really?"
Technician: "Good Lord no...you're just nuts."


That's a good way to take a nap in space...man that would drive me crazy.

They had something really cool there: human foosball!:



I didn't play...fear of being kicked in small spaces.

What a busy day! Afterwards, we headed to Kemah! I had never heard of it until now, but they have a really cool Aquarium restaraunt which we patronized:




The waiter, "Ryan", said they had the 3rd largets cylindrical aquarium in the country! Plus, they had this:


A 200-lb. grouper fish! Again, "Ryan" said if they live in the ocean, they can get as big as 1,200 lbs. Another great shot of ye olde kids.

After dinner, we went down to the sting ray reef and actually got to pet some of them. One of them kept flapping their fin and getting everyone wet. I hope they cooked him up, but they probably didn't:


Lousy punk.


Tree frogs! They had some other cool exhibits like snakes, a trantula, and some scoropions that glowed in the dark!

Then we walked around the Boardwalk they had. A lot of things to do, and a lot it would cost to do them all. We did let Zach and Emmy play a game and they won these:


These were a source of irritation for everyone from this point forward. They each had one, and yet they found a way to fight over whose was whose.


There's a cool shot of it. I wanted to ride the ferris wheel, but was outvoted 3-1...(sigh).

Then...off to the Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, TX:


There were other buildings too. Unfortunately we couldn't bring a camera in, so here are some fun facts:

1) Yes, the employees get to eat whatever they want as long as they are clocked in;
2) Yes, we got a scoop of 1 of 16 flavours after the tour was over. I got Mocha Almond Fudge. The kids got...strawberry...cuz, you know, you can't just walk into a store and get strawberry. Cari got the Southern Blackberry Cobbler. One of my personal faves;
3) The pipes that transport the ingredients as well as the finished product look white at first, but upon closer inspection there is actual frost that has formed on them.

Finally, we made it back Wednesday morning about 1:45am after a jaunt through San Antonio to visit Cari's aunt. Now that we were a little more rested, we headed out to NorthEast Mall for some lunch at Genghis Grill, then we made it to the movie theater to see THIS:


Man was this an explosive movie!! It's a shame Optimus got his arm ripped off but he only needed one to kick everyone's butt.

Then Friday we made our way to the Ranger game!! We swung by the Ballpark and bought eight seats in section 315 which is way, way, WAY up there. At some point we managed to get some seats a lot better:


There's Josh Hamilton!! Emmy and Carson would shout "Go Josh Hamilton!" and you could see Josh's head turn slightly to see who was shouting ha ha.


Here Josh is making an incredible catch. I missed it when it happened, but I caught in on the new HD Jumbotron!

What was the final score?


YEAH BABEE!! We destroyed them! Nelson Cruz had 8 RBIs and a mammoth home run.

Saturday night Zach and Emmy spent the night with Cari's parents while we went to a wedding for...someone I never met and will never see again. Afterwards we went and saw:


Horrible Bosses!! Man this was a hilarious movie. So glad my boss is nothing like this. Do I even have a boss? No one ever comes around me and gives me mountains of work to do. It's like being a small business owner with all of the financial stability and none of the constant money worries.

Then, Sunday, we...well, we chilled. I did the laundry and we did absolutely nothing. And it was great. We did have a birthday celebration for Emmy, but I'll get to that next time.