This weekend was the Ballunar Festival at NASA! Last year we spent most of our time on their "fair grounds" looking at fire trucks, watching parachuters, and meeting an astronaut. We did a little of that as well, but this year we also toured just a few of the several NASA facilities that they open to the public just for the Ballunar Festival weekend. It was aMAZing!! If it had been just Mike and I we would have done the whole tour, but we didn't want to push our luck with the kids, who were fantastic, by the way. We got to see the Saturn V, which is the rocket used to get astronauts up in space from 1967-73. How many people can say they have a family picture by the engine cone of a giant space launch rocket?

We got to see a pod, the funny bell shaped vessel in which sit the astronauts as it goes hurling through space, pummeling through the atmosphere, returning to earth. What a rush!

I think my favorite thing though, that sent absolute chills down my spine, was this! The actual on-ramp that took astronauts onto the shuttle and the adjoining white room (prep room). Oooh! It was awesome!! I had butterflies in my stomach as I imagined being an astronaut with my last minutes before going into outer space!

We got to see two of the mission control centers, the rooms full of computers where they control all the launches. The first room was full of old computers used for the first space missions. And the second room is currently used for the launches today. Neat!

At the end of our adventure it was great to sit back and enjoy our own little shuttle, back to the parking lot.

We've had a birthday, shout hooray!

Isaac turned 4 last week! 4? Really? That seems way too old! It's funny, because Lydia seems to master the new age so well, partially because she already seems 11 to me. But I just can't wrap my head around Isaac being 4!

What a lucky birthday for Isaac. It was Columbus Day and there was no school, which meant Lydia was home for him to play with all day! Talk about an easy day for me! Awesome! Then that evening we had a family over for chili and cornbread and cake and ice cream. Yum! Here's a picture of Isaac and his lime cake. He wanted it "lime and green, ALL over!"

Here are the boys and their guns. Naturally.

Lydia and her best friend Krista.

For Isaac's birthday he wanted an umbrella. I was thrilled to find a lime green umbrella to match his cake. This picture's quality isn't superb, but I love that I captured this struggle. Evelyn's determination and Isaac's concern that his sister was taking the umbrella away from him.

Isaac and his cool Iron Man/Jet transformer. It's actually a pretty cool toy. I was eager for Isaac to go to sleep so I could play with it.

The next day at his T/Th preschool he got to stand up in front of the whole school in morning assembly for the happy birthday song. What are the odds that the other birthday kid there was also a 4 yr old Isaac? Crazy! Isaac is funny because when I asked him if he wanted to go up for them to sing to him he was all like "well, I dunno" trying to act all tough, but as soon as he was up there he was just waves and smiles. Sigh, be still my mother heart! My baby! Here he is in his birthday hat and a goodie bag he got from his teachers.

The day after was also great because Oma and Opa's package came! He was so excited! And is such a ham...

I sure do love that goofy kid!