It’s SUMMER TIME!! Houston Vacation

Our vacation this year will have to be divided between two blog posts . . . because the Bright family went on two different vacations.  :)

Josh and Cameron decided to finally take their dream father/daughter trip to Germany.  We wish we all could have gone (especially after seeing their AMAZING pictures), but that would have been a bit more costly.  In between trips to Bush Intercontinental Airport to drop Josh & Cam off and pick them up, Karston, Kayden, and I went to every possible museum, baseball game, restaurant, and of course multiple trips to NASA.  I did hear Karston & Kay say at times that Cameron is going to be really jealous she didn’t get to go here, so I think both trips turned out great!  I especially loved getting to spend one-on-one time with my two youngest kids.

So . . . for the first go around of pictures, you get to see what the Houston group of Bright’s got to do.  :)

 

The first thing we decided to do was to go to the Houston Zoo.  I LOVE the Houston Zoo because they give you lots of hands on things to do, explore, and multiple opportunities to learn (besides the normal zoo plaque at every cage).  You get to see the elephants take baths, pet the goats, find the Cupacombra (spell?!), and even see the pedigree charts of their chimpanzees.  There are videos that go along with about every animal where you can learn . . . any way I like it.  :)  The one thing though . . . it was HOT!  :)  Swimming at the pool that evening, and making a trip to Marble Slab helped a lot with the Houston heat.  :)

     

We even ate at Ponchos for lunch.  :)  We might have raised the flag a few times.  :)

 

 

The second day we decided to get up early and make a road trip to Beaumont, Texas to see Granny.  She hadn’t been feeling well lately, so this was our chance to make her feel a little bit better—and of course bring her birthday presents.  :)  Happy birthday Granny!!  Kayden picked out the cutest socks for Granny to wear.

That evening, we decided to catch an Astros game.  The Astros played the Angels, and beat them of course.  We made a pack before the game started that we would not leave until it was finished (we tend to take off a little early at the Hooks games sometimes).  We were so glad we stayed because it got really close in the last few innings, but the Astros pulled off a win.  Karston was in HEAVEN!!  It was so fun watching him get so excited about the sport he loves.  :)  He doesn’t get excited about much, so that smile in the picture below—that real smile . . . it is priceless for a Mommy.  :)

 

The next day we woke up early (well, actually every day we woke up early with no place to go—museums don’t open until 10 . . . ugh!) because we were going to NASA to eat lunch with an ASTRONAUT!!  Kayden and Karston had been looking forward to this since we purchased the tickets several months ago.  I made them dress up a little, because this was a pretty important person they were going to meet.

   

We first watched Astronaut Brian Duffy speak to all of the visitors at the Johnson Space Center, and then we went upstairs to a fancy lunch to spend time with him with fewer people around.  The kids noticed how fancy the tables were, and food—it was perfect.  Karston and Kayden asked him questions, and were really in awe of the things he had gotten to do.  :)  I was really happy that in his presentation he shared one of my favorite pictures—the Columbus ships (that are now on display in Corpus) with the space shuttle behind them.

 

(above) Kayden and Karston in the flight simulator—I LOVED watching them, and someone saw that I was having a lot of fun watching them too  . . . .  :)

The next day we decided to take on two different attractions—the Museum of Science and History and the Downtown Aquarium.  We had a lot of fun!

Kayden and Karston trying their hand at being weather people.  :)

 

 

My kids can definitely make the funniest faces—LOVE my Kayden and her crazy personality.  :)

 

 

O.K., so she might have been a little afraid of the sharks swimming overhead.  :)

 

 

We might have multiple pictures of TX waffles, but this was REALLY the one way to make Cami truly jealous.  :)

 

On our next to last day, we finally got to go to the much anticipated Houston Children’s Museum.  My kids LOVE this museum—LOVE this museum!!  They played in the make-believe city for almost three hours.  Yes, I did get to finish a book I had started that week, which is pretty awesome, and they got to play and play and play.  :)

Kayden got to work at the restaurant—earned big bucks that she loved to put in her checking account via her ATM card.  :)

 

Karston and Kayden spent time in the lab. . . .

   

. . . and, I’m pretty sure I want to do this to the ceiling of my classroom this year?!?!!

 

On the last day, Cam and Dad were flying in later that evening, so we decided to go to NASA one more time.  :)

Karston and Kayden did their own experiment at Rocket Park—can we get our whole bodies through the fence . . . nope, their heads wouldn’t fit.  he-he

 

I had to show them Ellington Field as well (where I experienced microgravity).  This is Kayden by the Vomit Comet.  :)

And . . . well, after a trip to the movies to see Maleficent (I highly recommend—awesome movie), a trip to get Karston’s hair cut, a walk around the mall, a stop at Jason’s Deli, and wasting time just sitting in the car . . . we finally got to pick up Dad and Cam from the airport (their flight had been delayed by several hours).  :(  We decided to stay one more night in Houston, and then drove back the next day.  :)  We had a great time being together, and exploring one of our favorite cities—Houston.  :)

 

A message for Papa Ault:  Karston got his physical this week for Boy Scout Camp.  He is so excited, and very excited to get this off his ‘things to do before camp’ list.  Well, he didn’t know a routine physical meant he would have to get THREE shots!!!  :)  Love my little boy, and I’m so excited about his trip with his Dad and Papa to the smoky mountains of North Carolina-Camp Daniel Boone.  :)