The Birthday Part Two

Last month, we took a trip down to Houston as part of Jonathan's birthday celebration.

Our first day was spent at Space Center Houston. It was awesome! We spent 6 hours there and it doesn't feel like it was long enough. There were all sorts of exhibits and games to learn more about how they do things. 

We got to take a tram ride around the different buildings that make up Space Center Houston and we even got to go inside of one of them. There were scientists and engineers at work.

A scale model of the International Space Station.

The other stop on the tram ride was seeing a real Saturn V rocket. It is MASSIVE!!!

It's hard to describe the scale of this rocket.

After the tram ride, we had lunch in the food court. Naturally, there was a transporter from Star Trek in there.

After lunch, we headed out to see the space shuttle Independence. It is a scale model of a space shuttle and was amazing how much detail it has.

We also got to see rock samples from the moon.

This is a little moon rock that people can touch.

One of the last things we saw was the Apollo 17 command module. It looks beat up, but the bottom looks worse.

After it closed, we took some pictures of the space shuttle and we realized we accidentally took the headsets with us.

Jonathan took them back and the worker jokingly accused Jonathan of stealing them.

 I like the astronaut on the McDonalds down the street from Space Center Houston.

The next day we went through downtown Houston on our way to our next big stop.

The next place Jonathan wanted to visit was the 1940 Air Terminal Museum. It's still attached to the tarmac of the current airport in Houston.

Our guide was very knowledgeable and answered all of Jonathan's questions.

After spending a few hours there, we drove around the University of Houston campus on our way to dessert.

I'm grateful for friends that know yummy places to visit because I probably wouldn't have found the Red Dessert Dive on my own.

Our desserts were so rich that neither one of us could finish them.

 We had to head back early for some Saturday church meetings, but we were able to stop off in Smithville for lunch. This little town was the setting for the movie Hope Floats. It is one of the many cute little Texas towns.

Even though we were a month late in celebrating Jonathan's birthday, it was a great time!

Our Missionaries

I am grateful for our wonderful, hardworking missionaries. We've been able to get to know them very well. We take them out to dinner, watch General Conference with them, and host lessons with them for a man that is interested in the Book of Mormon.

We had donuts while we watched General Conference.

They are wonderful teachers and I love spending time with them.

Pictures

I am grateful for the photos of the adventures Jonathan and I have had. Jonathan has our photo albums set up on our TV when the chromecast is idle. A few weeks ago, a photo that I took at the Manti Temple a few years ago popped up.

Seeing that picture brought back a lot of memories including the weird guy that Jonathan ended up talking to while I wandered around the temple grounds taking pictures. It is wonderful to have a reminder of times we've spent together.

Calm

I am grateful that both Jonathan and I were able to feel a quiet calm during his unexpected job search at the beginning of this year. It came with a certain amount of work on our part, but it came.

I read a talk given by David A. Bednar called Therefore They Hushed Their Fears. It really helped me rely more on my faith rather than waste energy worrying.

Additions

I am grateful for all of the new additions to our extended families this upcoming year. Between weddings and another nephew joining the bunch there is a lot to celebrate.

Together

I am grateful for all the time that Jonathan and I have had together and will have in the future.

Funny unrelated story. That watch Jonathan's wearing in the picture would make a small beep on the hour every hour. At some point while we were dating, he lost the watch. Years later, it was found deep in my parent's couch. It beeped, but we couldn't figure out where exactly the beep was coming from.

A few weeks ago, I made a comment about life a decade ago and realized that I've known Jonathan for almost an entire decade. It stunned me that we have been together for so long. It doesn't feel like we've been married for much longer than 4 years, but we'll be doubling that in just a few months. I love the life we built together. It hasn't been easy, but it has been more than worth it.

Primary

I am grateful for all the years I've been in Primary. Since the summer of 2014, I've had a calling in Primary. There has been a few small breaks in between each of our moves, but otherwise I've been with lots of wonderful (at times crazy) kids. Being around them reminds me of my relationship with Heavenly Father. I know there are times that I keep doing what I want to do even though I know it's not what He wants me to do. It helps me find much needed patience with the kids in my class. I am so impressed with them and the things they already know. I'm grateful for all that they teach me and how patient they are with me.

Texcellent Adventures

I am grateful for all the adventures we've had in Texas. Some were unexpected like having snow on our car and stumbling upon the Alamo, but we've really enjoyed finding new things here.

Finding rainbows out in the country.

I love seeing Texas longhorns!

Thanks to my mom, I made it down to the Silos.

It's still hard to believe that the Houston temple was under water after the hurricane last year.

I love how warm the Gulf of Mexico is!

I love that the San Antonio temple is basically the same floor plan as the Sacramento temple.

Texas didn't want us to forget what snow is.

I'm glad that we've been able to help improve our community.

I still can't believe we were at the qualifying session for the United States Grand Prix.

Our first trip to downtown San Antonio involved us stumbling on the Alamo.

We've made it to two of the three Presidential libraries in Texas.

We've had our fair share of trips to Ikea.

We've been seranaded while eating delicious Mexican food.

We've enjoyed driving through downtown Austin.

We've had an awesome time karting.

We explored University of Texas at night.

We found the most delicious tacos in our neighborhood.

We found lots and lots of bluebonnets!

We've gone on lots of walks in the park.

We found the most gorgeous beach either one of us have ever been to.

We bowled.

We visited a wild flower farm.

We explored downtown Fredericksburg.

We found a really cool military museum in Austin.

We love the art throughout the city.

Thanks to Home Depot, we played even more.

We slowly are exploring Austin.

We went out to a ball game.

We found the perfect place to get cowboy boots.

We love seeing the capitol building.

We finally tried and enjoyed Top Golf.

We enjoyed our trip to Florence.

We are slowly eating our way through the restaurants in our neighborhood.

We went to our first hockey game and really enjoyed it.

We've hardly scratched the surface of all the different trips we can take here in Texas and I can't wait to to do even more!