We wish you a Merry Christmas

This year Celestra and I enjoyed a nice, quiet Christmas morning together before she joined her dad for the rest of the day and I joined my adopted family for a fun day of my own. Here are just a few highlight pics for you to enjoy from the weekend.

Celestra and I at Grandma Eiko's on Wednesday night

Cele with her Grandma Eiko

New Christmas eve PJ's

Cele with one of her favorite gifts, a nitted sweater/vest

from my best friends mother. Thanks Jeannie

Cele with her nice, warm horse blanket from Grandma and Grandpa Brown
Me thinks she likes it.

A special book Cele made for me, all about her

My sister Tonya

My sister Desiree

Andrew (Desiree's 3rd child) showing us how he can do summersaults

Desiree with her (currently) youngest child Jacob

Mom and Dad Brown

My cute nephew Jacob

My sisters Melissa and Alisha and Mel's mother-in-law

Here's hoping everyone had a great Christmas with wishes for a happy New Year.

Houston Day One

Well, here we go. Off to Neverland. No wait, that's not right. Now where were we going Celestra? Oh wait! That's right. You don't know yet. In fact, you don't know that we're leaving today. Now how to remedy this situation...

So did you like your card with the puzzle clue telling you we were going to Houston, Texas and that we would be going to NASA's Johnson Space Center and to Broadway's production of Sound of Music?

I think I'll take that as a yes.

What about your early presents from Grandma Eiko ($50.00) and Amma (a new digital camera)?

Oh yeah. I think you liked that too.

Well then off we go....

Our Hotel: La Quinta Inn and Suites

Our room at the hotel

Now on a (not so fun) sidenote. The airline managed to loose our luggage and we didn't get to the hotel till about 12am but still, things shall be brighter tomorrow! After all, we are on vacation! Yippee!!!

Houstan Day Two

Day two started out at the rental car company to get us a good, reliable method of getting around this gigantic (4th largest in the US) city they call Houston. And may I say thank heaven for the invention of the GPS. It was my lifeline.

The result was this Nissan Versa. Love the car! Just wish I could afford one for myself!

A short walk around the area of our hotel revealed this beautiful fountain.
Then it was off to begin our adventures in the city of Houston, hoping our luggage would eventually show up.

The first stop: The Houston Aquarium

This was a waterfall on the outside of the building housing the aquarium

...extending down to the side of the entrance

Look: Jellyfish

Fish here, fish there, fish EVERYWHERE!

A cool Aztec ruin with still more fish (of course)

A look at Celestra's favorite of the small aquatic life: seahorses.

A turn around the bend, a walk down a long hallway, and we arrive at

the Maharajah's palace and...

...this beautiful white tiger.

Raar

We're off to see the sharks. If we don't come back alive,

well at least you know where to try to find us.

UUmmmm...... shark,

shark, and even more shark.

To the left, to the right, and, ack duck, even above our heads!

Outside the aquarium to what to our wondering eyes should appear but a mini carnival and face painting too.

Cele's all time favorite carnival ride. The carousel. This time she got to ride a dolphin.

A beautiful job on the face painting

Now some Houston skyline for you

and some more

and more.

(I promise this is still Texas. We didn't hop another plane for LA)

and even more

The hard rock cafe we ate at from the birds eye view in the Farris wheel

Then it was back to the hotel (where, thank heavens, our luggage had been found and returned to us) and a quick change. Then it was off to a night of Broadway entertainment in the form of

(on a funny side note: we traveled to TX, caught a Broadway show, and still saw a familiar Cache Valley native on the program. Vanessa Ballam, a girl I went to school with who has found her own name in stage and opera productions.)

Celestra in her outfit for the show

and me in mine.

It was a great show with a good cast. All in all a very fun filled first day!

Houston Day Three

Day Three was spent (entirely, as promised to a certain 11 year old) at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Galveston, TX. Was it fun? Well yes definately. Did we learn a lot? MOst certainly. Would we go again? Once again, definately. Was it exhausting? Most emphatically, YES!

We got to go on a tour of Johnson Space Center and see some of the working and past, history making, areas of the Center.

The actual Mission Control room where all of the NASA missions were carried out throughout the late 70's and into the 80's, including the moon landings.

This man actually worked in Mission Control during some of the most memorable moments in history. On another fun note and an interesting piece of history, he stated that the first and last word (to date) spoken on the moon was Houston.

A quick check to see if Celestra is having fun. Hmm.. Not sure there.

What do you think?

This stuff is kept at -320 degrees F! Brrrrr

A functional mock-up of the space shuttle used by Astronauts in training

Yep she's definately having a good time

The robotic arm used in the shuttles for extra-vehicular work

A memorial for all lost Astronauts. Each tree represents an Astronaut who has died either through natural causes or through accidents during performance of their duties. The latest trees were planted after the Columbia explosion.

A VERY tall rocket

The engine to a rocket

A scale view for y0u of the bottom of the rocket

Same idea

and again...

and just one more for fun.

A texas long horn on NASA land?

Turns out NASA is letting the FFA of Houson use

the land to raise the long horns.

The building this rocket is housed in is about 2 football fields long.

After the tour we headed back to the Visitors side of the Space Center for some more fun.

Cele playing with a mock-up of a space shuttle

Where is the best place to expand the reserve in Africa (Kenya area) to encompass the movement of the elephant herds? Asks this particular simulation.

What is GPS?

How heavy would you be on Mars? Cele won't reveal her weight but she also got to see how heavy she would be on Jupiter and Mercury.

"Space Shuttle this is Mission Control. Do you read?"

Celestra's hand touching a moon rock

Ever wonder how they shower on the International Space Station? Well now you know.

Can Celestra land the space shuttle? Well she certainly crashed it more than she managed to land it.

A mock-up of an airplanes controls

Cele flying an airplane now? Sure makes me glad she doesn't have any REAL liscences yet!

So meteorologist Anderson what does the weather call for today?