Space Shuttle visit (video)

Adventure to See Space Shuttle Endeaver

On Wednesday, September 19th the Space Shuttle Endeavor made a stop in Houston Ellington field. The layover of the shuttle's trip to California was originally planned for Monday/Tuesday with public viewings to be spread out between two nights. Instead due to weather it stayed only one night on Wednesday.  

Tony was excited about the opportunity to show Matthew and Jacob the Space Shuttle up close and personal. Tony took the following photo during the fly over earlier in the day. 

At 4:30PM I drove out to Ellington Field with Matthew, Jacob, and Grandpa. The trip that typically would take 20 minutes ended up taking an hour and a half. When we got there the parking lot was so full that the walk to the entrance was about a mile. Fortunately, for Tony the boys were so excited to see him that they made the walk with no complaints and even posed for this photo. I know that is not the space shuttle but we knew we might not make it to view and photo before it got too dark.

We finally made it into Ellington field around 8PM and got this photo. Tony also took video because the camera for still photos went dead.

We then spent 45 minutes in line for the portolet. An anti-climactic way to end this spectacular event. Was the hassles with traffic/parking/lack of bathrooms worth it? It depends who you ask.

Haircut Saturday and House Arrest Sunday

On Saturday we needed to do some activities that did not involve climbing, playing, running, etc to make sure that Jacob stayed in his not so sturdy arm sling. We decided it was about time for his first haircut. He is slightly older than Matthew was at the time of his first haircut but he needed it even less than Matthew did at 25 months. Jacob is about 29 months.  He did amazingly well. He was so serious and gave the stylist no problems whatsoever. He even posed for photos with the Snip-Its Mascot. As you might remember he is not to fond of big "stuffies".

This is Matthew before his haircut.

Matthew during his haircut.

 Jacbo after his haircut.

On Sunday we decided that the only way to keep Jacob from breaking out of his sling and using his arm was to separate him from his brother. So, Matthew and Daddy went to see Nemo and then McDonalds (don't tell Jacob about the second part). While I stayed home and tried to keep Jacob's cast on. I didn't do a good job and I remember what his "redneck" orthopedist said, "Duct tape is your friend." So I tried it. It worked better than an ace bandage.



Jakie's Uh Oh!

Last week, we forgot to put up the gate to block the stairs and poor Jacob had a fall. He was really frightened since this was his first spill down the staris but little did we know that he hurt more than his pride -- he broke his upper right arm. We really did not know that he hurt his right arm until he quit using like he usually does -- totally out of the ordinary because he's right handed.

A trip to the hospital revealed the injury:

Today, he was fitted with a sling to immobilize his right arm.

We figured we'd better wrap up his arm to hide the Velcro straps so he'll stay in the sling longer.

Now the fun part begins. Either he will accept it or he will refuse to wear it. Given that he found a way out of a swaddle when he was an infant, we're not that optimistic. :-(

Matthew's 5th Birthday on Wednesday the 5th.

September 5, 2012
Today my big guy is 5 years old (or Wednesday he was). Wednesday is a hard day to have a party especially when school just started the week before. However, Daddy delivered cupcakes for a party at Matthew's Hearing Impaired class. Matthew's daycare had a birthday sign and then we had a birthday dinner at Gringo's complete with waiters singing Happy Birthday to Matthew. Matthew's Grandpa attended too and brought a bounty of presents. Matthew also got a visit from his Unkie Jude on Saturday. Unkie Jude brought him a scooter. Matthew played with it immediately--first inside the foyer and then on the driveway. Jacob followed along in his fire engine. I wish I remembered to bring the camera.

From Grandma and Grandpa: Matthew got some Angry Bird presents with markers and stickers, a dry erase board (which Matthew and Jacob immediately starting playing with), a nice deposit into his savings account from Grandma and a Matchbox car parking garage.  As soon as I assembled the parking garage the boys played with it for hours. When they woke up in the morning--they didn't say "Good Morning Mommy" or "Good Morning Daddy" they immediately pull out the cars and garage.

Camping at Jellystone Park on Labor Day Weekend

On Labor Day weekend the four of us decided to try out camping—or as close to camping I am willing to experience with a 2 year old and almost 5 year old. We spent the weekend at Jellystone Park in Waller, Texas. It was a kid-themed campsite. It had places for tents, trailers, mobile homes, “bare bones” cabins, and deluxe cabins. Since I wanted to “rough it” with everything except air conditioning, I rented the bare bones or Boo Boo cabin. The cabin had two very small rooms with room only for the beds. We had to share community bathrooms. I am not sure whether I made the right decision but we decided we would be “happy campers” like our neighbors in the next door Boo Boo Cabin. The highlight of our camping experience is we met a very nice family with two boys very close in age to Matthew and Jacob. Matthew and 5 year old Connor immediately bonded and they had a great weekend together.. knocking on each others cabin doors at the beginning of every day and every time we came back from the water park.


We enjoyed dinner with our neighbors. They kindly cooked delicious hamburgers and hotdogs for us and we had smores for desert. A try campfire experience. Matthew spent a lot of time running after Connor who was riding a bicycle. Matthew wondered why he was tired and I tried to explain to him that it is more tiring to run than ride the bike. Of course Jacob tried to run after Matthew so I had to run after Jacob. Needless to say we all got a lot of exercise.

Fortunately, they had a HUGE playground right next to our cabin.

Matthew on stage before karaoke. They had to wait an hour and a half and they did not want to leave the stage.

Jacob wanted to wait on the stage with them--little brother always butting in.

Bongo looking over the boys on the four story playground.

The dragon jump jump with two slides--one down the mouth and one down the tail.

Matthew's new friend Connor with his new bicycle. He and Matthew had a great time playing together.

Connor's mommy took all four boys, Matthew, Connor, Jacob, and Greyson for a ride on their golf cart.

Matthew at the William's campfire/dinner/smore making fest.

When we got home the first thing we did is take a shower to wash off all the layers of sweat and dirt from the weekend. We used the community showers but somehow I felt dirtier aftewards. I guess I could be a happier camper.

Matthew and Daddy at the Texan Game August 31st

Matthew and Tony attended the preseason Texan game on Thursday August 31st. They had a good time. Tony tried to explain the rules to him along the way but Bongo was most interested in his popcorn and Bongo. The next morning when I asked Matthew if he had a good time he said that he went to a bigger inside/outside than Great Wolf Lodge and The Gaylord Texan. Translation: Texan Stadium is bigger than the waterpark at Great Wolf Lodge and the atrium at The Gaylord Texan.

Matthew and Jacob at the "Petting Zoo" at the Theater District Open House

On Sunday August 26th we went to the Houston Theater District's Open House. This event was on a very hot day and fortunately we spent most of the time in air conditioned buildings. Of course we had to walk in the blistering heat in between buildings. Matthew really enjoyed the Houston Symphony Orchestra's "Petting Zoo". Here he was allowed to hold several different instruments. Matthew has always had a fascination with drums as you might remember. He also got a chance to see and play some other instruments includeing the xylophone, violin, cello, flute, picollo, trombone, trumpet, and french horn. Jacob followed Matthew around most of the time but later got bored and wanted to explore the stairs. So I went up and down the 4 flights of stairs with him over and over and over again. I didn't get to see the performance because Jacob was too busy making sure I got my exercise for the day.

Jacob actually posed for a photo with the Nutcracker Rat. Probably because Matthew was close by to protect him. He does not like life size characters so much.

After the Theater District Open House we stopped by a park with a Niko Niko's kiosk. We had an early dinner outside in the heat. It wasn't so bad because of the mist fans that fastcinated Jacob so.