Houston, TX- Day 3

If yesterday was amazing, today was quite literally out of this world.  We met our friend Mr. David at Space Center Houston at 10:00am.  Mr. David was kind enough to join us for part of our day yesterday so the boys could warm up to him and we couldn't be more thankful to him for that.  The boys were very excited to see him, running up to give him high five's and then we were off!  We expected to take the tram for our tour, but Mr. David had a van with a personal driver waiting for us.  After getting VIP badges and being photographed for security, we headed back to the Johnson Space Center in our very own van driven by Mr. Kevin!

Our first stop was the Mission Control Center.  While the other tours got to view the historic Mission Control from inside a viewing room, we were escorted right inside where Mr. David allowed the boys to sit in all of the seats and push all of the buttons.  It was simply amazing to be in this room.  The history was overwhelming.  At first Caleb was acting quite terrified and wouldn't sit down or explore the different instrument panels.  After a few minutes it hit me, and I asked him if he was afraid that the buttons were working!  Bingo!  Caleb had been super excited to push the launch button for the Soyuz 35 that we were going to view later in the day and we had spent a significant amount of time explaining (in 3 year old terms!) why he couldn't get anywhere near that button!  So he was quite afraid to touch any button in Mission Control until we explained to him that the buttons in this Mission Control were no longer functional!  After that he was like a kid in a candy shop :)  The boys got to sit where the Flight Director sat to direct and control all of the Apollo missions.  The room was perfectly preserved and it was just awe inspiring.  Personally, I loved the stories Mr. David was able to tell us while the boys explored and played.  He explained the stories behind the different patches, the flag, and the mirror over the drinking fountain and to be standing in a piece of history hearing such stories was just indescribable. 

After exploring the historic Mission Control, we went to visit the modern day Mission Control.  We couldn't go in this room and had to view it from behind the glass because the people inside were actually preparing for a rocket launch later in the afternoon!  But it was just as awe inspiring- to see these people preparing for what had to be the most exciting day of their lives.  It was history in the making and we got to watch it unfold.  Incredible.

The boys were in need of a little bit of a break at this point, so Mr. David took us over to a beautiful little pond on the NASA campus where we shared a snack with some turtles and ducks.  Then we took a short walk to see the lunar lander in the lobby of some building that I can't for the life of me remember the name of- though I know we had to get special clearance to even get inside of the lobby!  Once again, the information Mr. David was able to share about the history of the pieces we saw was just incredible. 

While I'm sure you're thinking our day must be nearing an end- it was only lunch time!!  We ate lunch in the NASA cafeteria and shortly after walking in we were greeted by a woman who asked if she could join us for lunch.  Turns out this woman was Ms. Sunita Williams, or "Suni- like the sun!" as she introduced herself to the boys- and she was an astronaut who had completed two missions to the International Space Station (Expedition 14/15 in 2006/2007 and Expedition 32/33 in 2012).  She sat with us for nearly an hour and so kindly let us ask any and every question that we had about what it was like to be in space!  It was truly a once in a lifetime experience!  Mealtimes with our boys are never easy- while they LOVE food, sitting still just isn't their specialty so it was a bit of a balancing act to keep them in their seats and engaged while soaking up every moment of our time with Ms. Suni.  I wish I had had superpowers so that I could have spent more time keeping the boys focused on the conversation AND more time ignoring our boys so I could focus on Ms. Suni!!!  But overall they did great and as usual, they took in more of our conversations with her than we could have even imagined as they started spewing out random things we had talked about later in the afternoon!  Ms. Suni was a captivating woman and- no pun intended- the most down to earth, person you could ever imagine!  We were so incredibly thankful that she took an hour out of her busy day to share her experiences with us.  I'm quite certain the boys will be stopping random people in the grocery store for months to come to tell them that they had lunch with a real astronaut!

Hope you're not tired yet because we're still going strong!  Next Mr. David took us over to Rocket Park were we were able to see the Saturn V rocket that was scheduled for the Apollo 18 mission that never took place.  I remember standing beneath the Endeavor shuttle in Los Angeles not too long ago and being taken aback by it's size, but it was nothing compared to the Saturn V.  Nothing.  While standing near the five massive engines, I didn't realize that while I was lost in conversation with Mr. David, Matthew had simply taken a seat on the floor, gazing up in amazement.  I don't know how long he had been there, but once I saw him he sat there for another two or three minutes- perfectly still and quiet- just taking it all in.  And if you know our boys, you know that even three minutes of silence and stillness are a rarity.  But both of the boys were captivated by the Saturn V.  Mr. David was able to take out some photos he had brought along to teach the boys quite a bit about the Saturn V and the scheduled but never fulfilled Apollo 18 mission.  If their attention wasn't enough, it became very clear later on that this was by far their favorite experience- they have not stopped talking about the Saturn V since.

Hold on to your hats, we're not done yet!!!  We headed back to Space Center Houston so we could watch the launch of the Soyuz 35 out of Kazakhstan.  Indescribable.  We were welcomed into the theater with a personal message on the giant screen- smack dab in the middle of two live shots of the astronauts inside the rocket!!!  We had been reading up on the three astronauts inside and I think that really helped the boys connect to what was happening, especially since the female astronaut, Karen Nyberg, is the mother of a three year old little boy.  We've had lots of discussions about what it would be like for mommy to be in space!  The launch was an incredible experience- again, to see history in the making is just an amazing feeling!

Lastly, we went back to Building 9 back on the Johnson Space Center campus where Mr. David was able to show us some of the latest training facilities and inventions that NASA has created.  We saw the new Mars rover and the robots they plan to send to Mars as well as the actual Soyuz capsule from a previous mission that is identical to the one we saw launch earlier in the afternoon. 

At the end of our day it was hard to say good-bye to Mr. David and our driver Mr. Kevin.  We had spent such a wonderful day with them and they made the experience that much more special for us.  Back in our hotel room, I wished that Mr. David could see the boys.  At one point he had stopped to ask how much we thought the boys were taking in, and while I'm sure it was obvious that they were taking in much more than the average three year old, there were also times that they looked just like a normal three year old.  But back in our room their minds just exploded.  The boys were given bags full of gifts and goodies from our friends at Space Center Houston- including a toy space shuttle and a rover with two little astronauts.  They spilled their new treasures out on the floor and were immediately consumed by their creativity.  They acted out scenes from just about everything we had seen during the day.  They pretended to be designing the Saturn V and explained to each other why they chose the name Saturn V when in actuality they counted 11 engines in all.  They talked about the robots building the pods on the surface of Mars and discussed how the difference in gravity would affect their work.  They even pretended to be Lyndon B. Johnson signing the paperwork to approve space missions!   Jon and I just sat back and watched in amazement.  We have learned that the boys soak up more information from their world than we could ever imagine, and only when they are able to play freely and lose themselves in their creativity do we get the tiniest glimpse of what they are capable of understanding.  It was a personal narrative that I'm sure will continue for days, months, even years to come.  The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Historic Mission Control

Modern Day Mission Control- The boys watching the buzz as they prepare for the launch of the Soyuz 35

 Lunar Lander

Lunch with Astronaut Sunita Williams!

The boys walking with their new friend Mr. David

Matthew standing next to the Saturn V (bottom right!)

Saturn V engine- That's just one of five!!!

Caleb taking in the excitement of the Saturn V

A little learning time with Mr. David

 Learning about re-entry angles!  You know, because every 3 year old is interested in that!

Astronaut Cal!

Astronaut Matt!

Our welcome sign while watching the launch of the Soyuz 35!  So cool to have our name in between two live shots of the inside of a rocket just moments after launching!

 And the creative play begins... Thank you Space Center Houston and the Coalition for Space Exploration for all of the wonderful gifts you gave us!!!!