NASA

We had a fun time visiting the space center just outside Houston.

With his bathroom-talk obsession, Declan especially loved the replica of a "space toilet." Funny, funny stuff to a 4 year old.

Taking a good picture of all four kids? Impossible. I don't even try anymore.

Waiting in a long line to take the tram tour of NASA. It was the coolest part of the day and worth the wait, even though Garreth and I definitely appreciated it way more than the kids.

We had several stops along the way. My favorite was mission control. Very cool.

We also stopped at the place where the astronauts train.

Grace said that after visiting here, she is "about 10% more likely to become an astronaut when she grows up."

Waiting for the tram to take us back to the visitors' center for the kids' favorite part, playing on a huge McDonalds-like play space structure.

Flowers for Mom - awwww!

Galveston, part one

Garreth had two back-to-back business trips this month; four days in South Carolina, a weekend home, then four more days in Galveston, Texas. Keeping his end of the deal I made when we moved ("If we're going to live in Wyoming, we need to get out of Wyoming as much as possible"), he decided that we all needed to head to Galveston for a long weekend. So he flew into Salt Lake from South Carolina, we met him there, and we all took off for a really fun weekend.

Our flight out was at 6 am, and, following a series of unfortunate events, we nearly didn't make it on. As in, we were sprinting through the airport, "Home Alone" style. As in, we boarded literally five minutes before take off. We cut it very close indeed.

We had a short layover in Phoenix, then it was on to Houston, where we rented a van and drove 45 minutes south to Galveston. Luckily, our kids are champion little travelers. Of course, bringing as many electronic devices as possible helps. A lot.

We got to Galveston in the early afternoon and checked into the hotel, which was a bit of a dive, but the location couldn't be beat.

Then we headed to lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, which was a huge hit with the kids.

Then it was time to check out the beach.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Galveston. It's not a place we ever would have gone to without part of the trip being paid by work, but it turned out to be a perfect weekend getaway. We stayed on Galveston Island, and the beaches were great and the water was warm (even on overcast days). It was so nice to be somewhere warm!! We spent most of our time on the beach, which is where the kids are happiest!