For lunch, we hit Mema and Pepa’s new hang-out…Southside Diner. Morgan and I sat at the counter and made stacks of creamers and jellies and topped off our castles with Skylanders! I had chicken and Morgan had pancakes, eggs, and bacon (she even shared her bacon with her favorite little brother!).

After lunch, we went to go pick up another round of mulch (more mulch!?!). I got ride with Daddy and Pepa to take load back to the house and dump it. And when I say “dump it”, that’s exactly what I mean. I got to push the button that raised the back of the truck WAY up in the air. Daddy teased me and said that I was going to be in big trouble for making such a mess

After spreading out Round 2 around the yard, everyone was pooped and ready to call it a day. But, before we could totally cash out, we had a few other errands to slog through in Lafayette. Finally, we made it home with Taco Bell in hand to fill our bellies and dumb TV to fill our heads. Everyone was pretty wiped out, so we all pretty much crashed to charge back up for the big day tomorrow.

In the morning, that good ol’ bunny came through and there were baskets of goodies waiting for us in the dining room. After we sorted the take, we scoured the downstairs for the eggs that the crafty rabbit hid all over. With a breakfast of chocolate bunnies, we kept Momma company on a quick trip up to Lafayette to borrow the mower again (ours is still getting its tune-up). While there, we met up with Mitchell again for a little impromptu Easter fun of baskets, egg hunts, and kite flying.

Back at home, I put Daddy to work helping me level-up and upgrade my new Skylanders. He didn’t seem too reluctant, so now we have the new guys up to Level 7 already!

Easter Weekend

Anywho, as soon as we entered, we headed to Exploration Space to learn about all of the different parts of a space mission and the different jobs people have to make it all happen. The coolest part was seeing the Mars Rovers…the first little guy we sent out there, then the Spirit and Opportunity that roamed around for a while, and finally the mockup-up of the next one that was bigger than all the others combined!

Next up was one of the two IMAX movies…the one we caught was about the Hubble Telescope. We grabbed 3D glasses and seats while Daddy stood in the popcorn line (yup, we had popcorn at the movies…even at NASA). We learned all about how they made the telescope and launched it, but even more about how they worked to repair and enhance it. Then, with its peepers polished, we saw all sorts of amazing things that we could zoom in on from 400 gazillion miles away.

After the movie, it was time to get some sunshine and fresh air in the rocket garden. Daddy looked pretty impressed, but none of these things looked like they were about to blast off any time soon, so Morgan and I spent some time at the playground just off to the side. Then, we made a run through the robot exhibit but weren’t terribly impressed, so moved on.

After a quick lunch, we boarded the tour bus for a trip across the grounds of the Space Center to see where all of the action happens. We passed by the massive Vehicle Assembly Building, with the biggest doors in the world (you could easily pass the Statue of Liberty through!) and the big “Crawler” that they use to move the rockets down the track to the launch pad. The crawler is so big and heavy that they have to re-grade the stone path after every trip because it crushes all of the gravel along the way! We finally made it out to the Launch Pad 39 Observation Tower…still pretty far away from the actual launch pad, but as close as they let you get without having a helmet and engineering degree. They still had one of the launch pads set up for the Space Shuttle, but it was being disassembled just like the other pad already was & getting ready for new kinds of rockets and space ships.

Next up was the Saturn V center. After a quick intro movie about the Apollo space program, we moved in to the Launch Command Center, just as it was in the 60′s, to experience a countdown and launch complete with all of the lights, sounds, and shaking glass windows of T=0.

Just outside of this experience was the huge hanger where you could see a real Saturn V rocket, the biggest machine ever built. This thing has 5 huge engines on the bottom, then that part blows off and there are more engines that go, then that part blows off and there are even more engines that go! I was so impressed by it that my souvenir was a Saturn V rocket toy. Also in this hanger were command modules, service modules, lunar modules, and maybe some sort of other modules (and Skittles at the snack bar). Morgan and I even got to touch a real live piece of moon rock! It felt like a smooth rock, in case you wanted to know.

With most of the day’s sunshine behind us, we decided to return to Mission Control and jump back in the pool. Morgan and I played with Daddy…we like it when he throws us, spins us, and plays monkey in the middle. By the time the sun had set and it started to cool off, our bellies were grumbling for some seafood. We got cleaned up lickety split and drove up the cape to Fishlips for dinner. Morgan and I ate our popcorn shrimp and rice while we watched a HUGE Norwegian Cruise ship pass right outside the window.

Back in the room, it was straight to bed and rest up for another day of surf & sand. We hope the weather stays nice and doesn’t scrub our mission!

Spring Break – Day 4

We rolled in to Cape Canaveral at about 1 and went straight to the hotel to check in, drop off our bags, and head back out on the town. We toured all the way down the coast and made notes of all the cool places we wanted to stop and see. But, one place that couldn’t wait was the Ron Jon Surf Shop. This place was a massive store full of swimsuits, flip flops, and yup…surfboards! We aren’t planning to hang 10, but we did walk out with a boogie board for the beach tomorrow.

Back at the hotel, we wanted to break in the awesome pool area. There is a big waterfall over the main pool which was fun to swim under and around, but there was also a kiddie pool with a fountain and a hot pool with a warm waterfall of its own. Daddy got his workout for the week picking us up, throwing us, chasing us, and getting tackled.

We all worked up an appetite in the water, so we cleaned up and then hit Sunset Bar & Grill just in time to see the big orange ball dip behind the shoreline behind us. Morgan and I cleaned up every scrap of our huge shrimp and played on Mommy and Daddy’s phone while they finished up their dinners. Finally, a quick stop at the grocery store to stock up on some breakfast stuff and snacks for tomorrow before turning in for the night.

Spring Break – Day 2

Saturday morning we were up and at it, and by 8:00 we were pulling into Mema and Pepa’s house for the whole weekend! Once we got Momma and Daddy unloaded into the Patton’s car, it was time to P-A-R-T-Y! After a quick breakfast at McDonald’s, we headed back to the ranch and before we knew it, we were driving the big red bull named Torro! Notice I said “driving” right there. Yes. Uncle TC got Morgan started on the mower driving around the side yard, and then I quickly wanted my turn driving, too. After some near tree and bush misses, it was time to split up. Morgan went with Mema to get a pedicure and I went to TC’s house to play with Mitchell. Aunt Renee then packed Mitchell and me up and took us out to her momma’s house to get Mitchell a haircut and to have some fun playing soccer outside! On the way back to Aunt Renee’s house, she took Mitchell and me to Toys R Us where she bought me the Angry Birds Two game!! Thank you very much, Aunt Renee, for lunch, fun playing outside, and my new game! I had an awesome time with you!

During the time I was having fun with Mitchell, Mema and Morgan headed to the park for awhile to play. The boys were working on the cabinets in TC’s kitchen, while Morgan drove the tracker around the perimeter of Uncle TC’s yard! Pepa told Morgan that if she didn’t stop driving the tracker soon it’d be out of gas! I think Morgan found her calling, a professional tracker driver. Watch out for her on the local county fair circuit this summer. OR, US Boarder Control. Whatever.

Saturday night, after showers and dinner, we hit the hay on the floor in Mema and Pepa’s bedroom. Mema said we slept like logs! We had a super great time getting to see all the Macys in Lafayette and spending some much time out in the sun! Thank you to Pepa, Mema, Uncle TC, Aunt Renee, and Mitchell for a fantastic weekend! Let’s do it again soon.

Tractor