Space Shuttle Endeavor

Two weeks ago, the Space Shuttle Endeavor made a stop at Ellington Field on its way to California where it will be on exhibit. Ellington field is maybe 15-20 minutes from our house, so we took the opportunity to go see the shuttle in person (along with majority of the rest of the people in this area!). 

The shuttle (mounted on top of an airplane) made several low fly-bys in the area before landing. It was amazing to watch it go by as we drove toward the airport. This first video is my favorite! I was videoing the shuttle going by and then realized Caleb was being super cute in the back seat. In case you can't tell, he had his pretend phone out and was "taking pictures" with it. He was ADORABLE! The second video is a better view of the shuttle flying by. It flew around the area like this for a while before it landed. 

We parked right as the plane was landing. It took us longer to get to Ellington field due to all the people parked on the side of the road while blocking traffic. You can see above (it got crazier as we got closer to Ellington field). It was kind of neat to see the community so excited about it though! From our parking spot we could see the shuttle come to a stop, so that was cool. We then took our time walking toward the shuttle. (I should mention - Jonathan took the morning off for us to go as a family! We are so blessed that he has a job that flexible!) 

Our first "close up"

I was amazed by the shuttle, I had never been that close to a real shuttle (just replicas) 

We ran into a friend of Jonathan's and he offered to take a family picture for us. 

Daddy and Caleb

Daddy and Aaron

Last view before we headed back

Of course, there were exhibits there as well. Caleb needed an astronaut picture. Yes, that's my head poking out...somehow I was holding him up and looking out to see if Jonathan had gotten the picture! 

The view from our car as we waited in the parking lot (also known as a grassy field).  It's amazing to me that we parked that close to the shuttle!

I am so glad Jonathan took the morning off and we were able to go see the shuttle as a family. It was here less than 24 hours and then headed west. What a neat experience!