Houston, TX

Houston. Land of big blue skies and sweat. Our very first trip to Texas was a great one, and truly, despite the heat, I really really like it there! We went for Tyler's cousin's wedding and got to see most of his family as well. It was fabulous really.

Day 1: Houston's Museums

Ty & Sam Houston


We got to pet a real live iguana!
It felt like one of Kim's purses.

Just hanging out.


No pictures of it, but there was a ton of stuff about oil since Texas is heavily involved. Ty found it really interesting.

The largest shell of its kind.
(Which kind? Um, I don't remember.)

Staring fear in the eye.

The gemstone exhibit was my favorite. This picture doesn't do this stone justice at all. It was so beautiful.

Tyler tried calling this squirrel in the Japenese Gardens and it worked! And then followed him for quite a while. It actually got a little scary!

Day 2: The Wedding

Ty and his favorite couz on his big day.

The men: Ty's cousins, one uncle and a friend.

The happy couple. We love our new cousin already and we're so grateful for temples and the sealing power. The words and spirit were so amazing. I LOVE the temple!

Most of Tyler's beautiful family (Mom's side). It was so great being with them. I really love them.

Ty and his cute mom.

GQing

The Houston Temple is unique and very beautiful. I loved being there with my sweet husband.

The reception was SOOO Texas. I can't even tell you how well it all held up to my idea of Texas. It was held here at George Ranch. (Most things in Houston seemed to be named either George or Bush.) The walls were decorated with three signs that read:

Independence

Liberty or Death

Texas

Seriously. SO Texas. Then for dinner we had: coleslaw with sausage and beef brisket. That's right. Two meats with a little coleslaw. It was funny. BUT it was delicious!

Next up? Dancing. All the bridesmaids and bride's family, for that matter, were wearing cowboy boots and hats. The bride and groom started off the dancing with the Texas Waltz (it's really a song). And the next 3 songs had Texas in the lyrics. Really. I swear.

Finally I got Ty to dance with me and we had a GREAT time. The cobbler dessert was to die for and the couple ran off through bubbles like a dream. It was beautiful. Love weddings.

Tyler's family outside avoiding the dancing.

Day 3: NASA

Happy Independence Day! Yup, they were open and we got to tour everything. Tyler's parents took us and we had a good time. This is one of the working buildings for astronauts and other NASA employees. Their goal is to make it Mars in 2030.

"Houston, we have a problem."
That really took place right here in this control room, along with the controlling of all the other Apollo missions and others. An astronaut came and told us about this room and it was really neat hearing how passionate about space travel he is.

Days 1-3, all the moments in between: Pool

This was, of course, probably the most fun of all.