We were thrilled that we were able to get tickets to see the Space Shuttle launch. It's something Mike and I have been wanting to do for a long time. There are only 2 launches left, ever, so we were lucky to get tickets! The original launch date was April 19th, but that got scratched and rescheduled a few weeks before the 19th. The Launch was rescheduled for April 29th. On clear days we are able to see the shuttle launch from our house but that doesn't compare to being at Kennedy Space Center to see it. The day before we got tickets for Kennedy Space Center and spent the day there. That was my first time ever going and Mike hadn't been since he was a kid so it was a neat thing to do. We had a great time seeing all of the attractions. Justin was thrilled he was tall enough to go on the Shuttle Launch Experience, a simulator ride showing you what it's like to blast off into space. Lucky Justin got to go on it twice, once with mommy and once with daddy. He loved it! We spent the entire day there and didn't leave until they closed at 8pm.
We had to wake up early the next morning to get to the Launch viewing site. We got our seats out on the lawn and started to wait. We had 5.5 hours to kill before lift off. They had things going on at the center. People were up on stage talking about various space missions. A retired Astronaut was there telling of his space mission and also answering people's questions. The Jumbo screen was set up with all the live feeds of the space shuttle and Nasa briefings. We knew very well that there are hundreds of reasons the mission could be scrubbed. Even down to the final countdown something can go wrong and it won't launch. So, it wasn't a huge shock when they announced 3 hours before the scheduled lift off that there was a problem with a heating element that couldn't be fixed right away and the shuttle wouldn't be launching that day. It was a bummer for sure, especially for the kids, but we understood. Safety first! Since we already did everything in the area we wanted to do, there was nothing else to do but head home. Traffic coming out sucked, although since there were still tons of people heading into the area, traffic wasn't as bad as it could have been when everyone would be heading out.
Luckily our tickets are for the actual launch, not for a particular date, so we will be able to go back and see the launch whenever it goes. Nasa says it will be no sooner then May 16th. All I know is whenever it does go off, we'll be there to see it!
After being in the car for over 3 hours, we let
them burn off some energy at the hotel before bed.
Kennedy Space Center
The Rocket Garden has all actual rockets that went to Space
This was made out of Legos
Nasa!
All the media coverage for the launch
This helicopter was swooping down getting water to drop
on the brush fire that was near by.
This is the crawler that take the shuttle out to the launch
pad. It takes 8 hours to get from the building to the pad on the crawler,
it's only a 10 minute car ride.
This is as close to the shuttle the general public is allowed to get.
This is Space Shuttle Atlantis. The last shuttle that will ever
launch. Scheduled for lift off on June 28th. We plan on
driving up to see this one go off too!
Touching a piece of the moon.
This is the van that takes the astronauts out to the shuttle
Jenna, our little animal lover, was thrilled to see all these birds outside.
A replica of what it looks like inside the shuttle 
This is where they give the Nasa televised briefings 
Out on the lawn, waiting for the launch
It cracked me up the way this ride swallowed Nathan! It was one
Space Shuttle Endeavour
