anniversary stuff

When I was in elementary school, our family had a membership to a local science center in Iowa. I loved science centers when I was little because they were basically huge playgrounds. My favorite thing was the laser light show of "Peter and the Wolf." Since then, I've never been able to find planetariums that do the same kind of show, but I still like planetariums. Anyway, the Chabot Science Center has a pretty cool adult-night-special-rates thing, so we went to that to celebrate our anniversary. Observe:

This is a shuttle that astronauts spent more than 24 hours in. Officially worse than long car trips.

Legos. We were instructed to make a space elevator that stretched to the ceiling. Jon, being an engineer, designed a base that actually would have supported the height, but we didn't stick around to see how the rest of it turned out. The volunteers helping out with it were pretty impressed, though. Another hilarious engineer moment: They have a lab where you can take broken stuff and the volunteers will take it apart to see if they can fix it. We happened by that room and there were people from Jon's company who were there as volunteers. They had just fixed some lady's shredder which happened to be the same model as a broken one they have at work, so the guys were all excited that now they think they can fix the work shredder too.

Bill Nye the Science Guy's Environment Lab or something. Jon is generating PURE ENERGY FROM A BICYCLE. 

I am generating pure energy from a hot air balloon?

Trying to fix stuff in hypothetical zero-G:

Pictures in the planetarium (before the show started, thanks):

We also got to do the super cool Mission to Mars thing, where you put on space clothes and fulfill special tasks to fix failing equipment and check oxygen levels and stuff in a simulated space shuttle. IT'S SO AWESOME. I got to participate in the exact same exhibit when I was little (it's a traveling thing), so it was basically amazing. The best part is the airlock to get in. I felt like Sam on Stargate, except that I don't actually know physics or math. I have pictures somewhere.

A few weeks before our science center trip, we had a party to celebrate our Anniversary-of-the-Day-We-Met date. Our friend Corene made these super cute celebratory confetti favors for everyone, but we forgot to use them until after most people had gone home. They did not, however, go to waste. Here is us, after the science center: