Railroad Days

We tagged along with the Thomas' this weekend to check out Railroad Days. It was a great opportunity to see both "Lauritzen Gardens" and the "Durham Museum." These are some of Omahas big attractions so it was nice to finally check them out. The gardens were beautiful but it was hot- hot- hot that morning and gardens are not necessarily kid heaven. I loved it though and would love go back another time without kids to really check it out. The museum though surprised me as having a lot of fun things for the kids to see and do. It's an old train station with some great history.

This is such a classic Brielle face- I don't know what exactly what she is saying with this face but I do know it is completely indicative of her personality.
So what did Brayden request for a his face painting- he had them do a snake all down his arm (you can't see it in this picture) and a dollar sign on his forehead- frightening, I know! I think when they start asking for things like this it's time to "grow" out of the face painting thing.

Normally, Brielle is extremely weary of strangers but she will do anything to be just like her brother and sister... even let a stranger get up close and personal to paint her face. After she had her first cheek done she just stood up and walked to another table and pulled up a chair in front of another face painter like "her I am, ready to go." It was pretty cute.

And now you might watch this video and think-- what about this did Melissa think was blog worthy? ....3 reasons- 1. The girls singing on the bus was really quite sweet 2. Its very cute how Brayden becomes quite embarrassed when caught singing "Mary had a little lamb" and 3. Its also quite hilarious when you notice that yet again the video is sideways but wait this time it was not me but Kevin taking it. We are just too funny.

A milestone

I sure hope this is a sign of times to come. Brayden was more than just a little proud of himself for this mowing experience. He is awesome! (PS - It should be noted that Brayden mowed about 1/2 of the front lawn and a 1/4 of the back lawn all by himself! Way to go!)

The benefits of older siblings

I am sure this is just the beginning of the troublesome things they will teach her to do throughout her life... Sorry the video is sideways... someday I will learn.

Summer blogging overload

In the summer time Kevin only works a half day on Fridays and so far he has been just working from home in the morning- making it feel like a three day weekend. It has been so nice. It does however make for some pretty full and lengthy blog posts....so- here we go again.

Part I: "Taste of Omaha"

This weekend, there was an event downtown along the river called "Taste of Omaha" where a lot of local Omaha restaurants served up their specialties. They had a special for kids on Friday where they got lunch and a wristband for unlimited rides for only $7- great deal! It wasn't even crowded. The kids had a lot of fun on the rides and we had a lot of fun tasting the food.
Towards the end, we bought the kids these popsicle things called "frog spit" (oh yes, they thought the name was HILARIOUS). So this is Brielle putting the frog spit on her leg- this is after she dumped an almost full bottle of vitamin water on herself and had enjoyed a slushy lemonade with her hands--- just imagine the stickiness that was Brielle that day!It must be because she is a third child but Kevin and I didnt try to stop her- we just laughed at her-- hmmmm..."mmmmm Omaha tastes good!" (what is it about messy faces that I find so entertaining?)

Fun times!



Part II: Concert at Shadow Lake

The shopping center by us has Friday night concerts. The kids were pretty tired- esspecially Brielle but she definitely got a second wind on the dance floor.

The kids desperately wanted their faces painted so we waited half an hour in line for this... (yes it is pretty cool but half an hour wait cool... not so sure)This is the kids with Tanner and Gaby. Tanner also works for ConAgra but has been out in Bentonville. Next month though they move to Omaha. Wahoo! We were lucky to have them stay with us over the weekend so they could do some house hunting. We are always thrilled to have people stay with us ESPECIALLY when they are moving here. We had a good time with them and can't wait to have them around more often. They are great people.

Part III: Strawberry Picking

You may remember we did this last year. I was determined to go picking at peak season but when I called they told me the season was already winding down- shocking... so I thought we had better go right away. I just love picking my berries straight from the patch. The kids loved it too. Brayden said "this is so fun just wandering wherever, finding strawberries, working hard, and being with my family" That made me happy!

Again, I just love the messy face.

Clearly, Brielle ate more than she picked. For a while she would pick and eat what she picked until she found my bowl- then she just plopped down and ate straight from the bowl.

We ended up with just over 12 pounds of berries. They charge $1.25 a pound which is a pretty good deal and they didnt mind at all that Brielle had been eating all along- they said good for her and didnt even charge us for that.So home we went to make jam and pie. Yummy!

And of course I had to include a picture of the kids eating the strawberry pie.... enjoying the fruits of their labours.

A full year in Omaha... can you believe it!

Yes its true, we have officially lived here one year. It went by fast for sure and it's been a really good year- we are all healthy and happy and busy.... what more could we ask for...well maybe some family close by but I guess you just can't have it all...

Anyways, in other news, summer for us has officially begun. Yesterday was my first day with all three kids home. I love having them home because I love being with them and having them around... however, to make it through the next few months I am going to need to acquire more patience than I currently possess. I am a work in progress.

So here's a few shots of what we have been up to:

We hit the splash park on Saturday. This year Brielle was completely different than last year- she had NO fear and ran around happy as could be. Sorry again about the sideways movie- I tried to fix it but couldnt so just turn your head :)



The kids started swim lessons at Papio Bay yesterday. They both had a lot of fun and like Brielle, Makenna is making improvements in the swimming/ getting wet area as well.
So, we have three baby birds that hatched out of the nest in our backyard. The kids have a lot of fun watching them hop around our yard as they learn to fly. Apparently they havent learned to be scared of humans yet because they let Brayden pet them- strange, I know. I am actually not such a fan of these birds because they eat my strawberries the second they are ripe. "Buy netting" is on my to do list for today.
We love it when we have visitors and last night our great friends from the MBA progam, the Haines, stopped in on their drive across the country. The kids had a great time playing together and the adults had a great time visiting.(Brielle didnt make the picture cause she was already in bed... in case you are wondering)

And one final picture that I think just epitomizes summer in every way.... swimsuits and melting popsicles...life is good.