4th of July

These posts are all going to be a bit picture heavy.  My apologies.  I will try to be less wordy to make up for the length.

I mentioned that this trip is, essentially, my family's Christmas present.  As part of the trip, since we were in Nebraska, we spent the 4th at my parents' with all of my dad's side of the family.  To start the day's festivities, we got to be part of the annual parade!

Nic & Ariel driving my Grandpa's tractor - which Nic drove for the first time years ago in a tractor show.

 Pre-parade snack (thus the weird face and the hunks of granola bar on his chin).

The twins got to ride with some of my cousins (and Lucas and I) in the back of my Grandpa's Minneapolis Moline pickup.  They were so excited to be IN a parade...and to throw candy.

The twins with my cousin D getting ready for the parade to start.

 Lucas kept an eye on the kids while I took pictures.

 My cousin J and Allie conferring about the candy.

 Our family waiting for us!  And Uncle Matt taking a picture.

Note: Notice how many people are actually taking pictures in this picture!  It made me chuckle :)

 The picture Uncle Matt took.

After the parade, everyone went to my parents for a BBQ and afternoon of 4th festivities.

Mom and my Uncle Jon.

 This is partly a picture of cousins hanging out...and partly a picture to show you all the wonderful wide-open space that exists in Nebraska!

 Look, Uncle Nic!

 Grandpa gave out rides on his tractor.  Older kids got to drive on their own, younger kids got to ride with Grandpa (and put their hands on the wheel).  The twins LOVE tractors and were so thrilled for a ride on a real one!

 After the rides we broke out the slip 'n' slide.  My mom actually bought this when she was in Michigan earlier this summer and left it with us.  So my kids had been anticipating this moment for weeks.  It was a hit!  My favorite part was how much fun my children were having with my little cousin D.  Being the oldest cousin, I'm a lot older than the youngest (I'm pretty sure they don't even believe I'm their cousin), but I love watching my kids play with them the way I played with the older "generation" of these cousins when I was their age.

Even some of the "Big Kids" got in on the fun!

Papa!

 My cousin C!

Ryan didn't want to stop and spent as much of the afternoon as possible doing this:

The older cousins and at least one uncle started an epic croquet match.

Sweet Allie fell asleep on the swing (Ryan had taken a nap earlier).

Later in the day (after a dinner of delicious leftovers), my mom got out a giant box filled with various poppers, and the kiddos had a blast.

 Allie preferred picking up all the streamers.

 It finally started to get dark and everyone gathered in my parents' backyard for the fireworks.

Waiting for the show to start.

 Some of the neighbors put on a pre-show.

 The fireworks finally started and we had the perfect view.  The show was great.  At one point, Ryan heard someone around us whoop, and he started letting out a whoop or two when there was a firework he liked.  Allie was so enthralled that she suddenly jumped down and ran up to sit in a chair closer to get a better view.

Little Allie watching the fireworks alone.

 Although, she came back before long.  When it was over Ryan said it was like watching a thunderstorm and Allie exclaimed, "Mommy, look at all of the stars the fireworks made!"  The sky was indeed full of stars that we hadn't been able to see before the show was dark, and there was no convincing Allie that they would have been there even without the fireworks.

It was a perfect day - full of fun, great time with family, and beautiful fireworks.

At the Zoo

 One of the gems of Nebraska is the Henry Doorly Zoo.  Recently ranked the top zoo in America, it contains amazing exhibits like the world's largest indoor desert and a walk-through aquarium.  Being the zoo person that I am, I was itching to take the children there (and visit again myself). 

Touching the world.

 After a recent obsession with Komodo Dragons, the twins were excited to find one at the zoo that they could climb (so excited that I couldn't get a decent picture...)

 There is SO much to do at this zoo.  It was legitimately too much to cover in one day, and we knew that going in.  We planned ahead and created a doable itinerary of must-see exhibits.  As we got started, I was amazed at how many young children were volunteering at the zoo as educational docents.  It made me wish we lived closer so that someday the twins could do the same.

Allie learning about cheetah fur.

 Ryan looking less than excited about learning...

 The really cool thing about the exhibits is that they recreate an entire ecosystem.  So the desert animals live in a literal indoor desert.  The creatures of the night live in a cave and/or swamp.  The jungle animals live in jungle.  Every building you enter is an entirely new world.  They also have the classic outdoor exhibits that you would find at any zoo, but the true magic is in entering each new world.

Ryan's favorite was the jungle.  He loved playing in this tree.

And he especially loved the rope bridge!

 One of the things we did was purchase a bracelet that allowed us unlimited turns on any of the rides at the zoo.  While the train was, hands down, the kids' favorite, the ride we ended up doing the most was the "Skyfari" - a ski-lift type ride over a portion of the zoo.  These rides have never been my favorite.  I blame a traumatic episode of Rescue 9-1-1 when I was younger where a girl got stuck on a ski lift.  Let's just say that it was pretty amazing that I let my vice grip go long enough to snap these pictures.

Ry-guy riding between me and Uncle Matt

 Allie between Papa & Gigi.

 Daddy riding all by himself (with our bags)

 Another special thing that the zoo had going on was a Valley of the Dinosaurs exhibit with moving robotic dinosaurs!  With the twins dinosaur obsession, we decided it was a must.  As we got there, Ryan noticed the photo boards where people could stick in their heads.  He insisted on getting his picture taken in pretty much every dinosaur...

I know it is supposed to look like he is the T-Rex, but it really just looks like he is being eaten by one... 

 He even got Papa to join the picture fun!

Allie with her favorite dinosaur.

 Unfortunately, Allie woke up the morning of the zoo trip with a slight fever.  With a bit of Tylenol, she was fine, but there were points throughout the day where she started to lag.  Her eyes would get glassy and she would get more and more limp.  You can maybe see below that, by the time we got to the carousel, we had hit one of those points.

So excited about being on the elephant.

 He raced one of the big kids for the dragon.

 Even Gigi joined in on the fun!

 We were actually going to leave after the carousel, but we gave Allie a dose of Tylenol and then got in line for the train to take us closer to the front.  After a short nap in the train line and then the train ride, she was starting to perk up and asked to ride the Skyfari ride again...by the middle of the Skyfari ride we could tell the medicine was working - she was chattering nonstop!  Pretty soon she had us talked into visiting the aquarium again, and then the butterfly pavilion, and then the play fountain near the entrance.

Allie ended up just watching, but Ryan danced around in the 

Ryan also talked me into taking him back to the jungle so he could go on the rope bridge again...or a few times...he loved that thing!  In the end, our "doable" itinerary ended up being way too long.  We were at the zoo shortly after it opened and left not long before it closed and there were still a number of exhibits we didn't visit that were on our list!  But here are a few of our final favorite things.

My favorite was seeing the Arapaima.  I love watching River Monsters, and seeing one of the fish featured on the show was really cool.  It looks way bigger in real life than it did on tv!

 Ryan and Allie's favorite was the aquarium.  Not only is the aquarium filled with various smaller exhibits (seahorse, jellyfish, penguin, etc.), but there is a large walk-through aquarium.  The novelty of sharks swimming over your head is incredible - which is why we went back later in the day!

Other favorite moments were 

 - going to the twins' first movie - a 3D Imax movie about butterflies - and watching them try to grab the butterflies that appeared to be floating around them.

 - Riding over the rhinos on the skyfari...and seeing a bird eating their poo (it has been a week and it is still a popular conversation subject for the twins).

 - seeing many favorite animals: bats, owls, monkeys, frogs, etc.

We had such an amazing day at the zoo.  A day to remember for sure.  And this was only the beginning of our Nebraska adventures!

On the Road

Part of the busy-ness I mentioned before was that, on top of all of the things we had going on (including our home study update, a Fantasy Football party, a wedding - which Lucas officiated and I photographed), we were also packing for a trip to Nebraska!  Instead of giving gifts at Christmas, my family has started contributing the money we would have spent to a bank account.  We decided to have a special get-together every other year and use the money to offset the cost for the trip.  This year was our first gathering.

The twins and I had planned to stay with my cousin (who lives roughly half way) on the way home from our last trip...but that didn't work out due to my injury.  So we all stayed with them on the way out to NE this time!

Ryan and Allie playing with my cousin's youngest.

 My cousin's middle children (I somehow didn't get a picture of her oldest).

 They invited over my aunt and uncle and another cousin and his family who also live in the area. It was great to see everyone for a little bit (we got stuck in traffic, so it wasn't as much time as we had planned).

Ice cream!

 And all 7 of the younger kids had a blast playing in their big yard, climbing into the fort, riding their go cart, and swinging on the rope swing.

 They had some kittens running around.  The older kids had no problem catching kitties for the twins to pet, but Allie was desperate to catch one on her own.  She waited and watched and finally caught one!  She proudly carried it across the yard - dangling from her arms with her skirt partially wrapped around it.

We had a wonderful night, but it was time to get back on the road.  Our trip was shorter than normal however since we were meeting Uncle Matt, Papa, & Gigi in Omaha!  There are so many things we always want to do in Omaha, but it is just far enough away that the logistics keep us from going.  This time we planned to stay there overnight and have our adventure before heading to my parents.  The twins were  so excited about staying in a hotel...because of the pool.  They couldn't wait to go swimming.  They were so excited that the door to our hotel room hadn't even closed behind us before they were undressing to change into their suits!

Swimming with the noodles.

 Check out the sharks in his goggles!

 Allie spent most of her time with Uncle Matt.  Here she is choking him catching a piggy back ride across the pool.

 And here they are having fun together.  He is such a great uncle.

 One of my favorite things about the pool at this particular hotel is that half of the pool is 3 feet deep or less!  Being able to stand whenever needed gave my children a lot of confidence.  So much so that Ryan started practicing going under water.  And the next thing we knew, he was swimming! He couldn't make it too far...he did once, but he wouldn't stop to take a breath and I told him if he didn't stop to breath, he couldn't keep swimming.  After that he stopped to breath, but every time he would plant his feet and stand up.  It was still amazing to watch!

We finally talked them into getting out of the pool long enough to go out for dinner.  It turned out it was Kids' Night at the Texas Roadhouse.  What does that mean?  It means if you order one of the special kid's drinks that they get a toy.  Of course, we ordered the drink.  We were not expecting the giant drinks that emerged...

Allie didn't make it through hers, but Ryan drank every single drop.  After dinner we went back to the hotel...and once again the kids were changing into their swimsuits as quickly as possible.  We let them swim a little longer, and then we went back to the room to get them ready for bed.  As you can imagine, they were out almost as soon as we laid them down.  Which was great because they needed their energy for the next day's adventure...