Omaha Zoo

We capped off the week with a trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo. It was a very nice zoo, and our zoo membership came in handy giving us 50% off admission. A lot of the animals are in indoor exhibits which was nice because you could get really close to them, and it helps you stay cool. They also had a very nice aquarium which was included in admission. I don't recall anything earth-shattering happening at the zoo.

On the way home from Omaha, we did manage to get a flat tire about 30 miles outside St. Louis on I-70. This was not fun. All the cars just whiz on by going 80mph. Do you think anyone stopped to help? No. We had to call a highway patrolman because the jack handle was stripped after a few turns, and we had to borrow his. Hopefully Ford will replace the handle with a better designed one. I didn't get any pictures of this because I was busy helping my Dad with the tire.


I love my floppy girly hat!!

This is the life. I sit here all day and pick my toe jam and eat it while people watch me. No lie, this gorilla was picking its toe jam and eating it as I took this picture. At least now I know where Mike gets it from (tee hee- that's a joke)
No zoo trip is complete without a ride on the carousel.

Boating 101

We also did some boating on the Missouri River which runs thru Omaha, in case you didn't know. It was Carlie's first time in the boat, and she really enjoyed it. Uncle Matt took her up and down the river a few times, then she and Grammy (and Pawpaw and Noah) went to the playground while the rest of us spent the day on the water. I won't gross you out with any photos of me in my suit.


Yes, that's Mike driving the boat. Good thing we were about the only boat on the water that day.
Trent on the Big Bertha.

That's me out there with Mike.

Debra in her "family" suit.

College World Series

We returned from Omaha on Saturday. We had a great time so I will post some of the highlights. The College World Series was lots of fun. Did you see me on ESPN? I was the screaming topless girl in the front row. Not really, but we were screaming in the front row of Fan Fest where they were filming pregame stuff. We had great seats thanks to some friends of Grammy and Pawpaw who work for Sonic and gave us their tickets. The best game was definitely Cal-Irvine's come from behind win over Arizona State.



Camera guy at Fan Fest since you never see them on tv.

Eater Nation celebrating their victory...

Presents for Good Behavior

Carlie gave several of her best behaved animals presents yesterday. You can see them in the background with their presents. They were all very excited to receive their just rewards. I am sure this is as a result of the chore/good behavior system in which she earns stickers for doing her chores and obeying. She loses stickers for various behaviors we won't mention. Right now she is working to earn 100 stickers for a Pooh Leap Pad game. It is quite amusing as everything she does now seems to warrant a sticker.

BUWAHAHAHAHAHA

Victory is Mine (well Pawpaw's). There are still a few more of these critters wreaking havoc underground, but we will catch them.

Noah Bunny

Carlie put these ears on Noah so I had to take a picture. It may come back to haunt him someday. Notice the two bottom teeth.

The Next American Idol

No, Caroline isn't standing on anything, she is just that much taller than Carlie.

A Dip in the Pool

We also spent some time at Uncle Steve and Aunt Michelle's house swimming in the pool. This was Noah first experience in the water. He spent most of it trying to eat the floaty he was sitting in.


Hey, Caroline, how 'bout sending some of those Cheetos my way?
I'm tuckered out.

Holiday World

We went to Evansville for Memorial Day weekend and decided to spend one day at Holiday World. It is Six Flags on a slightly smaller scale. I have officially placed myself in the "old" category because when my 10 year old niece asked Mike and I to ride the Voyager wooden roller coaster, I thought, "No problem, it's just a wooden coaster". This was no sissy coaster. It is ranked as a top coaster in the world by enthusiasts. Let's just say I will never ride that again. I think it dislocated my shoulder, and my brain felt like scrambled eggs. This adventure was one where I definitely enjoyed watching the kids ride rather than riding them myself.

Carlie just loved the Holidog coaster. I thought she would be scared, but she just squealed and laughed the whole ride, and when it was over, she said "again, again, again". I think she rode it at least 20 times (as did I). Noah had fun watching all the people go by and hanging with Grammy and Pawpaw.

I am laughing so hard in this picture because Carlie is just squealing with delight.

Riding with Cousin Caroline


When do I get to ride something??
Meredith looks thrilled to be riding the Nursery Rhyme train. I hope Pawpaw is getting good movies.

Lacrosse Banquet

Here are a few photos of Parkway North's lacrosse banquet. They didn't turn out well, but at least you can see some of the guys Mike has to put up with for three months out of year :) The kids did very well, and Carlie liked clapping for all of the boys on the team. Oh, and I didn't actually get Mike in any photos because they did freshmen stuff last, and I stopped taking photos when I noticed how dark they were turning out.

Ballet Recital

Well, not so much a recital as a "show-off" day for Carlie's last day of dance class. Glad we brought the video camera as well because it was quite amusing. I did feel like the worst mom in the world when all the other moms/dads had flowers were their girls when it was over. I clearly need to learn the etiquette for these types of things. Carlie was definitely the best at the "seal walk" and can also do crab walk- forwards and backwards, bear crawl, log roll, somersault and many other things. After she did her somersault, she peeked around her teacher and said "I did it, guys!" They did a little dance at the end. Then, they got to do this parachute game. The teacher said when he said, "RUN", they were to let go of the parachute and run under it. Well, when he said, "RUN", Carlie let go of the parachute and rather than run under the parachute, she ran away from the parachute. It was funny.



Here she is running AWAY from the parachute.

GCA Fun Fair

Sunday we attended the Grace Christian Academy Fun Fair after church. We wanted to support it, especially since Carlie will be attending preschool there next year. It was really fun. Carlie enjoyed the games. They gave out tokens which could then be cashed in for toys. After doing many games, it became abundantly clear that the fish pond was the best place to get multiple tokens. I was definitely an encourager that she do that game. She ended up with a little stuffed ballerina bear and a stuffed Barbie doll. I also encouraged the cake walk too(we didn't win-grrr...) Noah made it through the afternoon like a champ- no diaper accidents and a nice nap.

MOPS Picnic

Saturday we went to the end of the year MOPS Picnic at Millenium Park. It was a very nice park, and I am surprised we didn't even know it existed. The playground equipment was pretty high tech as you can see, not your basic slides and swings at this park. It was a beautiful day/evening. We have to enjoy them while we can as it won't be long before we are wishing it was winter when all the humidity rolls in.




Don't worry, there is a story with this guy, too. Notice the paper towel he is sitting on. After we had eaten our picnic, he was crying in his stroller. This atypical behavior for him. I decided to take him out to see what his deal was. Well, there was a little surprise in the stroller that found its way to my arm and down his leg. It was not pleasant. And, guess how many wipes I had? Two! Yes, this is when one must use every square inch of what they have available being careful not to get anything on ones self. I managed like a pro. Good thing I picked him up instead of Mike or he would have been about eight wipes short. As a side note, I was also able to clean off his outfit too. Being the organized person I am, I didn't have an extra.