Exciting News!

All of the nieces and nephews got a special package in the mail a couple weeks ago...and we opened them via webcam with Aunt Kim (my sister) and her hubby, Uncle Brian. The kids each got a t-shirt that says, "My Cousin Lives in Washington". Yep...Kim and Brian are expecting their first child in early October. We're all VERY excited! The girls wore their shirts to bed that night and again the next day announcing the news to all our neighbors when we were out playing. :-) We are praying the next several months for a safe pregnancy. How fun it will be at Christmas with a tiny one in the house again! :-)

Sawyer, Sophie, Keaton (Russ & Mandy's) & Lainey modeling their shirts.

Another Great Weekend!

We had yet another wonderful weekend last weekend. It was packed full of fun! Friday night we stayed at the Hampton Inn in Kearney for a mini-vacation. The kids went swimming with their cousin, Keaton, and settled in for a not-long-enough night. :-) They were SO excited to get to stay in a hotel room...and to swim when it wasn't summer yet.










Saturday morning then went swimming again until the very last possible minute before cleaning up to check-out. Then, we checked into the Oldfather Guesthouse. What a need little hidden secret...right outside Kearney. We had won the gift certificate at the Kearney Catholic GOLD auction 2 years ago. It's a little house a couple miles south of Kearney. The nicest family runs it. Lainey and Sophie thought it was SO NEAT to get to stay in a house for vacation. :-) We had a perfect view of the cranes in the surrounding field. They also had dogs and horses the girls LOVED and a swing set and sandbox. The weather was perfect as well. It was just nice and relaxing.










Sawyer giving Keaton a (welcomed?) hug.

Lainey & Keaton outside late into the night; it was so nice. He just adores her, and the feeling is mutual.


Sunday we celebrated our sweet little niece, Aldyn's, first birthday! It was fun to gather with family in Holdrege and celebrate her.

Aldyn wasn't sure what to think about her cake.

Enjoying lunch at the party.

We had to hustle back to Gretna for our Ramsey class Sunday night. The kids were exhausted from a weekend of great times and wonderful memories. It just proves you don't have to travel far for a fun vacation!

A Birthday Weekend

We had a fast & furious & fabulous weekend! Lainey had her birthday party with 10 girls Saturday afternoon. What fun! She was SO excited. We had it at a dance studio (the first time I haven't hosted it myself...how nice!). I think the girls all had a great time. They played games, learned a little dance, played dress-up, decorated princess wands, had their make-up done, ate cake, and opened gifts. What 5 year old wouldn't want to spend an afternoon like this?



Party girls playing with the parachute

Getting ready to sing 'Happy Birthday!'

All dressed up with their decorated princess wands

A very tired (only) boy at the party...thus the paci. :-)

It was also my birthday on Sunday...29 again (I'll be able to use this for at least a couple more years). :-) We had a great day as a family at the zoo (along with about 6,000 other people). :-) It was actually a really nice day (a little breezy), but we can't be too picky this time of year in Nebraska. Then, we went to Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream creations. Yum! Everyone had a great time, and I wouldn't have wanted to spend the day any other way!

Ready for our zoo adventure!

Mommy and Sawyer checking out the penguins. It was SO fun seeing all of the kids' expressions and listening to the girls comments and questions. Priceless.

This is the first time we'd ever seen a diver in one of the tanks. He was feeding the sea plants attached to the rocks because there is no current in the tank to carry food past them.

Our visit to the Butterfly Pavilion.

Who knew when you looked up in the insect section of the Butterfly Pavilion that there were huge webs with spiders in them...just hanging out?!? We're talking no class cage here, people! You can bet I brushed every part our bodies off when we got out of there! :-)

A great day was had by all!!!

Happy Birthday, Our Dear Lainey!!!

Today is Lainey's 5th Birthday! I can hardly believe it. It's hard to believe that 5 years ago today I was delivering the most wonderful gift I could have imagined. As soon as I looked at that little girl...my heart melted, and I was completely and totally in love. Just look at her today. She is smart, adorable, kind-hearted, genuine, funny, loving, lovable, responsible, and just an all-around wonderful kid! We have been SO, SO, SO blessed! Thank you, God, for this amazing child!

We had a great day today! It was very fun to have her so excited for her big day. Here are some highlights:

She woke up to streamers hanging in her doorway and balloons scattered about. She was thrilled enough with just that!

She then had a candle in her pancakes and 'Happy Birthday' singing right away. Again, thrilled. Oh...it's the little things.

She was snack helper at preschool so brought frosted cookies and milk. She lives to be snack helper! Another little thing that meant so much. She also brought home the birthday bag from school...oh, the fun we had going through that! :-)

After her nap, just she and I played a game before the other kids were up (miraculously, Sophie slept today)! The kids then played with balloons some more. And...Daddy delivered a flower right to our front door!

Lainey's favorite restaurant is Hu-Hot Mongolian Grill, so that's where we went for supper.

Then, it was home for cake and ice cream and gifts...she waited oh so patiently all day, never asking once to open her gifts early. (For the record...Sophie kept her gift a secret all day long...so proud of her!)

Sophie's gift to Lainey...an SUV for her dollhouse. I don't know who loved it more. :-)

After cake she had to feed her baby and put her to bed. ...a little mommy for sure!

So, as you can see it was a WONDERFUL 5th birthday for our little sweetheart.

I cannot say enough how very blessed we are!

Face Painting, Balloons, & Business

Saturday we went to the Gretna Business Fair. It's always good to go. I'm amazed how many businesses are in our little town. Every year when I go, I see a business that I didn't know we had. Plus, they make it a fun for the kids. Of course, they love getting all the free stuff from the booths...candy, pencils, even a cell phone this year. They also had face painting and a balloon gal. Lainey wanted to be a butterfly, and Sophie wanted to be a bunny. When we got home and I asked them to sit so I could take their picture, Sawyer ran over and nudged himself between them to smile for the camera. This was a one shot picture. Maybe they're starting to get it! :-)

Mardi Gras

I was lucky enough to get to take an impromptu trip to New Orleans the end of last week with Matt. I got to see the first Mardi Gras parade Wednesday night and watched three parades pass by Thursday night. It was fun to be among the energy and excitement of New Orleans! Our first parade Wednesday night we stood among the people in the streets and waved and hollered with the best of them. We had pounds of beads hanging around our necks as we walked back to the hotel. And, I ran to the middle of the street...faster than I've run in a long time...to snag a Nerf football for Sawyer. We also got a few coins, a couple cups and a stuffed bear and alligator. I don't know if I was more excited that the kids would be so excited when we got home or just excited at the entire process. The parades take quite awhile to move down the route, so we ate at a wonderful restaurant,Bon Tons, and had crab au gratin while we waited for it to reach us. It was one of the two dishes Matt said I HAD to try when I came down this time. It was fantastic!

A look down one of the streeets on the parade route. There were people everywhere. The picture is fuzzy, but on the right side, there is a chicken-on-a-stick, gator-on-a-stick and funnel cake stand. These types of fair-food concession stands (minus the gator-on-a-stick, I suppose) were set up on corners all over the city.

Matt at Bon Tons with Crab Au Gratin.

One of the first floats Wednesday night.

This pic didn't turn out the best, but it does show how all the people on the floats were dressed. They all wore these masks...a little creepy, if you ask me. :-)

After our first parade...by the way...these were very 'family-friendly' parades that we saw, so we didn't have to "work" for the beads we're wearing. :-)

Thursday, the three parades lasted late into the night. The floats were more beautiful Thursday night. One of the parades was an all-female crew. Their throws were more geared toward females, and I thought their floats were the best. This night we got to stand in one of the boxes/grandstands. (I'm not sure if they have an official name.) We were more even-eyed with the floats. This was fun too and a new perspective. Thursday we ate at Pascal's and had the most amazing, largest shrimp I have ever tasted or seen. They come out eyes, heads, and all in a buttery flavor-filled sauce. It was a little difficult to eat at first when I saw them, but after the first taste, I got over it. You dip piece after piece of bread into that rich sauce while eating the shrimp. Mmmmmm....

On either side of the street you can see the stands set up for people to watch the parade routes. Not just anyone could go in these. This happened to be in front of our hotel, so the ones on the right we were invited to stand in because we were guests of the hotel.

Each parade is lead by a King.

Muses was the all-female parade. This was one of the floats. The shoe would change colors. It was pretty amazing.

Another float...very pretty.

Of course, Matt had to work quite a bit while I was there, but I didn't mind wandering the New Orleans' streets...and I felt somewhat familiar with them after being there in November. The weather was windy but pretty nice, so it was great just being outside.

It was a very quick trip getting in Wednesday mid-morning and flying out Friday afternoon, but it was exciting experiencing this event that is so big to New Orleans that it shuts down the city this week ahead. It was fun to be a little part of Mardi Gras!