The Svajgl Family

This blog has moved

2011-08-22T18:51:00.001-05:00

I have moved my blog to the following location:

http://svajglfamily.tumblr.com/

Come visit me!

Lovely Walks

2011-06-05T11:28:00.000-05:00

We go on an awful lot of walks around here and we all love it! We are so lucky to have a beautiful creek in our neighborhood to walk along and enjoy all of nature's beauty. We love the wildflowers, the frogs, the birds, the squirrels, the 2 ducks, and the bugs! Here are some pictures from a recent walk.

Lily loves to try to swing on these willow trees!

Here is one of the ducks who moved in at the creek. I think he was mad at us for disturbing him, he was chasing us!

Our creek, I love it!

If you look in the middle of the picture, you can see an orange/yellow bird. It is such a pretty bird and I love seeing it!

Summer time

2011-06-02T19:12:00.000-05:00

School has been out for a week and we are in full swing of summer vacation. Today I asked the kids what things they want to do this summer. Lily had a one word answer, swim. That is all she wants to do. She LOVES playing in the water. Skyler, of course, had much more on his list. My disclaimer, I am not making any of this up!

1. Watch movies all day long. (not likely going to happen).
2. Play on the computer, ipod, and wii.
3. Look for toys to play with. (I do not know what this means, nor do I think I want to!)
4. Play with Gavin.
5. Sleep in. (Yes, would you please do that!)
6. Not get sick. (Another one that I agree with!)
7. Go out to eat.
8. Count money. (Huh?)
9. Play school. (Seems normal to me, we always did this).
10. Play with Lily. (Nice to see you included your sister).
11. Build something with Legos that no one else has ever built.
12. Go to the library. (Nice, I like that on).

Skyler also made a daily schedule for me for the summer. You can see he wants to keeps us busy!

Here is what it says:
1. Do something fun.
2. Reading.
3. PE or art.
4. Spelling.
5. Math.
6. Recess.
7. Lunch.
8. Story time or read by self.
9. Science.
10. Movie, or wii.
11. Play basketball.
12. Computer lab, ipod, or Leapfrog.
13. Computer or movie.
14. Stop school.

Okay, here are the things we actually have planned:
1. Summer school. I will not lie about this. I am very excited that they will both be in all day summer school this year. I don't know what I will do, but I know that I will be able to run during the day, which means I will actually get to SLEEP IN! It will just be nice to have a little time off!
2. Vacation to the Smokeys.
3. VBS
4. Art camp for Skyler.
5. Bellevue Fire Department Kids' Safety Camp.
6. Skating.
7. Bowling.
8. Swimming.
9. Splash parking.
10. Library reading program.
11. Riding bikes.
12. Taking walks.
13. Zoo trips.
14. Complete the Go! Play Adventure.
15. Whatever else I can think of to keep these monkeys busy.

So, hopefully both Lily and Skyler's expectations will be met and we will have a great summer!

Lily Graduates From Preschool

2011-05-27T20:03:00.001-05:00

Lily graduated from preschool and I love that the school made it such an event. They even had caps and gowns! Here are some the songs they performed for us.

She was so proud of herself for graduating and we had so much fun celebrating with her! We got her a real nice and tasty Sweet and Salty cake from Jones Brothers' Cupcakes and she got flowers from her grandma and a nice graduation stuffed dog.

She was so excited for kindergarten a while back and now she that she is ready, she's not so sure about it. A few days after her graduation as I was putting her to bed, she started crying. I asked her what was the matter and she told me that she was scared to go to kindergarten at Skyler's school because it is so big and that there are so many big kids there. I felt so bad for here. She was genuinely scared! I told her that there is nothing to be scared about. I reminded her that she already knows a lot of people at Peter Sarpy and she will do just fine there. I also told her to talk to Skyler and tell him that she is scared to go to school there and ask him to tell her what it is like there. She finally calmed down. Now we just have to wait a little over a week and she can give it a try and see how she likes it while she is in summer school there. My guess, the only one crying will be me :)

Skyler's music program

2011-05-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

Skyler's music program was quite a treat! The 1st and 2nd graders put on quite a show for us. Here are a few clips of the excitement.

Lily is 5!

2011-04-18T07:55:00.000-05:00

Lily just could not wait to turn 5. She thought so many things in her life would change once she turned 5, turned out, she was wrong. She thought she her loose tooth would get looser and fall out, nope. She thought she would get to go to kindergarten right when she turned 5, nope. Even though those things did not happen, she still had a great time turning 5. She had her very first birthday party! We aren't big on birthday parties in our house and when our kids turn 5 is when they get their first big party.

Lily celebrated hers at Skate City. She had so much fun skating and getting to play the arcade games, which we never play any other time when we are there.

She also had her birthday dinner at Grandma Biben's. What is great about birthdays at grandma's is that the birthday person gets to pick out the menu. All Lily cared about was having green chips (lime tortilla chips) and queso and lemon cake that had lemon drops on it! She got it! But we also had cowboy steak and veggies, you know, to round things out!

She got great gifts and was so excited to turn 5. The next day, she wanted to know how long it would be before she turned 6! Oh, to be young again!

St. Patrick's Day 2011

2011-03-21T20:00:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun again this year celebrating St. Patrick's Day. We worked very hard on our leprechaun trap, but again, it did not work. We saw the evidence of the fact that the leprechaun got caught it the trap, but he was able to get out and then he punished us for our trickery! He turned our milk green, turned our toilet water green and left green spots all over the toilet paper! Skyler's solution to this is to make more than one trap next year. We will have to see if that will work. And now that I am done with school (hopefully I passed my exam!) I sure hope I will have more time to blog, we'll have to see!

Martin Luther King Jr.

2011-01-15T10:40:00.001-06:00

I am very lucky that I can help out in Skyler's class a couple of times a month. I like that I can see what is going on in there and help the teacher at the same time. Yesterday I helped and I was a little bit amazed at what I was seeing. Actually, I was not so much amazed as I was angered.

I was helping a group of kids with a play about Martin Luther King Jr. I was shocked that in the play any reference to religion or God was blacked out! They actually had text of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech and they actually blacked out the any time he said "God's children." I was in complete shock and then I was just appalled and angered. Here we have an actual historical speech from one of the most important people in American history who fought for equal rights and his speech was changed to be politically correct.

Have we come this far? How can you teach about this country and its history and not include the religious aspects of it. How can you change the text of one of the most important speeches in history? I don't know. But I am glad that I saw it and happened to be in the room that day. I already supplement what my kids learn at school. Obviously, they attend public school and so we teach the Christian values and concepts at home and they learn them at church as well. I guess I never thought that I would have to reteach history to my kids to make sure that they were getting the whole story.

So for Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday we will be listening to his I have a Dream speech and listening to U2's Pride, and watching A Ripple of Hope, a documentary about the day he was assassinated.

The speech:

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Our first family rodeo - YEEHAW!

2010-10-08T07:05:00.000-05:00

We were so lucky to have the chance to go the the River City Roundup Rodeo. We had so much fun watching all of the action! We all dressed in our best cowboy/cowgirl gear too! So much fun watching the bulls! Skyler liked the bull riding the best. Lily liked the the bull lassoing the best. I liked the bull riding and the bronc riding! Chuck liked the bull riding the best. We were a little disappointed because there were a lot of disqualifications and we weren't sure what all of that was about, but the action was awesome!

Camping Again

2010-10-06T20:51:00.000-05:00

We went camping again a few weeks ago and had so much fun. There was no one there again and we had all 300 + acres of nature all to ourselves. We did a lot of hiking and some chilling too. We also did some animal catching. We caught a toad that Lily decided was her best friend in the world. She carried him with her for some time on one of our hikes, but when we finally told her it was time to let him go, she was not too happy, as you can see from the pictures. We got some incredible views of the destruction caused by the tornado of 2008, the same one that hit at the Little Sioux Boy Scout camp. They have spent the last 2 years cleaning the park up from the destruction and it makes me wish we had seen it before the tornado because I cannot even fathom what it used to look like.

Lily recovered from the toad loss after she caught a monarch. She was upset when we had to let him go too, but recovered even quicker when she found her friend "cricket" who for some reason didn't want to leave her and just stayed right by her for over 2 hours! The last night we were there a thunderstorm struck. We survived it fine, but I was a little creeped out by it. The kids slept through the whole thing. By the time we needed to get up and go it was still raining and the water was just starting to creep through the bottom of the tent, so even if we hadn't planned on leaving at that time, we probably would have.

We later found out that Chuck got into some poison ivy and he is still trying to get rid of it! I loved this campsite better than our other one, we had the perfect toilet all set up!, but I am pretty sure we will never camp at campsite number 7 again, as it has scarred Chuck forever and I guess we will either go back to friendly number 2 again, or try out number 6 next time!

Lovey Dovey

2010-09-23T16:24:00.000-05:00

There really isn't much I can say here, except that I love it! We took a walk last week after a rain storm down by the creek and these 2 were like this most of the way. They were deep in conversation and it was just adorable. Why can't they be like this all of the time?

Monarch Tagging

2010-09-14T09:56:00.000-05:00

We went to the Hitchcock Nature Center last week and had the pleasure of participating in their monarch tagging event. We love doing this each year. We took our butterfly net and went searching for monarchs. We were so surprised at how many different kinds of butterflies we saw this year, some kinds I haven't ever seen before. We had a blast chasing those darn monarchs! It was a successful adventure, as both Skyler and Lily both caught a monarch, tagged it, and released it. Now we have 8 more tags to put on monarchs that we catch on our own. We plan on going camping this weekend, so hopefully we will be successful monarch hunting then!

Our camping trip

2010-09-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

We decided at the last minute to go on a camping trip to celebrate the three day weekend. We have had our eyes on a great camping location for a while now, but it was closed due to tornado damage and cleanup. Well, we were so excited to find out it was open now. There are only 8 camp sites, they cannot be reserved, and they are hike in only. We left right after school and were the first ones there! We so thought we would not get a site since it was a holiday weekend and the forecast was so nice, but we did. We have decided that our little camping site is a secret little gem out there and not many people know about it. We plan to keep it that way. We got there and did some hiking to decide which camp site to take, hiked back to our car, hiked back to the site with most of our gear. We left the kids at the site to look for kindling while we went back for one more load. We got back to the site, Chuck and the kids got the fire going and then set up the tent while I got the food ready. After a bit, I cooked the burgers on the grill and then we ate! After that we went on another hike in the semi-darkness. Lily scared and we decided to go back. We sat around the fire and I read some stories and then we had s'mores! It was at this time that we started to hear the coyotes. I felt a little freaked out about it, but kept my cool! We cleaned up and headed to the tent for bedtime. We were all pretty tired!

In the morning, we got up, started the fire and decided the best thing to eat for an appetizer to breakfast was s'mores and hot cocoa! We then went on another hike and would have loved to go further, the kids were having a blast, but we had to be at the nature center for Monarch tagging, so we headed back. We decided to skip breakfast. We all got changed, cleaned up the camp site, packed up and hiked out. It was everyone's favorite camping trip and we can't wait to do it again soon.

Omaha Nighthawks Practice

2010-09-07T09:58:00.000-05:00

I took the kids to watch the Omaha Nighthawks practice. Unfortunately, it was the hottest day of the week, but we still had fun. Skyler got to see some very cool plays and players and asked a lot of good football minded questions. I got to see Ahman Green and Jeff Garcia up close and personal! It was very exciting! I have loved football for as long as I can remember and have been a fan of both the Packers and the 49ers for many years. Seeing two famous players from those teams within 10 feet of me was wonderful and we plan to go to a few games of theirs too!

Lily's first day of school

2010-09-06T13:32:00.001-05:00

Lily was so excited for school to start. She had her open house a week before school started and everyday after that she would ask so excitedly, "Is this a school day?" I would tell her no and she would be soooo sad. When the day finally came, it was the only day she didn't ask if it was a school day. When she finished breakfast and walked past the couch, she saw her special first day of school outfit and then she finally asked if it was a school day. When I told her yes, she ran to Skyler's room and said, "Skyler, today is my first day of school, it is finally a school day for me! " She was just too cute about it. The hard part was keeping her occupied until school started!

South Dakota Part 1

2010-08-30T10:22:00.002-05:00

The first stop of our summer trip to South Dakota was The Corn Palace. It really was a very neat thing to see! We were caught acting corny!

From there we went to the Badlands National Park. I have been there before, but the beauty of it still amazes me. The kids loved it and were off running and trying to climb huge hills, it was scary! They also collected some very nice rocks from here!

And then, no trip to South Dakota is complete without a stop at Wall Drug! I just love this tourist trap. They have a great place for the kids to play in the back and they loved it!

From there we went on to Custer, more on that in another post!

Air Show 2010

2010-08-30T10:11:00.001-05:00

I have been going to the air show or watching the air show for longer than I remember. I have always enjoyed it, but this year, I was not too excited to go to it. But, we did. Luckily, we met up with some friends and hung out with them all day! It so helped pass the time. The kids and the guys wandered around and checked out some aircraft while we stayed with the chairs and enjoyed the scenery :)

It was hot, but there was a nice breeze and we were in shade most of the time. The kids had a blast, so in that case it was so worth it. We got caught in some nasty traffic and lines last year, so we left a little bit before the show was over, got right on a shuttle and there was no traffic, so we were back at the school in no time. Perfect!! We have already decided that next year, we will watch it from the comfort of our house!

Lily's Preschool Open House

2010-08-23T09:49:00.002-05:00

On Sunday we all got to go to Lily's preschool open house. She is going to a different preschool this year and she is just sooo excited about it. She loved everything about the open house and was so sad when it was time to leave. She was even sadder when she found out she had to wait another whole week (how long is a week mom? 7 days Lily. Oh man, that's like waiting forever!) She asks every day if she gets to go to preschool and I tell her, nope, you have to wait ___ more days. By Sunday, she is going to be a basket case!

I am pretty excited about this new school too. They come to get her out of the car and bring her to the car at the end of the day, can I just say sweet! They also go on a field trip every month and do so many other

cool things. On top of all of that, it is so much cheaper than the preschool she went to last year! Score!

The fun thing is that this is the preschool that I went to when I was 3 and 4, and the building is still standing after all of these years! Man, that is a miracle!

Here's looking forward to a wonder year of learning for Lily!

Skyler's first day of school

2010-08-23T09:46:00.002-05:00

Skyler was so looking forward to a new school year. I was surprised that he was still excited after he found out that he did not get the teacher he was really hoping for, that his best friends were not in his class, and that he would not get to ride the bus to school; but alas, he was still excited to go on this first day, and everyday since!

Here is is right before school with his sister and then right after school, see he still looked happy at the end of the day! I am happy we are off to a great start for the new school year and I hope he enjoys second grade this year!

Summer 2010

2010-08-18T09:38:00.001-05:00

Well, again I have been lax on blogging. It isn't that I don't think about it. I really do. I have lots of blogs written in my head, but they just don't seem to make it out of my head and into my blog. So, here I go again, trying to get going at it again.

We all had a very busy summer, starting the very day that school got out. Skyler was whisked away on a train in the middle of the night to go to Colorado with his grandparents. He was there for about 5 days and he had a ball. I write about all of his adventures there in a separate post.

When he came back from that we all left for a family vacation in South Dakota. We had a lot of fun, but we did way too much stuff and were exhausted when we came back. Again, this will be a separate post.

After that, we were home for a bit and then Skyler was off to Wichita to spend the week with his aunt. Actually I think he was really just done there to hang with his friend all week, but you never know.

The next week my sister came up here to hang out. She kept us busy!

So, in between all of that crazy stuff, we tried to pack in some fun summer stuff!

Skyler played coached pitched baseball for the first time and he loved it! He really made progress in his basic baseball skills and is very excited to continue with baseball next summer.

We went to Railroad Days and instead of going to the Lauritzen Gardens, we went to the Durham Western Heritage Museum. They had the Boyscouts of America commemorative locomotive there, but also all kinds of other fun stuff! I love the old "Omaha" display, which is where Chuck, Lily, and I are posing in this picture. Wish I could have that house! Skyler and Lily got to pose as old time peeps here too, aren't they handsome!

We also went to the cheap $2 kid movies at Twin Creek almost every week. We all love this. The ticket prices are great, the movies are just for kiddos, and they get popcorn and water included in the price of the ticket!
We went skating every week and Skyler made huge progress in the area of skating. He advanced from regular skates to inlines and is ready for inline hockey this fall. He is sooooo excited about that.
We went bowling once a week too. Kidsbowlfree is a great program that allowed the kids to bowl 2 free games daily. We only went once a week because the bowling alley was not really that close, but they loved it and had fun.
We got this great Go Play! Adventure book. It 25 locations in it where you can go and investigate and each place has a specific symbol that you can make a rubbing of in your book. There are also a few extra pages where you can create your own adventure and we did one at Boystown. We visited the Hall of fame musuem, the chapel, and Father Flanagan's house, which is where the picture of the kids sitting at school desk was taken. We made a rubbing of one the Boystown bricks in our book.
We visited the splash park, Papio Bay, and Mahoney State Park's water park.
We also went to the final Friday night Blast at the Blatt for the Omaha Royals. We had so much fun, it was Star Wars night and we got to see Darth Vader and all of his friends! The fireworks were awesome, set to Star Wars music. The picture of Skyler and I was taken at the game.

Well, that is about it for now. Some future posts will include more pictures from our summer fun, posts about our vacation to South Dakota, and first day of school pictures1

15 Years of Wedded Bliss

2010-08-01T14:45:00.004-05:00

This past week Chuck and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that it has been 15 years! It seems like yesterday that I was getting up at 5 in the morning to go get my hair done, in order to be at the church by 7:30 to get pictures taken before our 10:00 service. Our reception was great, but it sure started off hot, July 29, 1995 , it was 97 degrees when our outdoor reception started at 5:00! I thought I was going to melt! But, we survived. Here is a little review of the past 15 years.

A QUICK LOOK BACK AT THE LAST 15 YEARS

Year	Events
1	Woohoo! We are finally together! No separation! Working, learning, loving. My first airplane ride and first visit to Florida and Disney World. We both started new jobs and you were going to school. Chuck was studying to be a pilot and got his private pilot’s license. We bought our first and last pet, that crazy Mary, who was our baby/freak show car for 7 years.
2	We had some creep try to break in to our house and it made us feel very uncomfortable! We spent a lot of time traveling to snowboard competitions, which led to us California, my first time there, for nationals. We had a great time and decided to move to Utah since Chuck was doing so well snowboarding and the Olympics would be there. We packed up our new furniture and hit the road to Utah.
3	We were finally somewhere alone! Spent the night at the Anniversary Inn for our 2nd anniversary and thought it was such a cool place. We went on a few hikes, hiked to Timpanogos Cave. Chuck snowboarded, sold cars, worked at UPS, and Performance Sound. I taught. We went to Telluride for nationals. Our first trip to Montana for a workshop that I did not even go to!!!! I tried to learn how to snowboard, but busted my ankle up so bad, that I decided it was not to be. We had a couple of visits from Wade & co and I cooked my first real Thanksgiving dinner.
4	We moved from the slums to a nice place in a nice location, with a crappy roommate. Luckily, he didn’t stay around too long! I started school for IT. New car - Chuck got the Rodeo. Our first trip to Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon. We so enjoyed sitting on our balcony, eating dinner and listening to smooth jazz on KBZY, the Breeze.
5	We went to Snowbird for our anniversary dinner, so special! I started a new job in a new career which involved me traveling! Came to Omaha for New Years. We loved to eat at Market Street Broiler and Bangkok Thai. Chuck started having colitis episodes, but we were unable to get a clear or unabsurd diagnosis.
6	Moved back to Nebraska. New apartment, new jobs - Chuck had so many choices he couldn’t decide where to work at first. Custom Electronics and then TSI. I worked at Qwest. I got Betty, and Chuck went back to school. We went to Kansas City to see Sting perform, best seats ever!
7	We started building a house!!! It was so exciting! Chuck got a new car. We took a trip to Keystone that Chuck won at Mr. Crescent and started to get ready for a baby.
8	Skyler!! We had a beautiful baby! Chuck hurt his shoulder snowboarding. We were excited about a new baby, but it was not to be and we were sad, but we pulled through :) Chuck had much needed shoulder surgery.
9	We enjoyed our Skyler he just grew up too fast. We had to put Mary the cat to sleep because she was not nice to our Skyler!
10	I was laid off from Qwest. We took a much needed trip to Key West - viva the key lime pie! I swam in the ocean for the first time. I went back to teaching.
11	We worked on finishing the basement. I took a different teaching job. We took a trip to Texas so Chuck could race his VW and that was when we found out - we were going to have another baby! Chuck started a new job at Cox and went back to school. We drove to Denver for a Dave Matthew’s concert, that we didn’t enjoy very much.
12	Lily joined our family! I no longer worked outside the home. Chuck started a new job at Paragon. Skyler played soccer and started preschool. We went to Kansas City to see Tool, ate at the Cheesecake Factory for the first time. My car died and we had to get it towed twice, get a new battery and we got home much later than we were supposed to!
13	We took family trips to Hawaii, got to see volcano national park, and Kansas for weddings. Chuck started a new job at Physician’s Mutual. We took a trip to Montana by way of Jackson Hole and Yellowstone and LOVED IT! Had the best ever breakfast burritos at DOG and escaped what could have been a gnarly collision with a deer. Did some great hiking up to the glaciers and took a pseudo white water rafting trip. Chuck accepted Jesus!!!!! We took a family vacation to Niobrara State Park. We bought bikes and Chuck biked to work through the summer.
14	We took a trip to Utah to see if we could ever live there again. The answer was NO! Got to watch Kyle Korver play in a Jazz game. We took our first camping trip as a family. Learned how to tag monarch butterflies.
15	I started school. We took a trip to Bozeman, AWESOME! We took a family trip South Dakota.

My crazy kids!

2010-07-12T06:53:00.004-05:00

My kids have been so into dress up lately and the creativity behind it just cracks us up. It all started after we got back from our South Dakota vacation (more on that later, really). They were each given $20 to spend on anything that they wanted and Skyler was all about buying toy guns and bow and arrow sets and I think that is how some of this started, but I could be wrong, as he is quite a fan of John Wayne as well. The first picture is the one of the kids dressed up like coal miners, then as Indians. They sure are crazy!

Lily's First Haircut

2010-07-12T06:42:00.004-05:00

Yes, I am aware that Lily turned 4 in March, but I didn't really think she needed a hair cut up until this point! I took her in May to get her hair cut, and she was dead set against it. She told me no way was she going to get up there and get her hair cut. She said it would hurt. We explained it would not hurt, but she still wouldn't go for it. So, I waited. I talked about haircuts around her, a lot, with all kinds of people, asking if they liked to get their hair cut, if it hurt. She heard all of the right answers, so I tried again. She was a completely different person! She went right in, got right up in the chair and was ready to for it. She sat there perfectly while they trimmed about 3/4 of an inch off and then she let them spray it, curl it and style it. She sat there nicely while they put a beautiful glitter heart on her cheek and she jumped right down and asked me, "mom, how do I look, did I take a good hair cut?" Why, yes you did Lily! She was most impressed with the sucker she got when she was done, that was the cherry on the top!

Up, Up, and Away!

2010-05-24T08:13:00.004-05:00

We had so much fun on Friday night. We went to Sumtur Amphitheater in Papillion for their free movie night. The movie they were showing was UP! and for a bonus they had hot air balloons! They were so cool. Unfortunately, Chuck had to just drop us off because his colitis was acting up, but Lily and I went up to look at the balloons and we got to take a tethered hot air balloon ride for $4.00! We were 25 feet up in the air and she was just loving it!!!! She didn't want to come back down and when we did, she wanted to go back up again! When it got darker, they did a balloon glow, where the balloons were light up and glowing in the dark- so cool. It was a blast. Chuck came back in time for the movie and it was so nice. The weather was perfect, there were very few bugs and it was so nice. The only downfall was that they kept running out of popcorn and Lily really wanted popcorn! Next time, I might sneak my own in!

Lily's Farm Field Trip

2010-04-19T19:18:00.004-05:00

First Bike Ride of the Year!

2010-04-19T19:12:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to our favorite trail over the Platte River for a quick bike ride. It was the first time that Lily got to ride her bike without training wheels on a family bike ride. She didn't make it as far as her dad thought she would. I was pretty sure she wouldn't make it, but what do I know! We just went over the bridge and had made it down the hill when she pooped out. She and I rested while the two boys finished the ride. After they turned around and rejoined us, we all finished together. We had a great time and also enjoyed our picnic lunch. Here are a few pictures of our travels.

The Runner- Sidelined!

2010-04-16T13:00:00.003-05:00

Well, I was so proud of myself for completing that 10 mile run a little over a month ago. What I didn't know is that it would be the run that put me out of running for almost this whole time. I felt great after that run. I didn't get any cramps or pains while I was running and did not collapse when it was over or anything. I had a massage a few hours after it and I felt GREAT! Two days later, reality set in. I am talking big time shin splints and excruciating hip pain. I have neither had either from running and I have to say, I don't like it one bit. The shin splints I can live with. They hurt, but not so much that I want to cry. The hip pain, on the other hand, has almost been the death of me. I self diagnosed myself with bursitis.

What is bursitis? Well, I am so glad that you asked! The bursa is what cushions the tendon and helps to prevent friction between the tendon and the bone. Constant rubbing of the tendon over the bone can lead to enough friction of the of the bursa to cause inflammation and irritation. I have to say bursitis is the worst pain I've been in a long time. It doesn't heal quickly either. I was in constant pain, sitting, standing, laying, sleeping, and running. I tried to run through the pain. That was stupid. I finally went to the doctor and he took x-rays because he suspected a stress fracture. Bursitis doesn't show up on x-rays. His prescription was to stop running for a while, killing me, and physical therapy.

Luckily my physical therapist knew what bursitis is and the symptoms, and was certain that was what was wrong. I have been doing physical therapy for 2 weeks and the pain is mostly gone. However, During this time I have not run at all, which is what caused the pain to begin with! She wants me to run this weekend, not hard or far, but just run to see how my hip handles it. I am excited but scared to death, because I do not want to start running and have it flare up and go through this whole this again. There is a 5k at the end of April that I REALLY want to run in. I not only want to run in it, but I want to beat my time last year and I just don't know if I can. So half marathon will have to wait until the beginning of the summer or the fall. Bummer, because I was almost all done with my training for it!!!!!!

Pedestrian Bridge Walk

2010-04-13T16:07:00.003-05:00

Saturday we took a stroll over the Missouri River on the pedestrian bridge. It was Skyler's first time and he didn't really like being up so high over the water and kept asking all kinds of safety questions and questions about what to do if the bridge fell or if he fell over the bridge. He was driving me crazy!!!!! He had fun on the statues though, especially the huge fish one!

Easter 2010

2010-04-13T10:41:00.003-05:00

Yes, Lily is wearing a dress and so happy to be doing it! This was her birthday present from grandma and she loves it. She calls it her princess dress! We had a great Easter. We colored eggs on Saturday and did our Easter egg hunt on Sunday and no one got too much candy and all had fun!

We also kept in mind the reason for Easter and gave thanks to God for sacrificing his only son to forgive our sins so that we may live with him forever in heaven. What a gift!

Lily's Fourth Birthday

2010-04-04T20:20:00.003-05:00

When I asked Lily what she wanted for her birthday she told me that all she wanted was a Candy Land cake. She just had to have it and so how could I not make one for her! She even got to help make it and she totally loved it and is still talking about it. When people ask her what she got for her birthday it is the first thing she says!

Last year I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to get her for her birthday. This year I had too many things that I wanted to get her! I settled on a fisher price kids camera. It turned into a fiasco! I bought a used one on eBay that was from a reputable seller and it was clearly stated that it was gently used and in good working condition. I got it about three weeks before her birthday, but never opened it or anything. The night before her birthday I opened it and put batteries in it and the darn thing didn't work. I was sooo very upset. I email the person and asked for a refund. They gave me one and I just figured whatever, I got her other stuff no big deal. We went to Target the next day and they had them on sale and it was not much more than what I had paid for the used one, so I got and snuck it into her bag right when we got home. She loved it. But, I think the present she was most impressed with was the princess dress that she got from Grandma, which you will be seeing in another post soon.

Lily's Field Trip in her own words

2010-03-18T09:54:00.002-05:00

Skyler

2010-03-18T09:39:00.002-05:00

Oh he is so clever! Please do not come in! Really, if I want to come in, I will!

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-18T09:33:00.002-05:00

We had so much excitement over here for this holiday. It all started Tuesday morning when I made oatmeal. After it was cooking, I went to check it and it had turned green! Those crazy leprechaun's turned our oatmeal green! It meant war! That afternoon we made leprechaun traps and were feeling pretty good about them. Overnight, however, they only caused more problems. Our pancake mix and milk were turned green and so was the water in our toilet!!!! Our traps had been messed with and there was a bit of leprechaun fabric and a note from those sneaky guys as well! We ended the day with reubens and rainbow cupcakes and a vow to catch those stinkers next year with better traps!

On My Mind

2010-03-18T09:17:00.002-05:00

So, there aren't often times I write much about my thoughts out here, mostly what we've been up to. But, this is what is on my mind, so I thought that I would share. We had Skyler's conference at school the other night and I was a little upset by it. I am not surprised by it, just a bit upset by it, because it was the first time we've been informed about his little problem. First of all, Skyler is an excellent student,well I think I should say excellent LEARNER, for that I am thankful. He loves to learn and is always excited about it and has the best memory of anyone that I have ever met, which in turn makes learning easier for him. However, he has ADD tendencies and so far they this school year they haven't been a problem. He has made excellent marks all year and has been improving every quarter, except this time. He went down in two areas and it really concerns me because none of the papers coming home gave any indication. But, what really blew me away was that he got S- for behavior and I had no idea he was being naughty at school. No phone calls, no notes. I of course didn't get upset in the conference, but the more I think about it, the more upset I get. I know there are probably a few reasons for Skyler's problem and one is that he is bored. Not an excuse. Up until this time, the teacher has done a great job keeping him focused. But, now I am worried this trend will continue and get worse as he gets older. Having an education background does not help in this case, because I've seen the worst case scenarios and don't want it to happen to us! I will be praying for my little munchkin, that he can behave and be neat while he is at school and hopefully it will happen!

Lily's Field Trip

2010-03-18T09:16:00.001-05:00

Lily got to go on a field trip to Fontenelle Forest. She really thought it was the greatest thing ever! She got to learn about and touch four animals: a turtle, a salamander, a snake, and a rabbit. They got to pretend to be rabbits and pretend to be snakes too.

Vacation

2010-03-15T20:38:00.000-05:00

We stopped in Wall Drug, South Dakota on the way to Montana. We were so relieved to be out of the fog that we wanted to celebrate by walking around, and plus, Chuck had never been there. I think that is crazy! The first picture is the ice that formed on the car from driving through the fog. We thought that part was horrible. Little did we know that driving home would be much worse! Probably the worst drive we have ever been on thanks to the fog, black ice, snow, slush and rain! YUCK!

Montana Pictures Part 3

2010-03-10T14:46:00.004-06:00

Ok, the first picture is such an adorable, GREEN house. I took the picture because I sooooo want to live in that house, or one like it. The next is a picture of College M" is you look kind of right in the middle of the picture you can see the M on the mountain; that is where we hiked the first day we were there. And, then our coffee cups from a great coffee shop, yummy!

Montana Part 2

2010-03-10T14:39:00.004-06:00

Well, the formatting is crazy here, but here we are visiting the Rocky Mountain Museum. The place was awesome, with tons of stuff about dinos, Native Americans, old time living, and Jamestown. We really had a lot of fun!

Montana Pictures Part 1

2010-03-10T14:33:00.002-06:00

Here we are on vacation in Bozeman, MT. I enjoyed a delicious beer of some sort at Montana Ale Works, and on a different day we both enjoyed a bison burger at Ted's Montana Grill. We went on a hike to "College M" and Chuck had some fun with that as you can tell!

The Runner

2010-03-04T14:34:00.002-06:00

I cannot believe it! I just ran 10 miles! I just ran 10 miles! I really don't know what else to say about this subject! But, alas, I will find some words to express what is happening! Today was my ten mile run day. And last night I spent a considerable amount of time at www.mapmyrun.com to develop my route. I was so excited about it. Then I woke up this morning, not quite as excited about it. Reality had set in. I was committing myself to a 10 mile run, where in if I got stuck or stranded, no one could help me. The furthest I have run before this is 8 miles and that was on a treadmill. I don't care what anyone says, running on a treadmill is so very different than running outside. It is mindless, you don't have to think, you can watch TV or movies while you are doing it. Outside, well you have traffic, ice, snow, hills, music, cars. It is so much different. But, with Chuck's help, I was able to do it. I ran most of the time and took a couple walk breaks. But I did it and it feels great. Now, I am going to shower, pop some ibuprofen, and get a massage!

The Reading Monster

2010-03-03T22:55:00.004-06:00

I have always enjoyed reading fiction books. I can't remember a time when I didn't enjoy reading, or a time in my life when I didn't read. I can even think back about a certain book and remember exactly what age/grade I was in when I read it. One of my favorite classes that I took when I was in college was Children's Literature. It was a required education course and it was like heaven for me. Not only was I introduced to a whole bunch of books that had come out since I had gotten out of grade school, we were also assigned to read about 30 chapter books and write book reports! I LOVED IT!

Well, anyway, this post is not about me, actually, it is about Skyler. We started reading chapter books with him about a year ago. He got hooked on The Magic Tree House series, which by the way is very good. We also read a couple of Captain Underpants books, these are not that good by the way (but they are funny). We have also read Charlotte's Web, Dinosaur Cove, and Zoobreak. I had told a friend about a really great series of books that I had, that I thought her daughter would enjoy (I loved them and so did my students) and she talked to her daughter about them and she said she would like to try them. When I was digging them out of my sacred box of books, I saw some of the awesome chapter books that I had picked up when taking Kiddie Lit. I went through and made a pile of some that I thought Sklyer would enjoy, showed them to him, talked about each one and let him decide if he wanted to read any of them.

He was so excited, I couldn't believe it! He made a fantastic choice of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. We started reading it and the boy could not get enough. He wanted me to wake him up early so we could read a lot before school. He would come home from school and want to read it. It was non-stop. I loved it. It is one of my favorite books of all time, and perfect for him. We finished that book in a week!! We sat for more than once for over an hour and a half reading that book!!!! When we were done, he asked, what's next? There are a few books about Mr. Brian Robeson and we will be starting them soon. But first, a Magic Tree House or too, because they aren't quite as intense and man, my voice needs a break!

Montana

2010-03-01T11:33:00.003-06:00

I love vacations. They are such a great opportunity for Chuck and I to recharge and have some fun without worrying about the kids. Yesterday was our first day in Bozeman, MT and we had a great time. We hike for a couple of hours up to the Montana State University "M" on the side of the mountain. Then we drove around and scoped out the area, ate a bison burger, drove around some more and came back and just chilled.

Today Chuck is snowboarding. I ran this morning and am going to spend my day chilling. I plan on taking a very long, hot bath and then doing some homework. Not sure what else, but who cares! Whatever happens, happens; I'm on vacation! Pictures to come later.

Three instrument band

2010-02-26T09:05:00.003-06:00

Oh the fun the kids have with their instruments! Here's a taste of life around here.

Teacher Appreciation Day

2010-02-26T09:01:00.003-06:00

I am always trying to make or find unique gifts for all occasions. Tomorrow is Teacher Appreciation Day and I was struggling with what to get Skyer's teacher. I had an idea, but needed to find the stuff for it. I went to my favorite craft store and was disappointed that they did not have what I was looking for, but then I found something a little bit better. I got a huge oversized coffee mug and a rub on that had apples and a cute teacher saying. I transferred that on and had Skyler write a message on the back with puffy paint pens. Then I filled it up with coffee and biscotti, note cards, a note pad and two wooden flowers. It was pretty cute and I'm sure his teacher will like it.

Lily

2010-02-26T08:59:00.003-06:00

My Lily is such a stitch! She refuses on most days to wear a dress and I don't push it, if she doesn't want to, I am not going to force her. But, every once in a long while, she asks to wear one. She did this just the other day and I snapped a picture of it because she was just so smitten with herself in the her butterfly dress, with her butterfly shoes on!

Cub Scout Banquet

2010-02-18T12:38:00.004-06:00

Saturday was the big Cub Scout Banquet. Here are a few pics from that. Lily was telling me to be quiet-nice!

Our Valentines

2010-02-18T12:36:00.005-06:00

Here are the Valentines that we made for our class parties.

Cookies

2010-02-18T10:46:00.005-06:00

In the last month I have been asked twice to make sugar cookies for the Cub Scouts. The first time was for the Pinewood Derby. I made 100 Derby Car cookies using the "Official Boy Scout Derby Car" Cookie Cutter. Then last week, I made 100 Boy Scout of America Official Symbol cookies for our Pack's Blue and Gold Banquet. I really enjoy making the cookies, and am so grateful that I have such great friends to help. On Thursday, Christy watched the kids while I made the cookies and on Friday, the three main ladies of Cub Scouts came over to help me frost the cookies (the job that takes the most time if you have to do it by yourself). So here are some pictures of the process. I already have my next cookie idea in mind, and I do have to say, it's gonna be cute!

We've been busy lately!

2010-02-16T18:53:00.002-06:00

Here are a few of the Family Fun Nights that we've had in the last week:

On Thursday we celebrated Chinese New Year. We had a great Chinese dinner of homemade lemon chicken, crab rangoon, egg roll, and fortune cookies. I made the lemon chicken. It is so delicious, tastes just like Chinese take out and is so much cheaper. Chuck picked the rest of the food up from China Road. The kids had Chinese New Year coloring pages, it is the Year of the Tiger, and we talked about China.
On Friday we celebrated Abraham Lincoln's birthday. Many years ago we celebrated both Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays separately, but now we lump them together on President's Day. Well since I believe that both of those men are extremely important to the history of our nation and if Christopher Columbus and Martin Luther King, Jr. get their own days, then in my house Lincoln and Washington will have their own days! For Lincoln Day we read a book about Lincoln and then reenacted the Civil War. It was great fun, but unfortunately The South won and we are all in a very different situation!
Sunday we celebrated Valentine's Day and had a remembrance day for my grandma. For breakfast we had heart shaped waffles with strawberries. The rest of the day was pretty crazy. We had a tea party at my mom's with tea sandwiches, scones, cheese ball, sugar cookies, and brownies, and of course TEA! It was yummy. The kids then went with their aunt and uncle to the Lippanzaner (sp) Horse Show. The kids had so much fun and loved watching the horses. Chuck and I went out for a quick bite to eat and then watch Four Christmases.
Up next, on Saturday will be George Washington Day, we will definitely be having a cherry pie! We also have been having Olympic Days here and there and I hope that we can wrap it up with one big final Olympic party.

Snow Play

2010-02-13T21:21:00.002-06:00

We've had a bit of snow this winter and there have only been a few days that haven't been too frigid to go out and play. One of those days, the kids really wanted to build snow forts. Or should I say, they really wanted me to build them snow forts. So I went out there (not something I really like to do-playing in the snow) and dug out a fort to Skyler's specifications. Once I was done, he decided it wasn't quite good enough for him and he gave it to Lily and came up with a new plan for his. Our picnic table was moved along the back wall of the yard and it was covered with snow. Skyler's new plan was for me to dig out the picnic table. It was kind of hard, but I did the best I could and he really enjoyed playing in it.

Our Musicians

2010-02-03T14:24:00.007-06:00

This is what life is like in our house these days.

Something

2010-01-28T19:07:00.002-06:00

Well, I guess I did not start the year off with blogging more as well as I had hoped. There were many times I had great posts in my mind, but they never made it out of my head and in to the computer. But, here I go again. I am trying. January was a tougher month for me than I had anticipated. I did not get to run as much as I wanted to or needed to, which always messes up my attitude toward life. Chuck and I began P90X, a very tough home workout. I really like it, but it has been a week since I have been able to work out because I got sick. Last Wednesday Lily was sick with a fever and a cough. She was better the next day, but had so kindly passed whatever it was on to me. By Friday afternoon I had to put myself to bed. I just couldn't go on; I felt terrible! I stayed in bed for over 27 hours! It is the first time in the 15 years that we have been married that I was this sick. We missed a party on Friday night, I missed Skyler's first Pinewood Derby, and we had to cancel our Christmas with my brother! It was terrible. Monday, Skyler went back to school and I thought that I was going to be okay, but I wasn't doing too well, so had to call and have Christy take Skyler on the Cub Scout field trip. I am finally getting better, but still very full of snot and have a bad cough. Hopefully soon, I will be back to full speed. I have a lot of sub jobs in February and am finally making some progress in school. I can't wait to get done with this Pharmacology Unit! More fun posts to come, hopefully, sooner rather than later.

Skyler's Star Wars Lego Christmas Vacation

2010-01-04T14:51:00.002-06:00

Skyler made out like a bandit in December in terms of his most favorite toys in the world. Having a birthday in December can be quite a good thing when you get an extra load of these toys. He has built approximately 6 Star Wars Lego sets: the AT/TE Walker, the Millenium Falcon, Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, the X wing Fighter, the Corporate Alliance Tank Droid, Ahsoka's Starfighter and the Vulture Droid. That means ove 2,350 pieces have been put together to create these awesome toys! He loves them and the fun that he and his sister have is priceless!

New Year's Celebration

2010-01-01T14:06:00.003-06:00

Last night we had a great time ringing in the new year! We had a fantastic meal for dinner, homemade tomato bisque soup and appetizers all around. I made homemade pizza rolls, beer bread, spinach artichoke dip, and shrimp. It was all so good, we stuffed ourselves! We then went to watch the firework downtown. We have a great spot where we watch them from the comfort of our own car. We go to the parking lot of Harrah's in Iowa and have a great view of the fireworks. They explode right over us!

We asked the kids what their favorite thing about 2009 was. Lily did not respond and Skyler said recess was the best thing he could think of that happened to him in 2009. I asked if he meant kindergarten recess or first grade recess and he chose first grade recess because they get to do centers if they have indoor recess. Oh, to see life through the eyes of a child again!

I hope you all have a fantastic 2010 and set some goals and achieve them! It's a new year, anything is possible!

A New Year

2009-12-31T08:55:00.003-06:00

2009 was not the year for blogging for me. I lost the heart for it when I blogged about how I was feeling when a friend was mistreating me (I did not use her name in my post). She attacked me for it and couldn't believe that that I would blog about these things because people from church read my blog. Well, it really hurt me and really turned me off to my blog.

But, I have decided that I don't care. This is my blog. If I want to blog about how silly people look in skinny jeans or how depressed I am feeling about the weather; I will.

So, as I look forward to the year 2010, I wanted to document some of my goals and resolutions.

Finish reading The Bible. I started late last January with the goal to finish it in a year. I am about 75% finished.
Run my first half marathon in April, continue running 1/2 marathons for the rest of the year. (I'd love to run a marathon in 2011).
Get back to healthy eating habits. I did a 10 week Farrells Extreme Bodyshaping and it totally killed my healthy eating and running. Need to get it back!
Finish my schooling by spring! This might be a stretch, but I REALLY need to get it done and get working!
Focus on family fun nights more.
Blog more often. As I was writing my Christmas letter, I realized how important my blog is in documenting our memories and the few posts I had this past year really helped me remember the fun things that we did as a family.

I am looking forward to our vacation this summer and all of the other great things that we have planned. I am also looking forward to getting a job in a new career and bringing in some additional income for our family!

I pray all of you have a wonderful and safe start to the new year!

Halloween 2

2009-11-05T12:40:00.002-06:00

Here are the Jedi's battling it out, trick or treating and enjoying a treat!

Halloween

2009-11-05T09:21:00.002-06:00

Here are a few of the things that we did on Saturday to get ready for Halloween. We carved pumpkins. We made a haunted house out of kleenex boxes and we had a jack o latern cheeseball and pumpkin pie.

Our first family camping outing

2009-09-24T10:31:00.002-05:00

We went to Two Rivers to camp on Friday last week and had a great time. We cooked our dinner, smores, and breakfast over an open fire, played, ran around like crazies and slept in a tent. The kids had a blast and so did we. We hope to get a few more trips in this fall as we prefer camping in the chillier weather. We took our monarch tagging supplies and even tagged a female monarch there, so hopefully we will get a certificate from Mexico once she makes her way down there. We had to get the fire going in the morning and the kids were hungry. I had meant to buy doughnuts for such an occassion as this, but forgot. So, since they waited so patiently to eat, we all got to have smores after our breakfast. One of my best ideas yet!

Two Wheeling It

2009-09-13T14:50:00.002-05:00

It was only a few months ago that I was blogging about how Skyler learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. Well, here I am letting you know about Lily's triumph over the training wheels. Hers came three years earlier than her brother's, but there are a few reasons for that. Lily is quite a daredevil and not so scared to try new things. She doesn't stop with failure, she keeps at it until she has it, she will not give up. And, she had no choice if she wanted to ride her bike because her training wheel broke and we refused to replace it. So, there you have it in a nutshell. She loves to ride her bike. She wants to do it all day long, everyday!

Monarch Tagging

2009-09-07T11:15:00.000-05:00

We had quite an exciting experience this weekend. We went to Hitchcock Nature Center in Iowa to participate in their annual Monarch Tagging event. They have a nice little presentation about monarchs and their migration patterns and then they let you loose in the forest with butterfly nets to try to catch some monarchs to help them tag them so that their migration patterns can be studied. This is all part of Monarch Watch a program run by the University of Kansas. We were fortunate enough to help both Skyler and Lily catch monarchs. We took them in and they each got to put the tag on them and then we let them loose. If they are found in Mexico by a tagger, they will receive a certificate of appreciation for helping the Monarch Watch program. We were also given more tags so that we could tag some at home. We were able to tag one, as we found a nice place along the creek where about a
hundred monarchs live. We still have four more tags to place, but we are waiting on our butterfly net, because it is almost impossible without one! We had a blast and the kids learned a lot about monarchs!

The Airshow

2009-09-07T10:55:00.004-05:00

Ever since I was a little girl, one of the things I looked forward to every year was the Offutt Air Show. It was always so thrilling to see all of the different planes flying above the house. We would just watch them all weekend long. A few times we went to the base to watch it, but most of the time when I was young we would watch it from the back yard. Back then, there were no houses or trees blocking the view of the base. Now, I actually live in the neighborhood that blocks the view of the base from my parents' house. Sad, I know. But, we get to go to the base and sit on the flightline and enjoy the show. Everyone had a blast and we were lucky enough to be able to watch the show four times, since they started on Thursday!

Dear Mr. Construction Guy

2009-09-02T08:24:00.002-05:00

Dear Mr. Construction Guy,

First, I want to thank you for all of your hard work down at the creek. I am not sure what you are doing, but it looks like you know what you are doing, so we'll just go with that. We are hoping that your work is for the benefit of our trail and park, but so far we are not seeing that. What we are seeing is the paths blocked with no warning, our beloved frogs and other wildlife missing, and lots of dirt, mud and noise. Now don't get me wrong, I am sure what you are doing is a good thing (right?)

What I don't appreciate though, is you deciding you must urinate on a tree in our park in front of us. I mean really. You couldn't wait until we weren't there? You've been working at our creek everyday for the last month. Who do you work for? They couldn't spring for a portable toilet for you guys? Unbelievable! Do they just figure that since you are out in nature you could take care of the call of nature in nature? I don't know, but I am hoping you will be done soon; that our frogs will still have a home when you are done; and that we don't have to witness you peeing on a tree again.

Thank you kindly,
A Mom

Ahhhh, School is back in session!

2009-08-12T08:27:00.004-05:00

Well, it's official; summer is over. Yesterday Lily started preschool. She loved it! Skyler asked me all morning if it was time to pick Lily up yet. I guess he really needed someone to torment! To celebrate this momentous day, we went out to lunch with Grandma for a real burger at Stella's. If you haven't been to Stella's in Bellevue, I highly recommend it! Great, real handmade burgers for not much more than you would pay at a fast food joint, and wayyyyy tastier.
Anyway, I remember like yesterday dropping Skyler off at his first day of preschool. I was a nervous wreck and he didn't handle it very well either. But Lily was ready! I cried when I dropped Skyler off, I did not when I dropped Lily off. She's just ready for new adventures that she can only get at preschool, not with mom!

Today, Skyler started school. I am very glad, as I have been losing my patience with him more often these days. He needed something to do that he can only get at school. Mom was just too boring for him, I guess! He got on the bus and I followed him to school in the car. I met him and was going to walk him to his classroom and was surprised that at the nice ripe grade of first, he didn't want me to. Are you kidding me dude, I am your mother and will walk you to your room if I want to!!! So I did and helped him get to his desk (he didn't need my help, he knew exactly where it was) and then took a picture and told him goodbye. And as crazy as he has been driving me and as glad I am he started school today, there I was with frickin' tears in my eyes! What a wimp! I don't cry when I drop my baby off at preschool for the first time, but my big first grader I cry about. I'm hopeless!

Well, what am I going to do with all of this free time? I am going back to school. I start this week, online and hopefully will be done in about 6 months. I will also be substitute teaching when I can. So, even though I am down to being a part time stay at home mom, I am still keeping busy!!!

Mahoney Water Park

2009-08-10T11:06:00.000-05:00

We went to the water park Friday night and the kids LOVED it. It was the perfect thing to do on the last Friday before school starts. Chuck thinks we need a pass for next summer, I'm not so convinced, since I'm not a water lover and it would be me who was taking them all of the time.

Our new bathroom

2009-08-10T11:02:00.002-05:00

Well, it was some time in January when I blogged about how this happen to the mirror in our bathroom.

Well, now that it has been 6 months, we have finally rectified the situation. I painted the ceiling and the walls. Chuck replaced the brass light bar with a silver one, and we changed the mirror from the standard wall mount piece of glass to two framed ones over each sink! I really like it. I was a little disappointed in the color, it wasn't exactly as I had imaged it would be, but I do like it. So, all that is left is to change out the door knob and if I ever get some money, add a window!

Family Night Beach Day

2009-08-02T15:13:00.001-05:00

Saturday we had ourselves Beach Day. Of course the weather wasn't all that perfect for total beachiness, but we did our best. We started at the sprayground, came home and played on the skim boarder and in the pool. We had a shrimp boil on a sandy blanket (Chuck was disgusted at the sandy blanket part and ate in a chair) had a seashell scavenger hunt, built sandcastles and sand paper sandcastles, light tiki torches, had a bon fire and finished it all off with SMORES!!!!!

We all had a great time. Skyler's favorite part was eating on the sandy blanket!

Zoo Thursday

2009-08-02T15:07:00.006-05:00

We went to the and I did something I rarely ever do, I paid for a ride on the Skyfari. I never pay for a ride at the zoo, but had a little money and the kids really wanted to do it. It also takes us over the part of the zoo that we were planning on visiting, so it made for less walking for the kids. They were a bit disappointed that I didn't spring for the round trip ride, but they got over it once they were up in the air. We then fed the fish on the bridge, went to the garden of the senses, the aquarium, and the rain forest. We had soo much fun and it was one of the nicest days of the year!

Fontenelle Forest Wednesday

2009-08-02T15:07:00.005-05:00

Here we are in the forest. We walked the boardwalk and then the kids played in Acorn Acres. Of course, their favorite was playing in the dirt!

Sac Museum Tuesday

2009-08-02T15:04:00.003-05:00

Last Tuesday we went to the SAC museum. The kids love playing pilot in airplanes and it is pretty hard to get them out of them sometimes. Of course Skyler always gets to be the pilot and poor Lily has to be the co-pilot. They had a nice building area and the other picture is the building that Skyler built.

Wildlife Safari Sunday

2009-08-02T15:03:00.001-05:00

We have had a busy couple of weeks. With a quick trip to Wichita to pick up my sister and then playing with her for the week and taking her back and then just us trying to squeeze everything in to the last part of summer before the kids start school. Last Sunday we went to the Wildlife Safari. It was my first time and Lily's first time going, and Skyler and Chuck's first visit since Skyler was not quite two. We all had a lot of fun and I think the kids liked riding in the car without seat belts on!

Skyler

2009-07-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

Skyler can always be found doing something worthy of a picture when he is asleep. This is how we found him on July 4th when we went to check on him before going to bed. He's a nut! Yes, he is really asleep, and no, we did not take the light off of his head.

My Lily, She's something Else!

2009-07-09T15:18:00.004-05:00

So what are these pictures of Lily all about. These are pictures taken just in the last two weeks. She is so hilarious! Yes, she drives me batty a lot, but she is so fun and excited about everything. She loves to dress up in the morning and these pictures are the result of that creative spirit she uses everytime she dresses herself without supervision. I particularly loved the fur coat and boots she put on to wear to the park!

Fossil Hunting

2009-07-07T22:21:00.002-05:00

One other thing that Skyler has been begging me to do with him is take him fossil hunting. Every time I have it in my mind to do it with him, the weather does not cooperate, or something else comes up. After our little bike ride we went over the Schramm Park and found us some fossils! Lily collected mostly BIG rocks (like there are any other kind, duh) and Skyler did a great job at looking for and finding some good quality Crinoid fossils. After we got home, he put them in his treasure chest and said he was ready to go find some different kinds of fossils someplace else. Crap, I guess I am going to have to do some research to find where some other place is, because I don't have a clue!

Skyler's First REAL Bike Ride

2009-07-07T22:19:00.001-05:00

Now that Skyler is a pro at riding his bike without training wheels, we went on our first family bike ride. We took the Lied Platte River Bridge trail near Springfield and he just was too fast for us. He doesn't slow down for anything! I could not believe that after just one week of being off of the training wheels that we would be going on a bike ride, but we did and everyone enjoyed it!

Bowling

2009-07-07T22:17:00.001-05:00

We went bowling with some friends and had a great time. Skyler has been wanting to do this with Jonathan again for some time and we were finally able to pull it off. It was Lily's first time bowling and she did pretty well. She only threw her ball into the other lane one time!

Accomplishments!

2009-07-02T11:07:00.003-05:00

There are very few things in life that can make you feel as good as being able to accomplish something. Whether it is accomplishing a simple task, like trying a new recipe and having it taste good, or something major like running in a marathon. I started running last fall. I never thought I could run, would run or would even want to run.

I started running when I was in an exercise boot camp. We did all kinds of different exercise/fitness combinations and one thing we HAD to do was run. The place where we had bootcamp has a track that is about 1/3 of a mile long. 'When we started I couldn't run it at all. I am not kidding! Calen, our motivator, told us to just go at our own pace, so I would walk it. After the first week, he wasn't so nice anymore and he made me run. At first I could only run 1/4 of a lap, then a 1/2 of a lap, then the whole lap. I know it was only 1/3 of a mile, but the fact that I could run the whole thing was very inspiring and I started running on the trail we have in our neighborhood on some of my off days from bootcamp.

What can I say? Since last fall I have logged over 300 miles of running. I run between 15 to 20 miles a week and I love it. I have lost over 30 pounds doing it and really enjoy it. I have improved my pace from over 13 minute miles to just under 10 and a 1/2 minute miles. Last night I entered my first running event. I ran a 5K in Plattsmouth. It was a mixed terrain track, I ran through grass, on cement, and through a rocked trail in the forest. It was the hardest run I have ever ran. There were many times I thought about cheating (it would have been so easy to do, noone would have even known). There were lots of chairs along the route, as we ran by some baseball fields, I thought about sitting in someone's chair and just stopping. I thought about just falling down where I was and hoping someone would come find me. But, I didn't do any of those things. I finished it. I walked about 5 times, which I rarely do in my normal running. I finished in 38 minutes and took LAST place, but hey, I placed! I am very happy to have my first running event under my belt.

They have these events every two weeks. The organizer of the event about fell over when he found out that was my first race and said it is an extremely difficult course. He said he thought I could probably shave a minute off of my time next race. Yeah, there probably isn't going to be another race, at least not there, not this year. Maybe next year, after I get a few more running events down. That one was one tough race. But, I got a free ice cream cone! And the pride of finishing a run. Who would have thought that Stephanie would ever pay money to run? Not me!

Two wheelin it!

2009-07-01T14:01:00.000-05:00

Skyler reached another major milestone this weekend. After a little grueling work between his dad, himself and I, he mastered the art of riding a bike without training wheels. We accomplished this without any broken bones, so for that we are proud. Skyler is loving riding his bike now and is so proud of the fact that he no longer has training wheels. Yeah, Skyler, way to go!

The zoo continued

2009-06-29T14:36:00.001-05:00

Here are a few more pics from the zoo trip.

our trip to the zoo with kaden

2009-06-29T14:33:00.001-05:00

We had so much fun at the zoo with my sister, her husband and Kaden. It was exciting to be with them for Kaden's first visit to the zoo!

Railroad Days

2009-06-28T19:56:00.003-05:00

One of our favorite events each summer is the annual Railroad Days. Where for a mere $10 a family can get into Lauritzen Gardens for the day and they have all things train. They have some spectacular model trains outside built on tracks with buildings from Omaha's skyline made out of all natural materials. From there, you can take a free bus to Durham Western Heritage Museum and three or four other train places. We only went to the Gardens, but we had a great time.

Time, oh how it flies

2009-06-09T11:09:00.002-05:00

Three years ago at about this time, I was dropping Skyler off at The Little Big School for his first taste of preschool. I cried a little when I dropped him off, I admit it. He was a bit hesitant for me to leave too, but Mrs. Flood handled it so well. Then, I took my 2 month old Lily home and relaxed for a bit. Today, I dropped Skyler off at Peter Sarpy for summer school and then dropped Lily off at The Little Big School for her first day of preschool. She has been soooooo excited for this day and she was ready. She did not hesitate one bit. She went in there and started playing and was fine. I admit, I did not cry today. I love Lily, but it was nice to know that I was going to have a true break for once in a long time while knowing she would be having a ball and that I was not inconviencing anyone. So what did I do with my time? Well, I went to run at Walnut Creek. I run almost every day, but inside on the treadmill. I have been having a hard time getting myself outside to run, so this was great. I made pretty good time considering there are quite a few hills and honestly when I am on the treadmill, I keep it flat! I am very proud of myself and look forward to doing it again tomorrow! Then I went and stopped at Target and Baker's and it was so quick and easy! Loved it. And then I blogged! I won't do that everyday, but it was something that needed to be done. Now, I am off to go pick up Lily and hear all about her exciting Teddy Bear Day at school. I am loving it!

Sliding Downtown

2009-06-09T11:08:00.000-05:00

Gene Leahy Mall has these really tall, really long slides and Skyler has been itching to slide down them for some time. So on Saturday we let them have their thrill. And thrill did they have! The slide on the right is much slower than the slide on the left and they were going down the slow one for some time, until Skyler just had to try the other one and Lily had to follow. Skyler loved it and wasn't even surprised with how fast it went. Lily had a look of terror on her face when she got going really fast, but she was fine when it ended and was ready to do it again.

Sand in the City

2009-06-09T11:04:00.000-05:00

For the third year in row we went to Sand in the City, which is a fundraiser for the Nebraska Children's Home. They moved the location and made some changes that were disappointing, but we still enjoyed the sand sculptures. Skyler got to vote for his favorite one, which is the third picture, Monsters vs Aliens invade Omaha.

The Circus

2009-06-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

On Friday night we took the kids to the circus. They had a lot of fun. Before the circus started you could go see the animals, Lily loved the horses the most! We also got to go down onto the main floor and meet some of the performers and see them do their tricks up close. When the show started, it was loud and Lily was ready to go home. I let her sit in my lap and within minutes she was asleep and slept through the whole first part of the show. That was crazy! But she was awake in time to see the elephants and the tigers and the coolest part; these guys running inside and on top of this wheel thing. Very cool!

Movie Night at Sumter Amphitheater

2009-06-02T12:15:00.002-05:00

A great time was had by all on Friday night. Papillion has free outside movies on select Friday nights. We went and got to see Kung Fu Panda. The kids loved it. Before the movie they got to run up and down a huge hill. Thankfully, no one got hurt!

CCFA Take Steps Walk

2009-06-02T12:03:00.003-05:00

We had a great time at the take steps walk on Saturday and although we didn't meet either of our goals, 30 team members and $2000, we did raise more money than last year! We are close to $600! It's not too late to donate either. If you are interested follow the link: http://online.ccfa.org/site/TR/Walk/Chapter-NebraskaBranch?px=1004446&pg=personal&fr_id=1248&et=_uYnYUNM5keB6NLdTmEF8Q..&s_tafId=1811 .

Patio Shade Completed

2009-06-02T11:59:00.003-05:00

We are so happy with our new shade. It keeps the sun off of us and out of the kitchen during the day too! I also put together the windmill that I gave Chuck for his birthday and now it is out decorating our yard too!

Patio Shade Installation

2009-05-27T11:57:00.002-05:00

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, we installed a patio shade. In order to do this, Chuck had to dig two 36 inch holes to put the posts in. The kids had fun trying them out!

The Writing Stage

2009-05-13T11:25:00.002-05:00

I have loved each and every stage my kids have been in for one reason or another. But, this stage that Skyler is in right now is so much fun. He can read and he can write and now we have a new bedtime ritual; he writes me a note and I write him a note. Here are his first two notes to me. The first one says " I love you Do you love me" the second one says "I love you write me a note for me" It is soooo much fun!

Lily the Singer

2009-04-29T11:09:00.002-05:00

The Tool School and Scaredy Bugs

2009-04-24T13:40:00.004-05:00

We went to Fontelle Forest yesterday to enjoy the weather. Skyler and I had a great time. Lily did not. She has a sudden, debilitating phobia for any kind of bug. She was miserable! Skyler was in rare form though. He was acting the way he used to act all of the time. I am not sure where this "old Skyler" went, but I sure do hope he stays around for awhile, because he was VERY enjoyable to be around. I hope you all enjoy his little lesson on the use of tools!

Yes, these are my kids

2009-04-20T11:39:00.004-05:00

Family Fun Day -French Day

2009-04-20T11:16:00.004-05:00

We had a French Family Day on Saturday and it was sooo yummy. We started the day off with strawberry cream cheese crepes. For lunch we had croissant sandwiches and for dinner we pigged out! We had wine, cheese and crackers, a small spring salad, French bread, green beans, chicken and mushrooms with Gruyere cheese and for dessert we had homemade eclairs and cream puffs. We each colored the French flag and a French map and used them for placemats and we spoke a little bit of French, but considering we don't know too much, we didn't get real far on it. It was a fun and fattening day for all!

Skyler's first basketball practice and concert

2009-04-17T11:00:00.001-05:00

Here are some pics and a video from Skyler's first basketball practice. It is very comical to watch these kindergarteners play basketball. God bless these people for volunteering to be coaches! The video is from this school music program. It was also very comical and it is amazing any one can spend the time to teach these kids this kind of stuff, because once they have an audience, boy they really ham it up!

A hunting we will go

2009-04-17T10:55:00.000-05:00

Easter egg hunt at Grandma's.

The Easter Bunny Came!

2009-04-17T10:54:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from Easter morning when the kids discovered their Easter baskets.

Easter pics

2009-04-17T10:51:00.000-05:00

The coloring of the Easter eggs

2009-04-17T10:50:00.000-05:00

How fun was this!

From loose tooth to no tooth

2009-04-17T10:48:00.000-05:00

Here's the little monster with his extremely loose tooth and with no tooth.

Family Fun Night #7 Camp out

2009-04-07T13:01:00.001-05:00

We went camping in our family room the other night. The kids loved it! We ate dinner on a blanker on the floor and then we went to a drive inn movie in the basement. When that was over, we roasted marshmallows and made smores and then fell asleep in our sleeping bags by the fire. The kids had a blast, the adults hurt pretty bad in the morning!