The zoo continued

Here are a few more pics from the zoo trip.

our trip to the zoo with kaden

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!