Omaha Zoo

Thursday night Steve and I got started talking about possibly going to Omaha over the weekend. We didn't have anything planned, we don't have THAT many free weekends coming up, so about 9 pm Thursday night we booked a hotel in Omaha for Friday night. Friday I left work early, we went home and packed and then picked up the kids about 4:00 and headed out of town. We decided to have dinner at Texas Roadhouse in Council Bluffs and see our friend Brandon who is a manager there. We got right in and had awesome service and was able to chat with Brandon off and on while we were there.

We headed to the hotel, got checked in and decided to walk around a bit since the sun was still out and we had no time frame or schedule!

We got back to the hotel and for some reason Steve talked me into staying another night, so we booked Saturday night also! Then we did some swimming! The pool was so busy but it didn't bother Presley at all! Piper, on the other-hand, got out and dried her face off every time she got splashed!

Always posing...she wanted me to take a picture to send to grandma!

I set my alarm for 8:30 Saturday morning, thinking my kids would sleep in! I was wrong. 7:30 they were awake! What? They should've been tired!!! Oh wait Piper was tired, all day! She was whiny and broke down crying many times. We got there about 10, the weather was perfect, no exhibits were TOO busy so it was nice! 

She wasn't too tired to pose for the camera!

 For the last couple weeks she has been telling us that monkeys are her favorite animal, not pigs anymore.

 I have a picture of 18 month old Presley with this too!

 The most ferocious animal in the zoo this day....the PIPER!

 Presley trying to reason with the tired animal!

 The gorillas are one of the best exhibits!

 Baby gorilla!

 Rock on sister!

 In the bear area they had these statues, I think they were supposed to be bears? either way, Piper wanted her picture taken with ALL of them.

 She found a pig!

We stayed at the zoo until about 2 pm, we were all worn out! So we headed back to the hotel.

Omaha Zoo

After the zoo, we had a mandatory quiet time period for both girls! This 30 minutes actually seemed to make a difference. It was only 3:30 when we decided to go walk around the Old Market again. The weather was nice but finding a patio that we could sit at was impossible, so we walked around and found some ice cream before heading back to the hotel so Steve and I could grab a couple drinks before we did headed out for dinner.

We went to Upstream Brewery https://www.upstreambrewing.com/, it was a nice one block walk from our hotel and the kids did good too. There was some empty space next to our table that Piper started dancing in, entertaining many couples near us. We hung out here for a while and then headed back for more swimming.

 





The pool was actually dead which was nice b/c we basically had the pool to ourselves for most of the time we were there! We headed back to the room about 8:30 and Steve and the girls played Simon Says....which included dancing on the bed.....

and hugging your sister!

No one was ready for bed, so we travelled back downstairs to the hotel lobby. The girls played with their dolls and Steve and I enjoyed another adult beverage while we people watched!

The girls actually slept in until 8:30 Sunday morning, we had breakfast and then hit the road back home! We got home about noon and Steve and I were busy, busy! Target/grocery run, car wash, laundry, picking up toys, laundry, vacuuming, Steve made dinner, dishes, Presley had a time out for about an hour for being such a brat, Piper and I went on two walks and the girls played with the neighbors before having to come in for baths and bed.

Favorite Person

My sister recently asked on Facebook "Do you have a favorite person?", and then went on about how her favorite person is her husband. She gave this very nice, long post about all the things she loves about him.
It got me thinking b/c I can't say that I just have ONE favorite person, I think my 3 favorite people in my life are the ones that I spend the most time with...... Steve, Presley and Piper....and don't get me wrong, there are times when they are definitely NOT my favorite people too!

Steve is my favorite person b/c he is funny, creative, he likes to cook and build/fix things, he is an awesome daddy to two of the most stubborn girls. He knows about so many different things.....cars, fishing, hunting, fashion, cooking, paint, furniture, construction and music.  He is social, he likes to be outdoors and to NOT sit still. He supports my love of the Packers and the New Kids on the Block. He pushes me to go out of my comfort zone. I think it's so cool that he is still best friends with his friends from highschool.

Presley is my favorite person b/c she can be a great big sister. She loves being creative and organized. She sees everything as it pertains to her 'American Girl' dolls, if there is a McDonalds toy, she sees that it is the perfect size for her dolls.
She is shy and hesitant, like I was when I was younger so I totally understand how she is feeling in these moments. She can be goofy and funny and dance around with no cares but rarely do others see this. There is nothing better than watching her really laugh and have fun. My favorite time is reading with her at bedtime.
She LOVES her daddy!

Piper is my favorite person b/c she is funny and goofy! She isn't afraid to ask questions. She loves coloring and learning. She can be so, so sweet! She still calls things the wrong name (the remote control is a commercial, stop signs are sign stops, the other day she wanted me to do an 'underdog' on the swing but she asked for a 'cannonball'). There is nothing better than the moment you pick her up from daycare and she comes running toward you for a hug and cuddling with her before bedtime.
She LOVES her grandma and told me that she wants her hair cut like grandmas. She cries when she leaves their house.

Easter weekend

Wednesday was Steve's birthday! The big 3-8! :) I took Presley to gymnastics, my mom had Piper over to spend the night and then Steve met us at BWW for dinner after gymnastics for a quick bday dinner. Of course we hit up Van Dee's ice cream on the way home too!

 

Friday I was able to join two of my neighbors, Sarah and Wendy for dinner and drinks for a mom's night out! We just went to Polk City and hung out and talked and talked and talked. I've known Sarah for about two years and Wendy for about 1 year and  I think we all learned SO much about each other this night! It was awesome! There was laughs, sarcasm, cussing and tears but it was a good night out with my girls! Can't wait to do it again! 

  

Saturday morning we decided to get up and go to brunch at Jethros, then most of Saturday we hung out at home. The girls played outside, I went to Target BY MYSELF and then we headed to Firetrucker about 5:30 to watch our friend Baird play/sing there. It's so nice to have these early, family friendly shows that we can take the kids too. Piper LOVES watching 'Beard' play! Holly, Jerry and Mary met us there and the girls kept occupied for a good 3 hours and then we headed home in the middle of the thunderstorm!

 

Sunday was Easter and the girls were excited!

 Presley found her basket right away, with the movie Moana in it.

 The found all the eggs and ate a bunch of candy before heading to grandma and grandpa's.

 My parents always do an egg hunt for them in the backyard. They are smart and do 10 eggs in certain colors for each kid, that way it is even! :) That is big deal for my girls, we wouldn't want things to be 'unfair!'

 (yes that is a wire corn stalk and a pink flamingo behind her)

 My dad has a very interesting backyard with many different items (some very weird items), this is one of his recent rock arts.

 We dyed a couple eggs using the colored Cool Whip method, which was a MESS but they did turn out pretty cool.

 Gotta love these kids (and Boston actually cooperated with some pictures!)

 Then he was done cooperating! :)

 Loving his little mohawk!

 The family tradition of 4 square! Presley and Boston played! Presley was very nervous and Boston cried a couple times, but we are just happy that they were getting into the fun too!

 Acting sad and goofy.

 Our baby girls! Our brunette and our blondie. Love them!

 Sweet girl.

We had a good time hanging out, enjoying the awesome weather, eating too much and talking. As the evening came to an end Holly, Jerry, mom and I headed to the visitation for a friend Tony Quinn, who was shot and killed last week in Beaverdale. He was friends with Holly, they graduated in the same class, his family lived right around the corner from us growing up. It was very, very sad. I can't, and refuse to look at the bodies at visitations, I just can't do it. It just saddens me. The situation, the reasoning behind it all, the 3 kids he leaves behind. I just CANNOT imagine. It was not the way we thought we would be ending our Easter Sunday, but definitely puts things in perspective! :(