Omaha Zoo

After our exhausting Thursday night and Friday, we dragged the kids out of bed to say goodbye to everyone, and headed to the zoo.  We'd heard really good things about this zoo.  We'd heard it was ranked the nation's #1 zoo.  So we had to check it out.  We were a little worried that the kids would be too tired to enjoy it, but paid out the big bucks anyway.  (Admittedly, it wasn't all that expensive compared to other zoos; we're just cheap.)

First we visited the jungle.  Annie was so nervous on this bridge and caused a major traffic jam behind her.

Pygmy Hippo

Alex LOVED the otters.

Swinging in the jungle...

We visited the aquarium second.  These were king crabs.

I love jellyfish.

I think eels are some of the creepiest looking creatures.

The kids really enjoyed everything.

We went through the butterfly pavilion.

After the butterflies/ insects, we stopped to see the giraffes.  Annie cried because she was so disappointed in the giraffe exhibit.  She was counting on feeding and touching them.  Admittedly, nothing compares to the giraffes at 'our' zoo.  We had to remind her that there were so many other neat things at this zoo. 

This bird was obnoxiously loud.

We made a goal to see the rhinocerous' before lunch since they were the halfway point (as far as walking was concerned).

We enjoyed our lunch in the shade by the sea lions.

After lunch we headed for the many exhibits that we hadn't seen.  We only walked through part of the bird atrium. 

Pink Flamingoes

We saw lions and tigers and bears.  Oh my!

This jaguar was two feet away from me.  He was watching Annie.

I pretty much stopped taking pictures until we stopped at the kid's area very last.  This was a 'fossil' dig.

Notice Annie's concentration.  Her tongue helps.

Logan was busy measuring the fossils.

The kids did surprisingly well.  It helped that it wasn't a very hot day, and there were water mist machines everywhere.  Annie had a couple of meltdowns at the very end and Logan almost had one, but otherwise they were happy to walk and look at the animals.  Alex is always great in the stroller.  We were there for 8 hours, despite being so tired, and almost saw everything (had to get our money's worth!).  Once we were in the car, the kids were asleep almost instantly.  They didn't even wake up when we stopped for dinner and gas.   

Attack of the Monkey

I'll have pictures of our visit to the Omaha zoo up soon, but wanted to share this video real quick.  This monkey did NOT like Logan.  No one else seemed to bother the monkey, but every time Logan got close she'd get in his face chattering and pounding on the glass.  I finally thought to pull out my camera for the last 'attack'.  Quite a crowd gathered while this was going on.

Omaha Day 1

Last weekend my sisters were meeting in Omaha in order to get Danielle's kids home from their visit to Colorado.  Since it was only four hours away for us we decided to join them and I am so glad we did!  It was a super quick visit, but very fun, and so nice to visit with family.

We arrived at the hotel late Thursday night, visited a bit, and headed to bed.  Jim wasn't with us yet, so I was on my own to get our crazy kids settled.  It was nearly midnight, and Annie was torturing Alex.  I eventually told her that if she moved or talked again, she would have to sit out of the pool for 10 min. the next day.  That did the trick and we finally slept.  Annie was so tired that she wet the bed, and Alex fell out of the bed once.  I'm glad I slept with Logan.  :)

The next morning we availed ourselves of the continental breakfast (for an hour) and then enjoyed the hotel pool before lunch.  Sarah's room ended up being where we ate our meals.  I'm sure she slept in crumbs that night. 

How many sillies can fit on one bed?  Apparently 10, though I thought it was 11.  I wonder how Bryce missed out on this picture?

I love Sarah's face in this one!

After lunch we headed to a wildlife safari park. 

We saw lots of elk.  Count those points!

The little kids didn't think this was water. 

It was pretty interesting how evenly the plant life grew over this water.

Bryce had to throw a rock just to make sure it really was water.  It was and we all got splashed.

I hopped in with Sarah and Dave for the safari park.  We had fun in her car.

This wolf came right up to us.

They also had a little petting zoo.  The kids loved that.

Check out these bucks!

We can never pass up a chance to sit on a John Deere tractor.

Swans

Buffalo

Can you spot the turtle?

After the safari park Dave took the kids swimming at the hotel while Danielle napped, and Sarah and I grabbed some pizzas.  We got the four youngest kids on Mariah's lap.

Jim arrived during dinner, so he got to go for a final swim with Dave and the kids, making three swims for most of them that day.  Our kids were unbelievably tired!  Nevertheless we stayed up late playing a game since my sisters were heading home the next morning.  It was a very quick, full, fun visit.  I'm so glad we got to spend the day with them!

Smoovies

AKA 'smoothies' or 'smoovthies' as Logan says it.  This is random I know.  I took a picture because I think the ingredients are so pretty before I blend them up.  These are a favorite treat in our house, even though I make them for dinner a lot.  The kids always get really excited about them.

Mmmm...

Kids Say

Logan while rubbing his eyes, "This is to spread my eye water around."

Annie, "Logan is making me cranky!"

Annie, "Mom guess what?  If you drink lots of water one day, you are a camel!"

Annie, "I hope I'm done pooping this year."

Alex with the garbage can lid around himself and steering, "Vrooooooom...vrooooooom...."

I DO Have a Camera

...but I hardly ever use it.  I would seriously love to document the great experiences we've been having all summer (like the 4th of July, the beach, last week's super awesome hike, etc...), but I always forget to grab the camera, and then when I do grab it I forget to use it.  Sheesh! 

I'm really kicking myself over forgetting the camera on our hike.  Last week we had two days of reasonable outdoor temperatures.  I jumped on that and took the kids for a hike on Friday.  We hiked for an hour and a half through beautiful forest.  There were so many neat pictures I wanted to take!  Alex even walked the whole way, though not very willingly toward the end.  We also had a picnic while we were there.  It was such a nice afternoon.

Anyway, I do have a couple of pictures from home.  Annie's hair is a little bit curly like mine, but super thin, and she's been begging me to put mousse in it.  We tried it one day, and it didn't really work out.  She thought she looked like mommy though.  She's been wanting to do it again, but I can tell her hair is just too thin.  So I've promised her we can try it again when she's five.   

Alex always loves to smile for the camera.  I love this cute little boy.