More Omaha!

Cousin Addie going down the slide.
We took the kids to a fun pool. The kids section had sand and a butterfly slide. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

Laney's first swim!
The boys washing off the sand and splashing around

Oh sweet Omaha

My little sister Kaira just moved to Omaha, Nebraska. So we decided to pack up and head out to visit before school starts. I was lead to believe (Ben) that it was a mere 5 hour drive. NOT SO! I would say it's closer to 6 1/2....8 if you want to get there alive with 4 kids. On our way out we stopped in Mound City (it is exactly how it sounds) for lunch at McDonalds. Everything was going along fine until the boys darted to the bathroom and I tried to convince Megan to leave her fries for a moment to go as well. I have an issue with my kids being out of my sight...especially in strange towns with strange bathrooms. Megan flat out refused to go with me so I ended up taking her hand and telling her we were going whether she liked it or not. On our way back to the restroom, and elderly woman started holler at me "CAREFUL!" "CAREFUL!" over and over. I finally turned to her and in one of my less than finer moments told her to zip it. Although I did call her 'maam' so maybe that counts for something. Needless to say, after the bathroom incident we were none to popular there. We packed up our nuggets and hit the road. I am comforted in the fact that I will never see any of those people again.

Once we were in Omaha we enjoyed spending time with Kaira and her two cute girls, Addie and Charlie. As you may guess, with 6 kids under the age of 7, even the smallest activity is and all-day extravaganza. We went bowling at Leapord Lanes. Below Mathew gets creative and sends the ball down backwards.

Ethan and cousin Addie.
My beautiful sister, Kaira with her youngest daughter, Charlie.
Megan and Addie would roll the ball so slow. There were times you thought it would stop in the middle of the lane. Actually, one time it did and Kaira had to hit it (like billiards) with another ball while the staff wasn't looking. Another time Megan rolled the ball and then Mathew hit the 'reset' button and the bar came down to clear the pins. The ball hit the bar and rolled all the way back to her. The picture below is not an action shot of a ball striking the pins. Megan rolled it so very slow it nestled among the pins without knocking down a single one. I dare you to duplicate it!

Day two in Omaha

We took the kids to the park for a picnic. It was very hot but the kids enjoyed themselves and they got to play on the merry go round thingy. I haven't seen one of these in a long time. Surprisingly, no one got burned or threw up.
Kaira and Charlie
Laney's first swinging experience. She loved it...and was a bit terrified.

Veggie Heaven

I really love to garden. Really. Few things get me as excited as making an entire dish with stuff that stopped growing just a few minutes before they go in the pot. This is a picture of summer squash, cherry tomatoes and green onions sauteed in olive oil. Who takes pictures of a pan of food? Like I said, I get excited!

Wii!!

The kids have been loving the Wii this summer. However, Mathew has had a hard time controlling his emotions when playing. He becomes extremely invested in whether he wins or loses. When it is time to turn it off....whoah nelly. Therefore it has become a Saturday only activity. Every Saturday they wake up with only one thing on their minds...Wii, Wii, and more Wii. The latest favorite is Mario Kart. The neighbor kids have been coming over for the Wii festivities.