Staycation

We were hoping to go to Utah around Memorial Day, but.......money. Didn't have any. Luckily, Marie and Antoine decided to come out and visit us with their kids, and an extra cousin, Kylie, and their dog. We made the most of their time here, and saw a few things we hadn't seen yet.

First we took them to our beloved Hollywood Candy.

Next up was the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Headquarters and Visitor Center. Well, that was a mouthful.

Basically just a small little visitor's center by one of their landing sites, filled with dead animals, I mean artifacts.

 

 What visitor's center is complete without a dress-up section these days? I'm sure this is EXACTLY what the Lewis and Clark crew looked like.

Right outside is the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge.

I have no idea who Bob Kerrey is. Hold on, I'll Google it (don't you just love that Google is a verb?). Okay, apparently he's just the senator who secured the funding to build the bridge - nothing fancy. Except for this sign. It's pretty fancy, and I love it. I love Bob the bridge.

Anyway, this bridge connects Council Bluff, IA to Omaha, Nebraska, crossing over the Missouri River. Somewhere in the middle there is the state line.

 You put your right foot in, you take your right foot out.....

There was also a splash park. Our kids weren't dressed for a splash park, but a few of the, pretended they were. Wetness ensued. Did I mention it was hot? (not that I'm complaining). And then we had Mexican Food, and we were VERY happy.

The girls made hammocks with sheets under Madelyn's bunk, and said they were going to sleep there.

They didn't.

We couldn't skip a visit to the Pioneer Trail Center, on another very hot day (not that I'm complaining).

On Memorial Day we wanted to do something worthwhile, so we got everyone up early and went and did a little service project - helping to set up hundreds of chairs for a memorial service at the Omaha National Cemetery.

 It was another hot day/morning (not that I'm complaining), so we decided to treat our sweaty selves to Sonic afterwards. Later we grilled up some hamburgers and hotdogs, and that was our Memorial Day

We also bought a kiddie pool, and made a trip to a local splash pad to get us through the hot muggy days they were here (not that I'm complaining).

The day after Memorial Day was our biggest adventure, but I'm going to put that in a separate post....because there are a LOT of pictures that you will have to deal with.

U2

On a Thursday we found out that on Friday the base was giving away free tickets to the U2 concert on Saturday. Ummmm, yes please. So Joe went and stood in a line for an hour and scored us some nice seats. Thanks, my love!

We have not been to a concert since before me were married, and neither of us had ever seen U2, so we were pretty excited, to say the least. We decided to go a bit early and get some dinner in downtown Omaha. It was fun to explore a little more of the Old Market area, and see what it has to offer. We definitely need to spend some more time there.

 After getting some smoothies and sandwiches we headed to the Century Link Center.

 Section 123, Row BB Seats 8 and 9.

As we waited for the show to start, they had a projection thing that was going on, and there was a definite message - Human rights and empowerment of women.

I have seen a LOT of concerts, because a long time ago I worked for a company that provided security for concerts. I've never seen a concert that had such a strong story and message throughout the whole concert. Of course, like I said before, I haven't been to a concert for forever, so maybe that's a common thing these days, but I can't imagine anyone doing it as well as U2. The use of the projections and the walkway, which could rise and fall, was also flawless. It was a GREAT concert!

 

 

Good times.

Lauritzen Gardens

You know how practically EVERY day is a national something or other day? Like a couple of days (or was it weeks) ago it was national doughnut day, and everyone goes to Krispy Kreme to get their free doughnut....if you're into that. You guys, last week was national egg day. Yep, that's a thing. Why? No really, why you guys? Are we all supposed to eat eggs on that day? I'm down with that, but do we really need a designated day? I don't know. I don't know of anyone who was giving out free eggs though. That would be weird.....but so is the day, so...... Tomorrow is national ball point pen day. Everybody ready for that? Monday is national corn on the cob day. I totally know what I'm doing on that day. Oh, and next Friday is national flip flop day, so obviously there is a day for everyone (me).

Anyway, one day in May it was national public gardens day, and so a lot of public gardens that usually charge admission, were offering a free day. I'd heard a lot of great things about Lauritzen Gardens, but hello, it's usually $10 for adults and $5 for kids, so for my family of 6 it would cost $50 to go. To a garden. Really? Yes. Does that seem excessive to anyone? For a garden? Am I just a big cheapskate? Maybe. Probably. I don't know, but I decided to go on the free day.

Side note - since then, I have learned that you can get an annual family pass for only $65, which seems quite reasonable I guess, although, I don't know if my kids would be interested in going to a garden that often. It's huge, granted (I think 100 acres), but..... you know..... it's a garden. If it was just me, and we lived closer, I would get an annual pass just for me, and I'd go walking there every day. It would be great. Oh wait, no I wouldn't, because it's so dang hot and humid in the summer, and so freaking cold and windy in the winter, so I wouldn't go EVERY day ;)

Okay, back to national public gardens day. Since the free day was on a Friday, I had to work, and the kids had to go to school, and the garden was only open until 5, so Cora and I went after I picked the kids up from school (nobody else wanted to go....which is exactly why we probably won't get an annual pass), and we had about an hour there.

It was beautiful. No lie. Really beautiful. And the place just goes on and on and on. Kind of like me with this post. You know what, I'll just shut up now and show you some pictures. Oh, one more thing though, they had this art exhibit going on throughout the whole place, all done with recyclable materials. Very bright. Very cool. Okay, done.

 

Sweet Tooth

You guys, it's warm here! The last week has been the nicest weather, and I can't even begin to tell you how much the sunshine has lifted our spirits around here. Last Saturday we were actually productive, gasp! We did yard work, and rode our bikes around the lake, and a whole bunch of other things. It was lovely. Hopefully this will start a trend of getting our of our house more often.

I have a goal this summer to NOT complain, no matter how hot and humid it gets. If I ever get tempted to complain, I will remind myself of the Nebraska winter, and then I will give myself a mental slap to the face, and put a smile on :)

Even though we were holed up in our house most of the winter, we did get out a couple of times (like maybe once a month), and were glad when we did.

There is a chocolaterie here in town that we decided to try out. It was fun, and fancy, and comfortable all at the same time. I could hang out there.

The real draw for me was that they make fresh stroopwaffels every other Saturday, so we HAD to try that out.

 They were just okay ;) But the bonbons were pretty fabulous!

Joe's parents came out for a few days, and we took them to downtown Omaha, and found this fabulous store called Hollywood Candy.

You guys, this place!!! If you come visit me in Nebraska, I will take you here. It is amazing! Not only is it a huge candy store, but it is an antique shop/museum, theater, arcade, and diner. It's like a freaking maze too, with new fun things to discover at every turn.

We let all the kids spend $5 on candy, because, you know, payday. It was SO hard to decide what to get! Joe tried some chocolate covered bacon. It was weird. It was like a hamburger on a doughnut. That just doesn't work for me.

So it turns out that Nebraska DOES have a few cool things to offer ;) Just kidding, I'm sure we'll find many more. Maybe next time we'll find something that doesn't involve candy or chocolate....maybe ;)