This Summer we were able to see a few of our friends from Germany.
First, Cora, Alex, and I drove to Nauvoo to meet up with the Browns. We waited a bit at the beautiful Nauvoo Temple.
While we waited, Cora got busy with selfies.
And then got a fantastic jump shot :)
And then they were there, and it was SO good to see them! We love the Browns so much.
We could have spent days with them, but we only had half a day together. The next time can not come too soon.
Just a short time later me and the kids drove down to Missouri to meet up at a halfway point with a couple of the Tillets, who just moved to a base 3 hours away from us. We ate Mexican and talked and laughed for a LONG time. And now that they are closer, Mindy and I can meet up every month for lunch. Yay me! Love that lady :)
We have been so blessed through the years to make the friends we have, all over the world. I am so grateful that the internet enables us to maintain those relationships, and that occasionally we are lucky enough to cross paths again.
Did I mention how much I love the zoo here? I think the rest of my family is getting sick of it, but they're just being turds. It's the best. So yes, I'm doing another post about the zoo. Bear with me (yes, I just spelled bear wrong....on purpose).
The zoo did a member day for their annual pass members. All kinds of extras going on. Cora and Joseph were the only ones who went with me that day. We got a whole bunch of free tickets to ride the train, the tram, or the skycoaster. We went on the train that day, and then saved the rest for another day. It was a fun way to see the zoo. We discovered parts of the zoo we hadn't even seen yet, including a HUGE children area.
They had some behind-the-scenes things going on, so we got to go see above and down into the aquarium.
Another time we were at the aquarium when the sharks were being fed. Needless to say, there were a lot more sharks than we're normally used to seeing there.
We also had some fun with the stingrays that day.
Another day we used our other free tickets to ride the tram. As soon as we got on, it started raining. Pouring buckets. We remained somewhat safe in the shelter of the tram, and rode it all the way around the whole zoo, watching as other visitors took shelter wherever they could. I'm not even kidding, as soon as we had to get off the tram, it stopped raining. Talk about perfect timing.
One of the exhibits at the zoo is an indoor swamp, full of swampy things. It's big, like everything else there. The pictures aren't great, because it is dark inside, but I know that there are certain times that you can go when they have all the lights on, so one of these days we're going to have to catch that.
Madelyn's favorite animal is the turtle, all the different varieties, and she gets excited about all of them and always wants me to take pictures.
The really crazy thing is, we haven't even seen all of the zoo yet. I'm telling you, it's fantastic.
For the past 9 years, the state of Nebraska has done a program called Nebraska Passport. It is meant to help Nebraska residents, as well as travelers, to discover Nebraska's hidden gems, including museums, restaurants, parks, retail stores, and more. Each year the locations change. You can participate either using the app, or getting a booklet. For each place you visit, you get a stamp in your passport, and there are prizes for getting so many stamps. I can't remember how I found out about this, but we had a lot of fun with it this summer.
The best part of this program for us was that it was perfect at providing places we could drive to while Cora was still getting in her needed driving hours to get her license. Even though she got her permit in December, by June she still only had half the hours she needed, so we needed to drive a LOT this summer. We would find locations through the Nebraska Passport that were 1/2 hour or hour away, and we would drive there, look around, get our stamp, and drive back home. SO much better than just driving around aimlessly.
I already posted about one of the stores we saw when we were camping over the 4th of July. Here are a couple more.
River City Star Riverboat - Paddle-style riverboat that cruises up and down the Missouri River. We didn't go on it, just took a look. It looks like a party boat, with drinking and stuff. Not really sure, but it looks cool.
There was a bar in a town called Hooper, but we just liked walking around this cute town.
There was a cute boutique called Master's Hand
There was an amazing antique store that I didn't get pictures of. We're definitely going to have to go back to that one. This year's Nebraska Passport ended on the last day of September. We got 17 out of 70 stamps, and won a car decal and $15 in Nebraska lottery coupons. Jackpot, right?! Anyway, we can't wait until they come out with next year's version ;)
Hold on to your britches folks, I'm about to update the crap out of this blog.
Back in June, our church had all of it's camps for the youth, one right after the other. First was High Adventure for the older girls, so Cora went to that. They got to go paddle boarding, eat Vietnamese food, learn self-defense, do hot yoga, go creeking, and had a bunch of wonderful classes with wonderful leaders.
Then was Girl's Camp for all the others girls. I was lucky enough to be called as the Girl's Camp leader, so Madelyn and I headed off for a few fun and uplifting days. We did a color fight, a rope's course, meditation, swimming, a cool craft, and more great classes.
The next week was Boy's camp, for which I have no visual evidence, but Joseph had a good time anyway. Before camp the boys all made their own swords out of pieces of wood they were given. At camp they decided on something that they wanted/needed to give up in their lives, and then they burned their swords as a sign of that commitment.
Finally, the next week was Trek. Both Cora and Joseph got to go on that, and they both loved their "families" and had a great time.
I am really grateful for the opportunity that my kids get to have to go on these every summer, I'm really grateful to the adults who make them possible, and I'm really grateful for the years that I've been able to be a part of it. This was Cora's last year, and next year will be Alex's first. My kids are growing up so fast!
