Nebraska Pt. 2

After the morning at the Lincoln Children's Museum, the boys slept for some of the drive to the farm.  We arrived in plenty of time to play and explore.  Brody got to experience an old-school teeter totter for the first time.  It was hilarious. 

We got to see Cousins R & B move a bunch of equipment into the quonset.  Kamden had a million questions for them. (SHOCKER!)

Then he got to DRIVE the combine in the field.  The corn wasn't quite ready yet but we got to drive around a bit and check the moisture level.  It pretty much made his year.  

Here is Brody taking in his first combine ride...

 

Brody gave the calves an earful...

We also got to play with Cousins C & D a lot.  They are a bit older but they are so good with my boys.  They even "wrestled" with them.  It was adorable. 

 

 

I stopped by my other aunt and uncles house on the way home but didn't manage to take any photos.  It was a little chaotic with SIX little boys running around.

The boys did as good as I could expect on the drive.  I think the definition of distracted driving is taking a solo road trip with 2 small kids.  We made it safely, though.... mostly because of the DVD player. :)

A HUGE thanks to ALL my family for such a memorable weekend!

Nebraska Pt. 1

Kamden has been asking almost daily to go back to Nebraska.  The kid just can't get enough of farms and tractors.  Visiting our family up there has become very important.  I might start referring to it as our bi-annual pilgrimage. 

We extended the trip a bit and spent a night in Omaha.  We made it up in time to spend a couple hours at the zoo.  It was as awesome as ever. I can't wait for all their construction to be done.  Lots of new things happening.

They always love the aquarium.  This crab was super creepy. 

My personal favorite was the big sea turtles....

M...I....Z.......

I think the giraffes are in this enclosure while the new exhibit is being built.  It was great to be able to see them up close!

After the zoo we headed to B&A's house for pizza and play.  I, sadly, don't have pics of "Baby C" playing with the boys.  I got this one of Kam hugging B where she learned about his REALLY strong hugs.  Like... he might choke you.  He was just showing some love because she shared her hard hat :)

The next day we headed to the Lincoln Children's Museum.  Because: AWESOME.  Once again, I will express my disappointment in our local children's museum.    

 Cousins C and T were able to join us.  I think Brody and T could have run across this bridge all day.

 Oh man, the fun of the water area.  Brody kicked off his shoes and started to climb into the water.  That boy keeps me on my toes.

Go ahead and wait on pins and needles for part 2.  :)

Brody's 2nd Birthday

Brody Brod turned TWO! We were in Iowa for a family reunion for his actual birthday.  I hope I will never forget him saying "happy" for the first time when just the four of us were out on the boat.  He said it three times so I am pretty sure he was happy :)

The next weekend we had his party.  I went with a "ball" theme because this kid is obsessed! His love was clear to me many months ago when he laughed for over 15 minutes just watching his cousin shoot hoops in their kitchen.  Watch it again, you won't regret it.  He could spend hours playing ball (baseball, soccer, anyball).  At just 18 months old, he could hit the ball in the air when pitched to him.  At just 2 it is clear, on SO many levels, just how different our boys are.  They have some different interests but many that overlap.  Just enough to make sharing a constant struggle.  Brody is much more of an emotional roller coaster.  He is often full of smiles but he can pout and tantrum with the best of 'em. 

Here is Brody hitting the ball from a rope we set up in the backyard.

*Please note the background sound in both this video and one later in the post is Kam happily putting mile 947 and 1002 driving his tractor... mostly just in our backyard.  It is a miracle we have any grass left. 

I didn't get many photos of the actual party but it was ALL BALLS! Cheeseballs, melon balls, 3 kinds of meatballs, cake balls... you get the idea.

Brody was adorably shy during the singing.  Luckily he fully understands that fire is hot so I didn't have a really big "mom fail" like at his 1st birthday. 

He got over the shyness pretty fast.  Because: cake.

 

 

Don't let the above picture fool you.  This B-ball hoop is no joke around here:

I think the highlight of the part was a balloon drop.  It was a HUGE hit with all the kids... and maybe the parents, too. 

I should probably learn not to wait until the end of the evening to grab a family photo.  This turned out pretty darn good, considering.  

CO Anniversary Trip

Disclaimer: this trip took place 2 months ago.  :)
 
We were married 8 years ago near Estes Park, Colorado.  Joe needed to work in Denver for a couple of days around then so we made a mini vacation out of it.  We spent a little time in Boulder then drove up to Estes Park.  I made Joe stop at our wedding location for a little throw back.  They are still so friendly.  We told them we were just wanting to walk around and see everything since we were married there and they said "Of course, wander around, do you want a beer or something to drink?"  Friendly folks :)

Here are a few from August 2007.  Holy cow, folks ... we were young! :)

(c) Portraits by Lucinda 

 (c) Portraits by Lucinda

(c) Portraits by Lucinda 

After dragging Joe around for some selfies at Wild Basin, we headed in to Estes to grab some sandwiches for the drive.  We drove all the way through Rocky Mountain National Park (sidenote: this is why our dog is named Rocky) and up to Grand Lake/Lake Grandby and back to Denver.  It was a lot of driving but SO worth it!

There was a traffic back-up due to some construction.  It turned out to be a good thing because we totally would have missed this dude hanging out on the side of the road...

The next day Joe had to work in Denver so I did a little shopping and went to the Denver Botanic Gardens.  It was beautiful! There were a number of Deborah Butterfield sculptures on display.  I fell in love.  They look like they are made of wood but they are actually cast bronze. 

I even spied a Chihuly piece.  I fell in love with him when we visited Seattle last year and Chihuly Garden & Glass.

This section totally reminded me of Luis Barragan, an Architect from Mexico. (hi, mom and dad...that 5 year degree wasn't totally wasted)  He loved bright walls, water, and horses. 

We absolutely love this part of the country and enjoyed a quick trip to see a little more of it.  Can't wait to get back again!