Little Mouth

L has a huge vocabulary and talks like a 5 year old. Jeff tries hard to make sure she enunciates her words correctly. So when we were on our bike ride last night, she was saying, "bunton". Jeff works with her for several minutes to say "button" correctly. Frustrated, L says, "I can't say it. My mouth is too little". God, I love how she comes up with the best reasons!

BBQ and the Goonies

Last night we gathered at the house for a nice BBQ. It rained all morning, but the sun broke in the afternoon and it was a beautiful evening. The boys and L played in the pool all night. We had a simple fare...hot dogs, brauts, and burgers with some really good sides...green beans, baked beans plus and salad. Maria and Melissa brought two awesome desserts that were quickly gone. After it got dark, we gathered around to watch the Goonies. We all love this movie. It's so funny and classic.

Night at the Drive In

Last night we went to the drive in. We love our local drive in. It's nice and clean and very relaxing. L enjoys it too, although she has more fun when there are lots of people with us. She spent part of the night hanging out in the back of the car watching movies and eating Twizzlers. And drinking her choice beverage, Dr. Pepper (definitely grandpa's girl). We saw Walle (note L's Walle t-shirt). It was a good movie, and parts were funny for the kids. L liked it a little. There was a good "message" in it. We all need to keep Earth clean, but I think the message was lost on her. She got a free Walle watch and thought that was cool.
The second movie was Kung Fu Panda. We all loved it!! Funny, good paced movie with lots of action. That will be on the buy list when it comes out on DVD.

L is swimming!!

Last year L was afraid of the water. She was content to sit on the steps but didn't like to go out in the pool. We've been praising her a lot for anytime she braves the water and goes out with us. Last night, the pool was beautiful and warm (80 degrees, Maria). L played in her little pool and then wanted to check out the big pool. She splashed on the steps a little and then went out with me and started swimming back to the steps.
We are so excited and happy that she seems to like the water better this year!

Need coffee...

Do you ever have a bad night of sleep that you wished you'd just stayed up all night so you could have been productive? Jeff got in late (11pm) from Nashville last night. We visited for a bit and L was wired. I set my alarm way too early, so I kept hitting the snooze bar and when I finally got up, I felt I'd only slept 3 hours (it was actually 6 1/2). I have a headache and need some ibuprofen and coffee badly. I should have stayed up and done some scrapping!

Saturday Fun

L and I had a great Saturday. We started it off by meeting Lexi, Denise, and Jaime at the farmer's market. I got some yummy tomatoes and potatoes, great smelling flowers and bread. The girls found nice chairs to take a break.
After the market, we headed over to the park and had fun swinging and sliding. The girls took a break and had juice and cheetos.
After lunch, L and I joined Mary and the girls for some fun in the sun. We went swimming at the Y. L had a good time after about 30 minutes. Then she decided it is fun to swim and she splashed us in the pool.


We had a sno cone snack (boy, were those good). We headed home and L was asleep before we left the parking lot. What a beautiful sunny day to have so much fun.

Tap Shoes, Ballet Shoes

L is taking dance class this summer. I thought she'd enjoy it since she dances to every song. She loves dance class!!! One of my co workers teaches the class of 5 preschool age girls. They are so cute together!! L's getting better at tap. She says it's "tricky".

Cool Cat on a Hot Day

L is enjoying her cool apple juice on a warm Saturday morning. As usual, Reggie sneaks herself into the picture.

I am Mad.

I am mad. at myself. I was having a great day. L and I went shopping and we had lunch at home and came inside to get a drink after playing croquet in the backyard. And then we discovered the fridge is broken. So hurry up and shift everything from the freezer inside to the garage freezer and get ice bags for the fridge stuff. And call someone (they'll be out tomorrow). And I know in my head it will all be fine. The worst is case senario would be to buy a new fridge. And this to shall pass. So why this one little thing ruins my day? I have no desire to do anything else. I am so mad... at myself for getting worked up about such a little thing. Now I can move on. Stupid fridge.

'The Happening' ain't happening

I love M. Night and his movies. Sixth Sense is one of my favorites. So I was very excited to see The Happening. And while I get the meaning, I was very disappointed. I left the theater unfullfilled. There were so many strings left hanging. And the "R" rating. Well, I won't give specifics to those who haven't seen, but it was because of gore, not language (the worst someone said was 'god damn' and 'cheese and crackers'!!

Evolution of a Male Cat Owner

When I was growing up cats had a place in our house. Let me share the evolution of my dad as a cat owner.

First, cats are an outside animal.
Then, the cat could come inside for a few minutes.
Then, the cat could stay in the house for a while but outside at night.
Next, the cat can stay in the house, but must stay in the basement at night.
Then the cat can stay in the house, but could only sleep on my bed.
When I moved out, the cat could stay in the house and sleep on my mom's side of the bed.
Finally, the cat could stay in the house, all night and sleep on my dad's pillow when he was gone.


So move forward to my current house (with my husband).

First, no cats.
Okay, you can have a cat, but I pick it (Jeff) and name it and it's an indoor cat.
Well, it must be locked up because that's what we do for the dog.
Next, the cat pees on the floor in one room, then another and another.
So finally, the cat is allowed to roam free when we're gone.

Two different evolutions by two different men, but the result is the same. The cat wins and is the ruler of the house. Amazing, huh?

Jill, this one's for you (Nebraska version)

I couldn't believe how many Pamida's there are on Hwy 75 going to Omaha. In fact, there is even a Pamida Support Center (I think that means a warehouse) in Omaha. I forgot to take a picture of it.
Plattsmouth, Nebraska
Nebraska City, Nebraska Auburn, Nebraska

Weekend in Omaha

This weekend, we drove up to Omaha to see our friend Dave. The drive was nice and we had a great time with him. We got there very late Friday, so we visited for a while and then rested up for the big day. We started Saturday off at the zoo (see next post), shopped, watched Big Brown lose and then set off for dinner. We had supper at the Melting Pot. If you don't know, it's a fondue place. I've heard of it, but never been. It was sooo good (and you all know how much I love fondue). We got the four course meal which consists of cheese fondue, salad, meat and veggie fondue and dessert fondue.
This picture hardly does it justice. Even L got into fonduing. She loved to stick her fondue stick in the pot and get something cooked out. We were stuffed when it was over.
We walked off our dinner by going shopping at Village Point. The boys checked out the Apple Store, while I shopped at Archiver's.
On Sunday, it rained (in fact there was an F2 tornado in the middle of the night Sat which we didn't hear). So we went to Dave's office at the Omaha World Herald. And then we went to Old Market. It's like Old Town in Ta-town, except much cooler.
Jeff and L pose for a picture in Old Market. We went for a carriage ride. Pretty cool. We had so much fun seeing Omaha and hanging out with Dave. We'll be back there again soon.

The Omaha Zoo

We spent Saturday at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Everyone correct...it is a wonderful zoo. Our favorites were the aquarium and the penguins. We started off in the aquarium. L thought the fish were so cool. And she was excited to see several "nemo's".
There was a whole display of jellyfish. While they were cool, the picture turned out even better.
Feeding the penguins. These little guys lined up in a row (like schoolkids) to get their daily fish. They were so cute. One penguin spit his out and asked for another.

The butterfly gardens is an enclosed place where the butterflies are free. The exhibit was beautiful. We all loved the variety of the butterflies. The moths were all hanging out over the air vents. Off to see the elephants. It was hot there in the afternoon, so she gave herself a mud bath. What a great way to spend the day!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy birthday to you mom on this wonderful sunny day (at least here:)).

We love you!

Going to Hawaii

So this blog will be as far as L will get to Hawaii. Jeff and I celebrated our 10th anniversary a couple weeks ago. We never went on a honeymoon so we decided to celebrate this anniversary by going to Maui for a week. We are very excited!! We want to explore this beautiful land and we have two events we want to do. The first is to ride a bike down the biggest mountain there. We also want to go to a luau. I want to hang out on the beach and go snorkeling. Just having a week with no schedule and just Jeff and I will be wonderful.

A Girly Day

Yesterday I had a great girly day. I started my morning off by getting a pedicure. For me, this is one of my favorite pleasures in life. I love how beautiful the lady makes my toes. Then I walked two doors down and got my hair cut and colored. And I read a great book while my hair was "cooking". I came home and Jeff, L and I went to Mediterranean Grill for lunch. I love their fattoush salad and hummus with warm pita bread.

Then I went with Kasey and Twila to watch a matinee of "Sex and the City". It was a great movie. No spoilers here...you have to see it for yourself. The girls were great and it was exactly what I wanted.

Sometimes a girl needs this kind of day. Although I wasn't home much, it sure makes me appreciate Jeff and L even more.