OOOOOOOOOOOmaha

My youngest sister Maddy flew out last Wednesday to visit us for a week. Since we have an Uncle and his family who live in Omaha, Nebraska, we decided to rent a minivan and drive out to see them for the weekend. It was a great trip.

Everyone started off the right way:

This is what the back looked like for the first half of the trip. It was lovely. On the way home, the kids slept at the beginning again but Maddy was awake so Joel and I could talk to her without interruption.

It was fun to see my cousins. The College World Series was going on, and Joel got to go to a game with my Uncle. He has always talked about going to a game and now that he has, he can die happy.

In addition to baseball, Omaha is also home to one of the best zoos in the nation, Henry Doorly Zoo. There was more to do than we could fit in one morning, but the kids had a great time.

In the "jungle"

Ashley's favorite animal is the monkey. I think she was in heaven. She could almost reach out and touch these little critters.

Both the kids enjoyed the massive aquarium(s).

Everett was especially captivated by the large sharks swimming overhead.

Both kids also enjoyed the swimming penguins.

We went to the big cats area as well. Everett was a little tired so he rode in the stroller for most of it. Ashley, however, must have caught her second wind as soon as we went through the doors. She skipped around, laughing and squealing, and alerting the next animals of her presence by shouting "I coming gigers (tigers)! I coming!"

Late that same day we went to Mahoney Park, which has a water park and a whole bunch of other activities. The one we got to enjoy was the one my family has dubbed the "gerbil cages." It is basically a gym filled with tunnels, nettings, ramps, ball pits, and enormous slides. Adults can fit in them, which meant everyone had a great time playing hide and seek, tag, and sardines.

And by "everyone," I mean Joel too.

Everett zipped around this place faster than I could. It was tough keeping up with him sometimes.

The smaller of the two ball pits.

An adult-sized maze.

William and I hung out together. We were sweating even though we were mostly just standing there. The people who were playing the whole time were completely drenched. They all look like they had showered with their clothes on (and I won't comment on how they all smelled).

Ashley loved figuring out how to climb the different areas.

First: determination

Next: more determination and a bit of accomplishment

Success

Down the other side.

Success must always be enjoyed.

We ended our weekend with church and a trip home. It was a great mini-vacation and we are excited we got to share it with my sister, Maddy. I got to go to Target (we don't have one where we live) and buy two pairs of shoes that were on clearance. The kids were in high heaven with all the attention and activities. Joel got to see his baseball game. It was perfect.