Happy 41st Birthday

Mario had a big week last week. He found out that he made Lt. Colonel, celebrated Father's Day, and turned 41. He got lots of ugly cake and then an ice cream cake made by Erin.

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Storm Chasers

Mario and I took Zach to a baseball game tonight. I was all excited to root for Omaha Storm Chasers until I discovered they were playing the Memphis Cardinals. I'm a big St. Louis Cardinal fan and the Memphis Cardinals are a division off of St. Louis. It was a fun night of eating yummy ballpark food and all the other snacks Mario snuck in.



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Nebraska

We've been in Nebraska for two weeks now and I finally feel that our move is complete.  It just didn't feel quite right until we got the van here.  Mario ended up flying to SLC Friday morning and driving the van back because we were having trouble finding a company we could trust to ship it to us. I almost cried (of joy) when I saw Mario pull up in my van.  Mario says most people would cry (not of joy) if they had to keep an old van that long.  Not me, I would rather save the $30,000 towards a retirement home and not worry about dings and scratches on a new van.

So, initial thoughts of Nebraska...I love it!  I remember when we lived in Hawaii, we had a neighbor from Omaha.  They hated Hawaii and were anxious to get back to Nebraska.  I just couldn't understand the appeal.  But after being here, I can see why they love it so much.  Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say it is better than Hawaii, because really, nothing can compare to the beauty and weather in Hawaii. But the midwest has something that the rest of the country just doesn't have and that's really, I mean REALLY nice people.  I just can't believe how friendly everyone is here.  I guess the nice people will have to make up for the really COLD winters of Nebraska.

Mario did a great job picking out the house.  I think I wrote in an older post about choosing between newer and older home.  After seeing both neighborhoods and houses, Mario definitely chose the better home and neighborhood.  This neighborhood reminds me of living in a park, a quiet park.  The big beautiful trees, green grass, and lots of squirrels and birds are perfect.  The house is big with lots of space for the kids.  I wish my kitchen was a little bigger, but I can't complain.  Many neighbors have come over to meet us and bring us treats.  I think we are going to really love it here.  Our landlord came by the other day and she said her kids really miss this home.  I sure hope they don't decide to move back in the next 3 years.

We first arrived in Omaha at 1 am Monday morning 2 weeks ago.  That evening we got a call from the YW President's family asking if we wanted to meet them at DQ and then go to the park.  Then they invited Erin to go to a pool party later that evening.  Then next night was a Youth Temple trip and they invited Eric and Erin to enjoy a movie night afterwards.  Then the kids spent the next several afternoons swimming with the youth and hanging out with the neighborhood kids.  That was such a relief that the kids were able to make instant friends.

Melissa and her boys came late Saturday night and stayed for a week.  My boys feel they were gipped a day because they came late at night and left the following Saturday early in the morning.  But it was a great week and we enjoyed having them visit.  We did lots of fun activities, mostly things that I had bought Groupons for while still living in Tucson.  On Monday we went to Jumpin' Jax which has several indoor bounce houses. Mario sprained his ankle so Melissa had to help me go pick up some dressers that I bought for the twins off Craigslist.  On Tuesday, I think we just played Legos.  Wednesday we went to the Omaha zoo which was just voted best in the country.  My military membership was not only a great deal but also includes unlimited IMAX movies.   On Thursday we went to  Papio Fun Park and rode Go Karts, played miniature golf, threw water balloons, played laser tag, and jumped on more bounce houses.  Melissa and I also worked on accessorizing Erin's new room while she was away at girls' camp.  On Friday, the kids enjoyed seeing Madagascar 3 at the movies.  Eric was brave and agreed to take 3 eight-year-olds to spare Melissa and I of having to see the movie.  It was nice having them here.  I think Eric really enjoyed have Melissa around because she would stay up late every night to watch movies with him, except for the one night he ditched her to go see Men in Black with some friends.

I wish they could stay longer but I know they had lots of plans back in Missouri and I still had lots to get done around the house.  We finally started getting pictures up yesterday.  So the home is starting to shape up nicely.

Heber Valley Girls' Camp

My parents are serving a mission at the Girls' Camp in Heber.  We tease them that it is more a vacation than a mission and I think they would probably agree.  My parents are assigned to help run the Rope Courses there and on Saturday evenings, the missionaries are allowed to invite their families to visit and try out the rope courses.  I am not one for high adventure, so I didn't plan to do anything.  But with a little encouragement, even I managed to scale a telephone pole, walk the tightrope (while being fully harnessed of course) and then go down the zip-line.  It was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done, but it was fun.  I did wimp out on the swing and I would only go half way up before they released me. The whole family, besides Nathan did the swing and the tightrope/zip-line.  Eric, Erin, and Zachary loved it.  Apparently my mom is adventurous because all the other missionaries tell me how she climbs and zip-lines all the time.  The most shocking part was when the men tell me that she goes four-wheeling with the men on all the more rugged trails while all the other women stay back at camp.  Not only does she go, but she keeps up with all of them too.  

Pure Terror

Utah Highlights

Besides dealing with the stress of my van breaking down, we had a really good time in Utah.  I chose a condo in Park City because it was cheap but also because it was close to my parents in Heber.  We were able to see them everyday except Friday.  So being in Park City worked out really well.  The one thing that surprised me was how much I liked Utah.  I always said I would never want to live there.  But after visiting this time, I could see myself being very happy there especially if my kids all go to BYU.

It was so much fun to see our good friends Rachelle Acosta, Jon and Lisa Trawick, and my cousin Tim and his family.  We had a really good visit with everyone.   One of the highlights was seeing President Utchdorf in the burger/ice cream shop in Heber.  He lives in Heber so apparently he's a regular in that place.  Unfortunately we didn't talk to him or ask him for any pics.  We heard that he often gets mobbed there.

Heber Valley Girls Camp

Tucson Youth at EFY

BYU dorm

Museum of Natural History SLC

This is the Place with Jesse Trawick

 Cousin Tim and Wendy's Shed

 Bountiful Temple

Park City Ski Lift

I Killed the Van

We are all settled in Nebraska now, but our trip here was quite adventurous.  We had planned to spend a week in Utah while Eric attended EFY. Mario was to fly in late Thursday night and then we planned to drive out Saturday evening with visits to Martin's Cove and Mt. Rushmore on the way to Omaha.  Well, as we found out, things to always turn out the way you plan.

We were having a great time in Utah.  Saturday evening, my parents came up to Park City and brought us dinner.  Then Sunday morning, we all went in to Salt Lake to watch the Tabernacle Choir perform for the Spoken Word.  We met the Trawick family and my cousin Tim McCreary's family at Temple Square.  We enjoyed visiting and seeing the visitor centers.  Then Monday we dropped Eric off at BYU and my parents and I visited Tim's family at their home in West Jordan.  The kids had so much fun with these cousins that they had never met, they begged to go back on Tuesday.  So after going to a museum and "This is the Place" in SLC, we headed back to cousin Tim's home.  Tim was building a shed so I offered to help while his wife, Wendy, made dinner.  I was having so much fun building the shed, that we didn't end up leaving till after 9 when it was getting dark.  On the way home, just after getting on a busy highway, my engine light came on.  That had never happened in my van but it seemed to be running fine so I figured I would just take it to the mechanic the next day.  Well, then I noticed that the thermostat was all the way on cold.  I figured that was better than being on hot and kept driving.  Then I got into the canyon going towards Park City and the van started making strange sounds.  I didn't know what to do because it was late at night and the highway was busy and windy and I was a little nervous about pulling over.  So I kept driving until it was obvious that my van was not going to make it any longer.  I had to call a tow truck.  My parents drove in from Heber to rescue us and take us back to our condo in Park City.

We had the van towed to Toyota thinking they would be the best and fastest to repair it.  It took them until Friday before they even knew the engine was destroyed.  It was a bit frustrating.  Mario had changed his ticket to Thursday early afternoon and he immediately began looking for a new vehicle for me. I didn't and still don't want a new vehicle.  I LOVE my Sienna.  I've driven it for the past 8 1/2 years and it has been a wonderful van and I have done all the preventive maintenance through the years. So it is puzzling to me why it had engine trouble.  The mechanic told another employee that he thinks the last mechanic didn't properly remove the air pockets when he changed out all the fluids.  But they can't prove that and so apparently we don't qualify for any warranty work since they can't be 100% sure.  It has been very frustrating.  We ended up buying plane tickets to get us to Omaha and we flew home late Sunday night.

So now it is Friday of the following week and we still don't really have any info on the van. But it is supposed to be fixed by Monday and then it will be shipped to us here in Omaha.  I hope the repairs go as planned and I can get my van back soon.  I have missed it.  Fortunately Mario has a 7 passenger SUV for us to drive here in Omaha, but its not near as good for the family as my beloved van.  Plus Mario and I aren't very good at sharing a vehicle.

Leaving Tucson

Our family finally left Tucson yesterday. It's been really sad saying our goodbyes. I started the tears Sunday when the primary sang a song for us. Then on Wednesday morning, the Parks had us over for a large breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon. They have been so wonderful to our family the last 3 years. I will miss them. Then yesterday I cried saying goodbye to the school librarian who I have come to love over the last 2 years and the twin's teachers. What a baby! I always cried saying goodbye to my own teachers when I was in elementary school but never dreamed of getting sad over my kids' teachers. But they were so sweet an going on and on how much they appreciated all I have done for their class this year. Then I had to say goodbye to Ming. What a great friend. It was an emotional day for me and the big kids.

We left right after Eric got out of class yesterday. We drove to just south of Hoover Dam and stayed the night. We woke early this morning and took a tour of the dam.

Next, we drove the Vegas Strip and had lunch at McDonalds. I would go on vacation there, but I don't think I'd ever talk Mario into it. We left the strip and headed for Vegas Temple. The architecture was different than what I'm used to, so it wasn't my favorite Temple, but still beautiful.

Next we headed for St. George. We visited Brigham Young's winter home, the Tabernacle, Temple, and visitor center. I loved St. George. If I had to live in Utah, I think I would choose this area.

This evening we traveled up to Cedar City and stopped for a hotel. The twins braved the cold wind and actually swam for awhile in the pool.

Tomorrow we will head to Park City to check into our condo. We will visit with my parents, cousin Tim, and the Trawicks this weekend. I drop Eric and Cameron off at BYU Monday morning. They are very excited.Then I hope to see Rachelle Acosta next week and Mario flies in late Thursday night. We were planning to go to a water park but it will probably be too cold. We left Tucson with temperatures in the 100's. We came to Utah and we may see snow. We are not prepared.

Mario got our household goods on Monday. So he has been busy getting our house all ready for us. I'm so anxious to get there and see our new home.

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