Fourth of July

We are lucky to be in Omaha which is only a 6-7 hour drive to Missouri where my Grandma lives and also my sister's mother-in-law lives.  Melissa tends to visit her mother-in-law, Jeannie, every summer for a month or two.  So when we found out we were moving to Omaha, Melissa and I planned a long weekend for us to get together at Jeannie's lake house.  Jeannie was so nice to go along with the plan and allow not only my family of 6 to come stay with her but also my brother, Charlie, who is stationed just 300 miles away at Fort Campbell.  So we left at 5 am on the 4th of July so we could make it in time for a fish fry at noon at Jeannie's friend, Marvin's house.  Wow, what an amazing guy.  Pretty much his whole diet consists of what he hunts, fishes, or traps.  I'd sure like it if my grocery budget was as little as his each month.  We had fried fish and fried frog legs.  I had frog legs as a kid so I knew they were good but this was Mario's first time and he loved them.

After the fish fry, we went to visit my Grandma in St. James.  We were able to get a picture of the four of us together for my mom''

After that, we headed out to Jeannie's house.  It was almost a half hour from town.  I normally don't like being so far from a grocery store, but it was very relaxing.  In fact, Melissa and I only went to town once the next couple days because she had something very important to mail.  So I really enjoyed the distance from town and being able to relax while swimming and watching the kids.  It was so nice for the cousins to play and for me to have time to spend with my brother and sister.  We just wish Billy and his family could have been there and also Mom and Dad.  I know that if they weren't on their mission, my parents would have definitely been there too.

We are grateful for Jeannie, Marvin and Melissa's hospitality while we visited. It was so much fun. It was so nice that Mario almost threw away his whole plan to retire in Venice, Florida.  He really wanted to buy one of the empty lots at the lake and build a home. That's how much he enjoyed it.  But in the end, it is so far from church and town.  We could never really live that far out.  But if we were rich, it would make a perfect vacation home.

18th Anniversary and Michael Phelps

Mario and I celebrated our anniversary by attending the Olympic Swim Trials held here in Omaha. We had nose bleed seats but it was still really cool watching Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps swim. Wish we could attend the Olympics in London. I told Eric to get a full ride scholarship to college and then maybe we can take him to the Olympics in Brazil right before his mission.

Then Mario and the kids enjoyed shooting off some fireworks. Mario and I topped our celebration off with a trip to do Sealings at the Temple. What a great day! I'm loving Omaha and all the things to do.

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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