Omaha

 This last weekend was memorial day, and I actually had a day off. We haven't really had a family vacation in a while, so we thought this would be a good time as any. When we lived in Kansas City, I always thought we would take a small trip to Omaha and visit their world renowned zoo and revile in what ever Omaha has too offer. Well, that never happened, but after 10 years or so, we finally made it here.

 With my somnolence syndrome, I was looking for a rest, but I was a little nervous about all the energy to would entail.  I definitely was not feeling normal, but I seemed to manage, and well the kids had a blast.

 We ended up meeting John and Sarah and the kids there. We went to the Omaha Storm Chasers minor league game on Saturday night. As soon as we got there, it started to rain and it was wet and cold.  This was not my idea of fun, but I kept positive, and the kids seems to actually enjoy it. We got some hot chocolate, some popcorn and eventually the rain stopped.  All the kids didn't seem to mind at all, which was good.  I kept thinking Henry was going to crack and have a miserable time, but he didn't.

 The kids seemed to just pick off from where they left each other about 6 months ago.  I think the Apperson's have no shy bones in their bodies, so I guess that helps bring my kiddos a little more forward.  I wonder how it is to raise extroverted children....I'll never know.

 In the outfield they had a little play area with a play ground, air slides and a carousel. We rode those until they shut them down.  I am happy to say the merry go round didn't make me sick at all!

 Franny running back and forth, back and forth. 

 We stayed out good and late that night and the kids slept well.  When they got up, it was time for a little hotel TV and wait for daddy to wake up.  I swear, this was one of the highlights. If you get Franny going, she will just start shouting "Hotel, Hotel."

 In the morning we headed to the Omaha zoo. Because of what I heard to the zoo, I had pretty high expectations. Overall it is a good zoo with a lot of places we never even had time to visit (we were there for about 7 hours). Being around the Minnesota and Kansas City zoo, I am not sure if it is in a class of its own. I would say they are all similar. The Omaha zoo does have interesting enclosures like the dessert dome and the aquarium, so that is going for it. It was worth the visit, just not astounding.  I really need to lower my expectations, maybe in life in general. That way I will never be disappointed!

 We are in the dessert dome exhibit here. The design is pretty great and it really meanders a lot. You can get up close to a lot of the animals.

Franny says "Our friends are going to come later"

 This is a little blurry picture, but it is hard to find the right setting when taking a picture like this. Look at how happy these guys are. I guess Sarah is becoming and real nature expert thanks to her inquisitive kiddos.

 This is the only time she actually wore a hat and we are indoors!

 This is the time we were waiting to go on a ski lift ride. Henry was real nervous about it. I again, didn't want to ruin his mood and force him to do something he clearly was scared about.  In compromise, Henry and I went to the gift shop while everyone else rode the ski lift. Success!

 This was likely the highlight of Henry, Luke and Cole. This is a place where they got to touch the stingrays, and they did, over and over again.

 Franny was more content to just contemplate life.

Joy!

Franny says "I don't want to fight with you any more"

After the zoo, the Apperson's left and our family hung out in the old Omaha district. Sometime when I was in college, I had a band tour here. I can't remember if it was regular band or jazz band. All I know is that I walked on the cobble streets and saw horse drawn carriages (didn't know KC did that either). It was funny walking down those streets again, but this time with a husband and kids.  The street is exactly the same.  We ate that night at a southwestern restaurant and I had the best nachos of my life, no kidding.  They were called Aztec nachos and besides the normal Mexican flavorings, they had curry.  Mmmmm  I need to go back to Omaha.

This trip makes me realize how great travelers are kids are, and makes me want to keep doing it. We have a Minnesota History membership, and maybe it is time to explore this state a little more.