Hanging With Uncle B and Aunt J

Here are some photos from our visit to Uncle B and Aunt J's house! Uncle B is famous for his award-winning breakfasts. Here is Ainsley with her fancy shmancy pancake and some tasty bacon! We also got to enjoy some outstanding, homemade breakfast burritos!

We all wanted to ride together in one vehicle over the weekend visit, and Nebraska law helped us out with this. Apparently, if you are over 18 you can legally ride in the very back cargo compartment of small SUV's. SWEET! Aunt J and I took turns riding back there. Fun times!

On Saturday morning we hit the downtown farmer's market. The girls stopped to pose with a cool piece of art. After I took the picture we noticed a sign that said no one should climb on the art and that the area was monitored by video surveillance. Bennett, the rule follower, was officially in a bit of a panic. Good news! We've been back from our visit for a couple of weeks now, and she has not received any tickets or notice of her arrest...yet.

We listened to some great music while at the farmer's market. The thing that impressed us most about this little band was the drummer. You'll notice he is visiting with a man in a black t-shirt while he plays the percussion on this song. He was jabbering away to that guy the entire time the group was performing. It was amazing! Quite the multitasker!

We saw many cool things while we visited. Among them, Aunt J's delightful garden gnomes. She has many, and these three were some of our favorites.

Uncle B and Aunt J have a super cool outdoor barbecue area. Here are the girls helping Uncle B light the fire for our outdoor grilling experience.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from the weekend. The girls looking concerned as Uncle B tries to justify the size of his charcoal fire to them. So funny!

It's a long story, but we just HAD to try some Funyuns while we were visiting. The verdict...slightly good but mostly gross!

Another cool thing we saw during our visit...Uncle B and Aunt J's compost pile! Bennett was especially impressed.

We got to enjoy some smores when be barbecued. Here's Bennett with hers. How appropriate that she was wearing her Abe Lincoln camping t-shirt, "Four Smores and Seven Wienies Ago."

While on the getaway, we also made a stop at the Henry Doorly Zoo. We went on a Sunday morning just after a rain and amazingly WE WERE LIKE THE ONLY PEOPLE THERE! Seriously. There was us and about seven others there for the first couple of hours. It was WONDERFUL.

We dined out and also went for gelato at eCreamery. Delish!

Finally, among the many things we enjoyed seeing over the holiday weekend visit, were the inflatables. Apparently there is some unwritten rule that having a huge inflatable will help you sell more fireworks in Nebraska. We saw several of them. Here is a gorilla...

....and a dinosaur...

...and a very patriotic bald eagle. Totally awesome! We had a super fun time visiting a super fun aunt and uncle!

World Fashion Sketching

Tonight I sat down with Bennett to do some artistry. She was drawing a picture for a contest at the library: Draw yourself wearing clothing from another part of the world. Here she is in her Mongolian garb. I, personally, am a big fan of the sword!
Aaaaannnnnd, here you have my drawing of myself wearing clothing from Finland. Hideous? Yes. Before I was a mom, I often imagined what it would be like to parent. I would read. I would hug. I would pretend play with my sweet children. Attempting to draw myself wearing clothing from Finland wasn't on the list. Ah, but sometimes the surpise tasks of parenting are the best for a laugh! Bennett has not asked me to draw anymore....I will take the hint!

Where Does He Come Up With This Stuff???

One thing I love about Dad is that he says crazy things. This morning was a perfect example, as he played a little game with the girls at breakfast. I have no clue what connection took place in his brain that would link blocking children with the USSR, but whatever. It was fun to watch!

Omahilarious Video

We took a trip to visit Uncle B. and Aunt J. in Omaha for the Fourth Of July weekend. I have tons of great photos for a highlight post, but in the meantime, I give you one of many fun videos we took over the weekend. Uncle B and Aunt J. have a sweet outdoor barbecue area and they made us some delicious dinner on it. This video is of Uncle B. attempting to chop some firewood for dinner...with what seems to be a very dull ax. We thoroughly enjoyed the episode ourselves. It was HILARIOUS! I would even call it Omahilarious, given our location. Never a dull moment with the fantastic Uncle B!

Near-Death Experience

Oopsy. Scroll to the bottom and read this post from the bottom up. This is a poor quality photo, but I wanted to show you the insanity of the fireworks. All of the light you see is the intense fireworks glow. Notice how Uncle B. and Dad are shielding their eyes. And I don't know if Aunt J. was laughing or crying...maybe both!

Here is Dad with a piece of the fireworks fallout that we kept. All during the fireworks display debris was falling on us...ash and chunks of fireworks casing, some still on fire. It was slightly alarming. Dad's face says it all.

We are visiting Uncle B. and Aunt J. for this Independence Day weekend, and we are in the midst of a GREAT time! We kicked the weekend off with fireworks at a park with live music and about 50,000 other people. It was crazy. Uncle B. told us the fireworks would be intense. That is an understatement. Let's just say that we were sitting so close and the fireworks were so face-melting, that I would say that we basically had a near-death experience!

Painting and Peppermint Meat

Our weeks have been busy with VBS, swimming lessons, Mom taking continuing ed classes and day-to-day living stuff, so I haven't taken many pictures lately. Some people (Dad and Grandma D) really like me to keep this blog updated though, so I thought I'd better take some pictures of something...ANYTHING...to give them new reading material. Funny that the two people who see the girls most often are the two who check the blog frequently. It's so nice that they just can't get enough, I guess! So Dad and Grandma, here you go. First we have a little artist getting ready for the junior art show that will be taking place at our local fair in July! This painting has taken her a week to create, as she has worked on it little bits at a time. I love it! Good work Ainsley!

And another random shot. Today we were at the grocery store and we passed a freezer full of seafood. Ainsley saw these shrimp and as you can see, they appear to be a bit striped-looking. She exclaimed, "Oh mom! Look! Peppermint meat!" I busted out laughing and she was not amused that I was so amused. I piped down my laughter and snapped a quick shot of the "peppermint meat." Can you even imagine how disgusting peppermint meat would be? Grody.

Hillbilly Ridiculousness

Living in the region that we do, often we happen upon things that just should not exist. They are so ramshackle and so hillbilly...you don't want to look and yet you cannot look away. I have decided to begin photo documenting these things for a coffee table book, yet to be named. Suggestions are welcome! And here is the first photo I have taken for the book... What the?! This is some type of homemade pontoon/bench/paddle boat...I think? Love the orange flames on the front. Stop and think about it. Someone actually took valuable time to construct this thing, to license it, and to paint flames on the front. I am shaking my head as I type. Hillbilly ridiculousness at its finest.

Tramp-o-look-out!!!!

What's cooler than a trampoline? A dad on the trampoline! We had a super time visiting friends up north over the weekend, and at D and S's house, the kids (big and little) did some jumping. Dads and kids on trampolines almost always equals injury, and in this video you will see a close call. D almost takes out his daughter (in the black shirt) as she narrowly escapes behind his legs mid-jump. Fun, fun, death-defying times! Thanks for having us, D and S!

What is Wrong With These Children!?

The other day, it was about 95 degrees out with a dewpoint of 74. Hot. Humid. Bennett and Ainsley decided it was perfect weather for... ...hats, jackets, socks, and sneakers. What is wrong with these children? Turns out they were playing "detectives" and one must dress the part. Girls, maybe you should save your detective play for October. You are making me sweat just looking at you!

Senior Pictures

While visiting Aunt L. a couple of weeks ago, Bennett decided she wanted to have her photo taken, senior picture style, while at the Bass Pro Shops. I had my camera with me, so why not?! Ah, just lovely.
Legs crossed, so lady-like, in the gravel. Beautious!

The ever popular, arms crossed while leaning pose. So mature!

This shot was taken later the same day as we walked back to our car from dinner. The recline on the rocks shot. Niiiice!

Here's a proof that her parents won't be ordering...the shot with the backdrop of something for sale for $23,995. Maybe that's the projected cost of her book fees by the time she enters college. Personally, I'm glad the days of real senior pictures are several years away!