Everyone Loves To Hear About Samantha, Alden, & Clair (and a little bit about their parents)

Jr. Blackshirts and Some Soccer

2012-01-30T09:59:00.007-06:00

Fall is in Full Swing and Sam is loving soccer this year.

Her team is rolling over everybody. That's the advantage of being some of the older kids in the age group.

Other team kicked off. Sam attacks the ball.

She takes the ball.

And Scores.

Now time to head to Lincoln for the Ohio State v. Nebraska game. It was the first Big Ten Game in Memorial Stadium. Also it was the first time Clair was old enough for Jr. Black shirts. The minimum age is two.

Loaded up and rolling towards campus.

Stopped at a park on the way. We got their early to park so tried to have some fun.

Can Alden ever be serious?

So not one picture of all kids looking at the same time.

A stop at the Nebraska Union for some ice cream from the UNL Dairy Store. Now it is time to check into Jr. Blackshirts. They can check in 90min before kick off and we have 45 min to pick them up after the game.

The kids let their balloons go before we went in.

There they go with the rec center in the background

Clair did not want to part with hers

Sam got it away from her and it got stuck in the tree. Some how that was funny to them for days. When they let balloons go now they think they are going to Japan for their friends Caden and Cody to see.

Opening kick off of the game. Turned out to be a great game in the off and on rain that night. When we picked the kids up at 10:45 at night Alden was running around like a wild man with some other boys, Sam was doing crafts, and Clair was sharing her blanket with the other kids.

Kindergarten Field Trip to Bloom Where You're Planted Farm

2012-01-30T09:35:00.006-06:00

On October 6th Samantha had her 1st field trip to Bloom Where You're Planted Pumpkin Patch and Farm near Avoca, Nebraska. I got to meet her there and spend the day with her!

I can't believe she's this big already!

Playing with her friends

Pumping the water!

In the hay maze with her friend Kaia.

Dressing up a scarecrow!

INSIDE the tire swing!

Checking out the horses! (Not getting to close since she's allergic...)

Looking at all the different types of pumpkins with her class.

K-1 Class with Mrs. Morrison

Trying to rope a cow with her best friend Jayda!

Riding a horse swing made out of tires.

She loved this!

She spent lots of time with her friends on this huge tire swing!

Checking out the tractor. She wasn't very interested...but we took a picture anyway.

We had a great day together, but when it was time to go home, she insisted on riding the bus with her friends and not riding home with her mom. :(

Clair & Alden's Dr. Seuss Birthday Party

2011-11-04T09:29:00.010-05:00

It was Clair's 2nd Birthday and we partied like crazy.

The day started with a birthday pop tart.

This is her version of a smile. This might be the start of the terrible 2s.

The crazy cake made by Linda Monahan.

Another angle.

Small smash cakes just for the birthday kids. Clair's Cake^^^

And Alden's cake ^^^ for his 4th birthday.

Crazy Alden senses the excitment.

Some decorations.

Sam was a little under the weather, but could still party.

Clair and her "Smiling" teeth.

We asked them to line up for a picture. They forgot where the camera was.

Not too serious that day.

Present time. Reading some cards to Clair.

Awsome New Husker shirt.

Squinkies!

Twin Dolls!

Princesses!

Action Shot

Clair would stop unwrapping the presents once she could see what it was! We had to unwrap alot of the backs of the presents.

Alden with his cake.

Clair with hers.

Looking unsure of what to do with her cake.

The kids with Great Aunt Karen and Great-Grandma 'Farmer'.

Pumpkin Ridge 2011

2011-10-22T11:23:00.005-05:00

We have been slacking.... but here we go.

We spent a Saturday afternoon at Pumpkin Ridge in Nebraska City.

The kids had a great time searching for that perfect pumpkin!

Alden's photography. Not bad if his lazy father would have just edited the picture you would have never know.

Sam's Find!

Alden Found his!

Not sure what is going on here.

Debbie and Mike Arrive!

The kids with the take.

All those attempts and I'm not sure we got a "good" one but we did capture some great ones.

Sam now has the camera.

I like how the photographer got the tip of her toes.

We all had a great time and Enjoy talking to the owners of the farm. The kids get a kick out of going out into the field and finding their very own pumpkins!

Citizen of the Month

2011-10-22T11:16:00.002-05:00

Samantha received the Citizen of the Month award in September for her Kindergarten classroom! We were so proud of her! She received her award at an all school assembly and got to shake her principal and assistant principal's hand.

Mrs. Morrison & Samantha

Proud Parents, Mrs. Morrison, & Samantha

One of Samantha's really good friends - Anna Owen - also received the award for her classroom! (Anna & Samantha went to St. John's preschool together last year! We are very proud of Samantha for choosing good friends! Her best friend in her classroom - Jayda - received the October Citizen of the Month award for her classroom!)

Walking up to receive her award!

Shaking Mr. Michaels's hand - the principal!

Showing off her award! Grandma & Grandpa McKnight came to watch too! Grandma Nancy volunteered to babysit Alden & Clair!

Samantha at Dr. Hopp

2011-10-22T11:12:00.002-05:00

Samantha had a check up with her Allergy/Asthma doctor -Dr. Hopp.

She was sick at the time and just getting off a sterod. He "tweaked" her medicine routine and we go back after Thanksgiving!

Still showing off the whole in her mouth!

UNO volleyball

2011-10-20T12:48:00.005-05:00

The day after Samantha lost her first tooth, Doug and his dad took Samantha and Alden to a UNO volleyball game to watch Natalie Ebke play. (Doug worked with her mom at the UHC Dental Office.)

It was a white out that night and we got free t-shirts! Susan and Darrell Ebke got us into the game and we had front row seats. The kids thought that was pretty cool. Samantha was excited to tell Susan about losing a tooth because she works with teeth (Dental Hygienist).

The action moves fast in college volleyball and Sam and Alden payed close attention. Natalie is the one with her leg wrapped in the middle of the picture.

Alden was just being Alden between the second and third set.

Here is Susan Ebke and the kids (with Alden looking)

And the next picture with Sam looking. They were a little distracted by all the people wondering around the court after the game. The MAVS played good, but fell to South Dakota State as UNO is making the jump to D1.

St. John's Fall Festival

2011-10-18T10:44:00.004-05:00

Alden's school held their fall festival on September 24th. They have a bounce house and games for the kids to play.

Alden made it through one time, but the next time he got stuck, so he crawled out the side because we weren't paying attention!

Our friend Lindsey Gross-Rhode made this out of gutters! The kids had fun making their own "pirate ship" out of styrofoam, tinfoil, sticks, paper and stickers!

MOPS Henry Doorly Zoo Play Date

2011-10-18T09:57:00.006-05:00

My MOPS group had a playdate at the Henry Doorly Zoo on September 19th.

Alden, JD, & Clair played on the Lions while we waited for the other moms to arrive!

JD, Alden, & Clair had a great time together!

Alaina has the cutes smile!

And Ashleigh (and Alaina!) are always so stylish!

We had 9 moms & 1 dad and LOTS of kids come to the playdate! Christie's husband Mike was very brave hanging out with all of us women! (Mike took the picture for us!)

Jayger, Alden, Grant, and Mikenna liked to run ahead of all of us! They had so much energy!

We hit the gorillas and then walked over the Petting Zoo. Grant & Mikenna liked the goats.

The kids always find this ball so much fun! They got very soaked this time!

JD & Alden are only a few weeks apart in age and are getting to be pretty good friends!

Alden keeps getting taller and taller and taller....

We had a fun day with our friends, but it was challenging keeping up with all the kids and making sure we didn't lose one or two! My kids slept the whole way home!

Richardson County Fair

2011-10-14T13:08:00.003-05:00

On September 16th, I took Clair & Alden down to the Richardson County Fair in Humboldt (where I grew up). We met my mom, Aunt Karen, & Aunt Lisa before the parade at 11:00am. The kids were impressed with all the tractors, fire trucks, and bands that were in the parade! (It was much larger than the kiddie parade that the kids walked in Plattsmouth the previous Friday.) It was very chilly and wet, so we all had to bundle up!

After the parade (which the kids got ALOT of candy at), we went and rode rides! Alden rode on the cars and the train, while Clair chose the Carousel!

Alden didn't want to quit riding rides, but we persuaded him to walk up to the Band Parent's Stand to have lunch. My cousin Kayla met us there, as she was back from college in Kearney. I had my standard fair lunch: Chicken Noodle Soup & Raisin Creme Pie!

We walked around and played a few rounds of Picking Up Ducks because it was easy and the prizes seemed the best for the money!

We rode the shuttle down to the AG building to see the exhibits. The kids thought it was fun, and I thought it was so cold! We sat and watched the "free act" in the park and the kids actually did very well with that! Their cousins - Emily & Drew Moyer- joined them in the park and shared their cotton candy with Clair & Alden. I got a carmel apple to go and we got to see our friend Subby Anzaldo (his Entertainment agency provides the acts that we see at the fair).

Then it was time to go! We were all tuckered out! The kids were asleep before we got out of town, and I wished I could sleep too!

My Princesses

2011-10-14T12:45:00.002-05:00

Clair & Samantha got dressed up in their princess dresses because we made a video of them singing for a contest! They were so cute! Clair loved being BELLE and Samantha has always loved ARIEL!

Sunday School Kick Off!

2011-10-13T13:17:00.002-05:00

I am in charge of our Sunday School once again this year! We had our Sunday School kick-off party on September 11th. We had 19 kids in Sunday School (which is great compared to our average of 7 kids each Sunday last year). We also have some new teachers which I am thoroughly thankful for!! We have A LOT of 3 year olds! If all our 3 year olds come to Sunday School at the same time we could have 11 of them! This is awesome for the future of our church!

Each year, I take pictures of the Sunday School kids and put them up on a bulletin board in the hallway! Its fun to see how they each grow up over the summer!

One of the bulletin boards reads: "GOD'S LOVE IS SO BRIGHT, I GOTTA WEAR SHADES!" Each kid has sunglasses on in their pictures! (I stole this idea from a past Sunday School leader/teacher at our church!)

The kids sang at the 10:45am church service. I didn't get to watch because I was running around like a chicken...

Jessica, Ian, Samantha, & Kaia would not cooperate for a picture! I love Ian's face...I can hear him say "What are these girls doing to me?"

I needed some help hauling some tables/chairs, so I called my dad! Even at my age (which I will not say what exactly that is!), a girl still needs her daddy! :) He was a lot of help! He hauled me around to run errands in town and then stayed and ate with our group and played with the kids! Thanks Dad!

Soccer Sam

2011-10-13T12:52:00.004-05:00

Another Soccer season is upon us!

Sam is a tiger once again and has two teammates back from last year.

Not sure why they teach kids to throw in with their feet crossed.

Will and Emily are back on her team and they added Jennie Gunter. They have been rolling over teams(not that we are keeping score) It is funny you can ask Samantha after the game how many goals she had and she will say "3" or "4" when she really had lots more. I guess if we were keeping score she might have a better idea. For now she is enjoying being the oldest in the age group and laughing a lot as she goes.

Clair Wants To Dance

2011-10-03T14:57:00.003-05:00

While Sam was practicing for the harvest festival talent show Clair wanted to join in. She got a lot of moves down, but as soon as we got the camera out she was shy. Just 2 more years and she can go to dance all on her own.

Plattsmouth Harvest Festival - Tooth Fairy

2011-10-03T11:22:00.006-05:00

On September 9th, the Plattsmouth Harvest Festival started with a bang! Samantha didn't have school (and she was disappointed), so we dressed up the kids to walk in the parade. They got a 1st Place Ribbon!

Clair was Dr. Doug's Tooth Fairy (Samantha wore this same outfit when she was almost 2 years old). Alden was a Cavity Creep (Doug was a Cavity Creep when he was little too!). Samantha was the Brilliant Brusher! Doug wore his McKnight Family Dental shirt and he pulled Clair down the parade route.

Clair didn't like being strapped into the wagon!

Grandma Nancy came to help us! We are very thankful that she did because the kids were a handful!

This is the best picture we got of all 3 kids looking at us! :)

The kids did a great job of waving to the crowd!

After the parade, Samantha performed her dance from last year on stage with her dance class.

She did so good! She hit every move on the right beat! :)

Check out that vertical!! It's already better than mine (Michelle's).

After she was done dancing, we went to the Riverhouse Cafe for ice cream and pie with our friends Christie, Jayger & Mikenna Haag; Katie, Kyle, Ian, & Megan Graves, Grandma Nancy, Grandma & Grandpa McKnight, and Auntie Debra showed up later.

Then, Grandma Nancy bought ride tickets so that the kids could go on one ride each. Samantha and Alden went on the trucks.

Clair chose to go on the Merry Go Round with Grandma Nancy!

Photo Time for Clair (2 year old pictures) and Alden (4 year old pictures)

2011-10-03T10:24:00.004-05:00

On Labor Day, we met our favorite photographer - Samantha Lupo- for Clair & Alden's birthday pictures. She has been taking pictures for us since Alden was a newborn! We went to Elmwood Park near UNO's campus and it was beautiful! (Surprisingly we had never had pictures taken there before!) These are just a few of the ones of what we had taken! Clair was so sweet and wanted (NEEDED) to hold Samantha Lupo's hand, which was great because the last few photo sessions, Clair doesn't even smile for her!

Day of Labor!

2011-09-30T16:00:00.002-05:00

On Labor Day Weekend, we said goodbye to summer with a party at Doug's parent's house. Our friends Mike & Christie Haag and Kyle & Katie Graves came along with their kids. It was a chilly day, but the kids still had to get in the water (even if they were shivering). They spent more time playing games on "land"!

Ian tries to climb onto the bean bag toss game!

Lots of games of "tag" going on!

The girls played ball alot!

Alden & Jayger had to show us their muscles.

The boys were the last ones to leave the water...but as it got later in the day, it got even chillier!

Go Big Red!

2011-09-29T13:48:00.002-05:00

All of the kids facial expressions are hilarious! Click on the picture above to make it larger! :)

Alden sported his new Husker jersey...he is now a Rex Burkhead fan! But, then again, who isn't?

So innocent!

The 1st Husker game of the season was September 3rd against Tennessee-Chatanooga. The kids got all "Huskered" up! Our babysitters, Laura & Anna Glynn, watched the kids while Doug & I went to the game!

Lunch Box!

2011-09-29T12:29:00.003-05:00

Sam got to take her lunch to school for the first time with her new lunch box on the September 2nd. Hamburgers were on the menu and we made her try them the 1st day of school, but we decided it was okay to take her lunch the next time! She's been doing a great job of trying school foods, and rarely takes her lunch!

Disney World without Kids

2011-09-08T13:45:00.034-05:00

Well Disney world without kids is a wonderful thing. We went to the world to celebrate my 30th birthday and our 9th anniversary. It depended on what mood we were in as to which we wanted to claim. Bright and early on the 26th we headed to the airport, after dumping the kids of at Doug's parents the night before!

We flew Southwest Airlines from OMA to MCO with a short stop at STL.

Flying without kids is magical!

Here's a great picture of me on the Magical express.

Doug on the Magical Express.

This was the first time we have used Disney's free transportation from the airport to the resorts, it is called Magical Express. In Doug's words "Its magical if you think standing in line is magical!" There is a crazy maze of lines you weave through before you get to your bus. We were there at one of the slow times of year, and I could not imagine it at a peak time of year. We have always rented a car, and it is much faster to get your car and get to the hotel with a rental car! Next time, we will rent a car!

We stayed at the Beach Club Resort. It was great. We wanted to stay there for its location and pool, both were as advertised. I did some research on www.room77.com and requested an odd numbered room, on an upper floor, close to Epcot. They met all our requests and we had a great view, too!

This is a standard view room, because it is obstructed from seeing the water or pool clearly. But because of my research, we had a view! If we had an even numbered room, which most standard views are even numbered, we would have been looking at parking lots.

It was a nice room and an odd shape because it was a corner unit. We had a stairwell right out our door so it was like our own private entrance in and out of the building. We never heard any noise from the stairs because most people think 3 flights of stairs is nuts, so they walk 200 feet to and from an elevator.

This is the view of our vanity/sink area. It is separate from the toilet and shower area.

We also had 2 windows!

View straight off the balcony. You can see the Board Walk Inn across Crescent Lake.

View to the right on the balcony. The Yacht Club Resort is in the distance and the pool is in between.

View out the window looking toward the pool and the rest of the Beach Club. We were almost all the way to the far end of the hotel-closest to Epcot, like we requested.

A view of our room from the ground we have the little balcony on the 3rd floor.

This is the view from the beach straight out from our room. A tree is blocking the full view from our window. You can see the rest of the Board Walk, and The Swan and Dolphin Hotels in the distance.

It was late lunch time by now and having a buffet dinner planned we did not want too much to eat as we had a few snacks on the plane. We headed into Epcot to check out an OMGS and a crepe. This is the drink that Samantha Brown of the Travel Channel calls her favorite drink in the world. It was tasty and so was the strawberry crepe that I had and Doug agreed about his chocolate crepe. It took us 7 min from our room to get to the drink cart in France.

We then started strolling around Epcot's World show case. We caught some of the street performers and music acts along the way.

Checked some history of animation in the Japan pavilion. There was also Hello Kitty here as it originated in Japan.

This is a spot near Italy that we always take a picture of! (I refused to pretend to hold up Spaceship Earth (the big ball in the background.)

This guy was working way to hard to get a shot of both of them, he obviously didn't know that Photo Pass Photographers are nearby.

I would not allow Doug to pretend to hold it up either, so he was slightly more embarrassing.

Still embarrassing the me.

After Doug was done monkeying around we asked the Photo Pass Photographer nearby to take our picture.

Random, scary things from China. Doug had nightmares from these things.

We finally went on a ride. It said 10 min but it was more like 5. This was also our first chance to report a wait time on our LINES application on our phones.

After the ride, I was feeling very Norwegian and posed the same way I did on our honeymoon. Some day I'm sure Doug will do a side by side picture post for you.

Another Japan picture.

This was in the shop at the start of the World Showcase. Doug randomly tried on some hats. Not sure he can pull this one off.

So we then darted through future world to the monorails and hopped a ride to the Magic Kingdom. Those of you that have read our blogs about other Disney trips, know we are " park hoppers" (even with 3 kids in tow), so no surprise we hopped alot without them.

We asked the kids if there was anything that we had to do for them while at Disney World. Alden demanded we ride Dumbo for him. We're not real sure how much he enjoyed the pictures of us riding for him.

A view of the Little Mermaid attraction under construction for the new Fantasyland Expansion.

A view of Beast's Castle and Belle's Village.

Picture from the "hub" in Magic Kingdom.

In December (when we were there with the kids) Mickey and Minnie still had their houses, but they were evicted for the new constrution that you just saw in the photos above. Now they are found on Main Street USA (right inside the park entrance). They made it look like you go backstage to meet Mickey after his magic show. It was neat, but we still prefer Mickey's old house.

We got a ride in on Buzz Lightyear Star Commander, with our first Fast Pass of the trip. Doug scored 425,100. I'm not sure he had ever broken 100,00 before. He did a little research in between trips and found some good targets.

From the Magic Kingdom, we went to the bus stop for our first experience using the Disney bus system. We have been told we are crazy for renting a car and leaving the "Disney bubble" and that the buses were great and kids think they are fun. Well, by fun you mean waiting 20 min for a bus and then getting on with a bunch of sweaty, smelly people in the Florida heat, then that's great for you. We learned very quickly (or slowly) that we would much rather walk to the far end of a Disney parking lot to our car than wait for a bus. Anyway we went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat at Boma for dinner.

We took in the Savanna before dinner. Those are hotel rooms in the background. We have heard we were lucky to see so many animals that day.

So, Boma is an African buffet. Doug was looking forward to trying some different foods. We dined on bubuty, fufu, and watermelon rinde salad. Let's just say we tried it. It is a good thing we do not live in Africa! They gave us a special dessert plate for our anniversary. Once again we tried it.

Michelle got a cupcake for her birthday at Boma, too. Not really sure why she need a cupcake when there was a whole buffet full of desserts. Doug basicly ate just desserts, he was limited from lots of things on the buffet as Africa thinks it needs Mangos in just about every thing.

Meanwhile, back home, Samantha's teacher emailed us this picture of her playing at school.

After Boma, we went back over to the Magic Kingdom for evening extra magic hours (EMH). This year they started a pre show to the fireworks that uses pictures from that day and lights up the castle. It was much neater then we expected but you definitely have to be right up front for any hope of seeing if you are in one of the pictures.

More of the lights on the castle, it completely transformed it.

We then checked out one of our new favorites at the MK - the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. It is funny and you don't need to have kids to enjoy this one. Doug's goal next time is to be "that guy." We then toured the Disney mountain range-Splash, Thunder, and Space Mountain. We also saw the Scary Adventures of Snow White (because it will be gone soon due to the Fantasyland Expansion project). Then we walked to the Jungle Cruise, because every trip requires a look at the back side of water. Doug ate a Dole Whip some where in there and we closed down the MK by stopping in the Main Street Bakery to have a cinnamon roll.

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Day 2

The day began early, considering we got back to our room around 2:30am. Hollywood Studios had Morning EMH and we wanted to be up front for rope drop and the dash to Toy Story Midway Mania. Doug was annoyed by the "expert" behind him giving bad advice and some how bummping him yet no one moved for ten min. So, what else would Doug do but take a picture. You can see from the picture, that it is important to be at the gate at least 30 min before it opens, because you can't even see where the crowd ends. We heard people talk about how crazy it is to wait 20 min to get a fastpass to TSM. Well the easier plan is to be one of the first ones to get one. Much simpler. This picture of grumpiness also inspired Doug to SMILE when in the background of everyone else's pictures.

We grabbed our Fast Passes and then jumped in line. We waited about 10 minutes to ride. Then headed over to Star Tours 2. It's was amazing. I needed all the scenes explained to me, once Doug could walk again. Then we walked across the park to Rockin' Roller Coster. After RRC, Doug stood in front of the Fast Pass machines for TSM for the exact second he could get our next one. Then we rode again. Doug was the high score every trip.

Meet some Cars next. We wanted to meet Phineas and Ferb, but the line was crazy. We will have to fight that battle when we are there with the kids. Then it was back to the Fast Pass Machines to watch the clock and get our 3rd Fast Pass for the day for TSM.

I posed on the steets of America.

Mike!

Left overs from lunch at the ABC Commissary. The disney dinning plan is nuts! Who needs desert with every meal? Yes, Doug ate dessert first, but we didn't need it because we couldn't finish all of our food! It wasn't time to ride TSM yet so we headed back to the Beach Club to go swimming, but it rained for about 2 hours so we napped instead. We needed a break, as we had gotten up so early on each of the last few days! It was a vacation after all, so I gave Doug a break.

A picture of the pool- Stormalong Bay. It is massive - sand bottom, lazy river, and the longest slide on Disney property (outside of the water parks).

The rain cleared up and we headed to France for our dinner reservation (ADR).

We had a reservation at Le Chefs de France. It was delicious.

Doug had the Canard a l'orange (that's duck for those non-french speakers). I had a 3 course meal with Soupe a l'oignon gratinee ("french" onion soup), Gratin de Macaroni (mac and cheese) and Gauteau au chocola (chocolate mousse cake) I overly enjoyed it all! Doug had Creme brulee for deseert.

My chocolate mousse cake!

We were also greeted by the chef...well an anamatronic one. He responed when you asked him questions. It was very weird and life like. Best part of the picture is the guy in the back ground having a way too good of time reading the menu. This was our best table service meal of the trip!

We took the boat from Epcot back to Hollywood Studios (HS). We had heard that the boats are slow, but that might be an understatement! We were not in a hurry so we thought we would try it and rest our feet. We had walked from the Beach Club to HS in the morning and back again after lunch. It is about a mile and takes around 20 -25min depending on your pace, which is how long the boat takes if you are lucky and time it right.

Ride numbers 3 and 4 on TSM were fun, but I became better so I hit more targets, which left Doug with less targets to aim for! :) He has no clue how people get those best scores of the day! After another round on Star Tours with completely different ride scenes, and the same result of Doug getting sick, we went to Fantasmic! This was our first time to see Fantasmic! We missed it on our honeymoon, and did not want to fight the crowds with the kids. Afterwards we walked back to the boardwalk and both realized that we weren't all that impressed with it. We had built it up, then it kind of let us down. Oh well...I guess we are hard to immpress.

We backed at the boardwalk and we checked out Jelly Roll's- a piano bar.

Somehow we stayed until last call, then wondered out into the night. We had a blast!

The walked around the boardwalk to the Beach Club. The picture is of the Beach Club with Spaceship Earth in the background. (You might need to click on it to make it large to really see it.)

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Day 3

We started the day with rope drop at Epcot. Once again we got to enjoy our 5 min walk to the gate. We were about 3rd in line at the gate and got right up to the rope. We went to Sorin' and then Test track. I rode Mission Space Green to see if it was something Sam and Alden could do on our next trip, and because the "Orange" side I did last trip left me feeling queasy. This time it wasn't queasy at all, so I think I will do Orange next time, but maybe take Samantha on Green. There are no pictures of epcot this day because the Photographer (Doug) had one too many drinks the night before! After dashing through Future World we debated what to do, so we went to the Beach Club bus stop for Downtown Disney. (My favorite place in the whole WORLD). We waited for 25 min for the bus then it stopped at 3 more hotels, and then drove the most backwards route possible to Downtown Disney. Once again we really wished we had rented a car. By the time we got there, it was lunch time, so we ate at Wolfgang Puck Express. We both got a pizza and it was great! Definitely a good place to eat! We then headed for the shops. This was Doug's favorite shirt he saw, but I would not let him get it because I belived it to be true.

Meanwhile back home, the kids were having fun with the grandparents. Ballon animals came from a trip to Downtown Omaha with Grandma Sandy.

Really... who buys this stuff?

He is Mad. And a little creepy!

Doug was overly excited to check out the newly remodled Lego store. They expaned it and added many new displays! Alden will have a great time here next October when we plan to return again with kids!

The detail of these is crazy.

After shopping with me, you will litterly drop. Or maybe it was the midday Florida heat and waiting for another bus. We went back and headed to the pool. It was really fun! We went down the slide many times. Then another storm came by and lighting made them clear the pool.

Here I am on our balcony.

Back home the kids were pedaling around and Grandma Nancy came by to play.

That night we wondered back into Epcot to a "Liner's Meet." We met a group of other crazy Disney people that we know from using our LINES app. We met at La Cava del Tequila. It was a good time and met people from all over the country, and even Canada.

We got the Margarita Flight. The waiter seemed annoyed that he had to substiue one for a mango. He tried to tell us that you can only get the 5 that come with it, but aventuly he substituted one so Doug did not have to get out his Epi pen. They were strong! Michelle drank all but the pineapple one. She realized she is a fan of the plain old lime one! There is a reason it is a classic. We had dinner at La Hacienda De San Angel that night during Illuminations. The plan was to be able to watch from our seat, but we could hardly see anything. You have to be really close to the windows to enjoy it. There are even rooms with no windows, so we won't be doing that again. The food was not all that great either. Afterward, we headed back to the hotel, but along the way Doug called the pay phones in England until someone answered and then asked them random questions... this might be one of our new favorite things to do at Disney World.

The next morning Samantha was ready for school. Thanks to Jon and Lindsey Gross-Rhode for taking her to school Friday and Monday and to the Josh and Alison Moyer for picking her up from school those days.

-----------------------------------

Day 4

On the last day of our trip, we walked over to Hollywood Studios for another rope drop... determined to be first in line for TSM. We took a few pictures of the Beach Club on our way. You can see Spaceship Earth looming over our hotel.

A picture of Jelly Roll's from the path we walked down..

Yep we were first to our turn style and we even brought breakfast!

I just relaxed as we waited for them to open the gates.

Once we got into the park, we were right on the rope. Then we waited for it to drop and we were off! But they stopped us half way and said Toy Story Mania was broken, but they were working to get it going again. So we then stood outside the ride at the front of a "non-line" for an hour before we need to head to the Magic Kingdom for lunch and meet some prinncesses. They let us get Fast Passes, so we gave them to a friend we had made in all that waiting. He was also a LINES app user and I had actually chatted with him before online about Disney! So we headed to the bus stop to go to the TTC. I don't belive I have ever waited this long for a bus in my life. Still not sure why people love the bus system at Disney World, but my time is worth more the the cost of a rental car.

We wondered around the MK and we took this picture of Dumbo from the balcony of Pinocchio Village Haus. It is a neat view of Fantasyland from up there. Maybe someday, we will try to cary food for a family of five up there.

We posed in front of "rella's" castle as Clair calls Cinderella. We really went to MK to eat at Pecos Bills to enjoy a burger and their "fixin's bar."

I then met with the princesses to sign postcards for the girls back home.

Belle made Doug get in the picture! :)

I need a nap at this point.

Donald signed a postcard to Alden.

Michelle mailed them from the Magic Kingdom. The lady is wondering why michelle is putting mail in a prop, but its real! She didn't believe us...but they arrived back home about a week later!

Shot of the train station as we left MK to head back to Epcot.

The Halloween decorations were showing up as our trip ended. I was jealous because that was my favorite trip so far - October 2008! We will return in October 2012 with the kids!

This is what I looked like much of the trip. Reporting wait times on LINES or chating on LINES. I also did lots of facebooking and texting. We also managed to talk to each other via texts so that other people didn't know that we were talking about them!

Crazy crowds on the monorail - not so much!

We wondered through Epcot on our way back to the Beach Club to clean up for the trip home.

Waiting for the Un-Magical Express. I will say that their luggage service is great! You are able to check your bags and get boarding passes at the hotel. They also take your bags from the airport to your room, but it takes 3 -5 hours for your bags to find their way.

We had a great trip! We would like to thank, Grandma Sandy and "Pop Pop" for keeping the kids and entertaining them the whole time. And thanks to my mom - Grandma Nancy for coming down to help Sandy out! They had a great time and didn't even care that we were at Disney World without them.

Zoo Trip with Grandma Nancy, Uncle Chris, & Melissa

2011-09-08T12:51:00.005-05:00

On August 24th, Alden, Clair, & I went to the zoo with Grandma Nancy, Uncle Chris, & Melissa. We dropped Samantha off at school and met them all at the zoo!

We started off at the Lied Jungle! The animals were very active that morning!

This monkey kept talking us and Clair and Alden tried to figure out what he was saying!

Alden liked the waterfall in the Jungle.

Next up was the giraffes! Alden loves to sit on this giraffe statue. He was too cool to take his sunglasses all the way off on this trip!

Clair is almost big enough to hold onto the giraffe by herself, but I had to make sure she didn't fall.
We visited the Aquarium next and as always, the kids love the penguins.

Clair & Alden really enjoyed having Chris & Melissa with us. They showed them all their favorite things to do at the zoo. Alden wanted to show them the sharks!

We took a break for lunch and ate at the Omaha Steaks Grill. It was delicious and Doug was very jealous because he has always wanted to eat there!

Since Samantha wasn't with us (she doesn't like petting animals), we walked over to the petting zoo. Clair loved the goats! Clair & Melissa were inseparable. It was too cute!

On the way back to the entrance of the zoo, we walked through the gorillas. Clair wanted to get up close and personal with them, but no gorillas came over to the window to see her.

Getting taller! Alden wanted to make sure he is still growing...he want to ride some larger rides at Disney World when we take the kids in October 2012...he just wants to know his options! :)

After the gorillas, we parted ways with Chris & Melissa and took my mom back to her apartment. We had to pick up Samantha from school at 3:15 and din't want to chance being late!

Alden's 1st Day of Preschool!

2011-08-23T18:33:00.006-05:00

Alden started preschool today, August 23rd, and St. John the Baptist Catholic School!

He was so excited that he got up at 5:30 this morning!! (At first I wasn't sure if he was excited or nervous and that's why he woke up!) He will go to Preschool for 2 years at St. John's (just like Samantha did) and then he will go to Kindergarten at Plattsmouth Elementary School.

The traditional 1st day of school picture in front of the garage!

The girls got in on the picture too!

Samantha took this picture of Alden & I! I think it turned out pretty good!

Alden standing in front of HIS school!

The girls once again needed in the picture!

He was very proud that he was a preschooler now!!

Standing in the hallway just outside of his classroom! (Click here to see Samantha's 1st day of preschool - we took a lot of the same pictures!)

He got all of his supplies out of his book bag to give to Miss Nancy. He LOVES his new STAR WARS book bag.

He found his name on an orange star that had his birthday on it all by himself! After this his friend Mikena started playing with him and I gave him hug and so did the girls. There were no tears when we left!!

Clair, Samantha, & I rushed out to the car to get Samantha to her school on time! We parked at Memorial park again and walked along the trail.

Samantha walked very fast today! She was excited to see her new friends!

When Clair & I got back to the van after dropped Samantha off at her classroom, I suddenly felt a huge void! I currently had only 1 child to look after on Tuesdays/Thursdays from 8:10-10:30! Clair didn't quite know what was going on, but she didn't cry like Alden did when we dropped Samantha off at preschool for the 1st time.

My friend Christie and I planned to spend the morning at the local bakery in town to keep ourselves distracted! It worked! Clair entertained us and we had great conversation. The hours passed quickly and soon we were back up at the school waiting for Alden and Mikena to be released from school!

When the kids came out the door - all the girls ran to their moms, but Alden just walked and gave me a grin! Miss Nancy told me that he only had 1 meltdown while at preschool. One other little boy cried most of the morning, and Alden finally decided to let it bother him too. He told his teacher that he missed me, but she quickly distracted him and everything was fine!

Alden and his friend Mikena after their 1st day of preschool!

Alden said he had fun! His favorite part was recess where he got to play with the Kindergarteners, especially his friends Jayger & Grant!

Samantha's 1st Day of Kindergarten!

2011-08-22T19:26:00.004-05:00

Samantha started Kindergarten today, August 22nd at Plattsmouth Elementary School! Her teacher Mrs. Morrison was awesome! It will be a fun year!

Every year we take a picture in front of the garage before the kids go to school. (Click here to see Samantha at her 1st year of Preschool in 2009.) (Click here to see Samantha in her 2nd year of preschool in 2010.)

I decided to make a sign that said KINDERGARTEN that she could hold in her picture. (I saw this on another mom's blog and thought it was really neat!) I will change the sign to say 1ST GRADE next year and Samantha has already decided she wants the sign to purple and her 2ND GRADE sign to be yellow! I hope I can remember that far into the future! Alden has decided he wants a green one for his 1st day of Kindergarten!

Daddy & Samantha before daddy left for work.

Samantha & Mommy before leaving for school!

All 3 kids with their book bags on! They were all so excited!

We parked at Memorial Park and walked along the path to get to the school.

Samantha balancing on one foot, she always has to strike a pose!

Samantha & Mommy in front of the school waiting for the bell to ring!

Anna O & Samantha went to preschool together!

Putting her book bag away!

Samantha & Ali were in dance together last year and now they are in the same Kindergarten class, and even at the same table in the room!

Starting to color her 1st picture as a Kindergartener!

One last picture of Mommy & Samantha, before I completely lost it and had to leave! It's a big change for our household to have 1 child in school full time now! I'm sure we'll adjust eventually, but right now it's really hard for me! Alden and Clair were so excited to see Samantha when we picked her up from School!

Samantha told us all about her day and she still had more to say at bedtime! She only had applesauce for lunch and chocolate milk, so she was very hungry for an after school snack! They had hamburgers, baked beans, and applesauce for lunch and she doesn't like hamburgers or baked beans! We asked her to try everything, but she didn't have to eat it all. She told us she couldn't get the hamburger unwrapped, so she didn't try it! (We're not sure what that means!) We wanted her to experience school lunch the 1st day so that everything was new to all the kids! We are not mean parents, I just wanted her to figure things out on this 1st day of school! The next 2 weeks of lunch are things that she will like, so this shouldn't be a problem again.

She was happy to play with her old friends at recess and she was excited that her friend Kaia was in her Art Specials Class today!

Preschool Welcome Picnic

2011-08-21T23:09:00.002-05:00

Tonight we went to Alden's preschool welcome picnic! It's hard for me to imagine that 2 of my babies will be in school this year! Alden will be in preschool on Tuesdays and Thursday from 8-10:30am. He is a very shy child around people that he doesn't know, so I've been worried about how he'll do at preschool!

Tonight I learned that there are only 6 kids (total) in his morning preschool class! Of those 6 kids, he know 4 of the them! Only one kid will be a new face, which means he can really be himself!

He did very good at the dinner and then we went to his classroom and looked around. We found his name in the hallway and his birthday star on the wall of the classroom! We went outside to check out the playground! I think he'll be just fine without me there to hold his hand! It brings tears to my eyes, yet joy in my heart all at the same time! We'll update you on his first day - August 23rd!

He got to wear a name tag and seemed so serious tonight! This baby of mine is growing up!

Samantha showed him around the classroom! (It has been her classroom for the last 2 years! It's hard to imagine she'll be at a different school tomorrow morning!)

SURPRISE!!

2011-08-21T21:32:00.006-05:00

Doug threw me a surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday night! I had told him that I wanted to get some friends together to celebrate...however that's how I left it. I just assumed that Doug didn't follow up on that request. My friend Christie took me to get a pedicure that afternoon and she was supposed to drop me off at my in-laws house because we were going to celebrate with Doug's family that night. I thought Christie & I were going to do a little shopping before heading home, but her husband had texted her and told her that he needed to sleep a little before working the night shit that night. (Or so I thought!!) So, we headed home. Well, boy was I in for a surprise! As we drove up to the house I saw black and pink balloons and when I walked in the door, everyone yelled surprise! It was a great surprise! Christie had been helping Doug the whole time! Doug had been texting her, and not Mike! It was too funny! I didn't peg her as the "lying" type, but now I'll have to watch out now! :) ( Just kidding Christie!)

It was a great evening and all the kids played well together! The kids played in the water for about 3-4 hours and they never got tired of it!

Fun in the water!

Teather Ball!

Alden, Samantha, Evan, Jayger, & Grant take a break from swimming!

Jayger & Alden just chilled!

Looking over the neighbor's fence! So cute!

Clair & Tyler played Teather Ball together!

Such a cute picture! They were waiting for us to say "okay you can go back into the water now"

Samantha, Grant, Drew, Alden, & Jayger

Everyone sang happy birthday so nicely! :)

My awesome cake and the Mickey Mouse candle that Christie brought!

My friend Kathy and her son Tyler! Check out those curls! :)

Megan and Clair enjoyed the "little" picnic table!

You could said that Clair enjoyed the cake! :)

Thank you to Doug for throwing me the party! Thanks to Christie for helping him fool me! Thanks to Sandy & Jim for making all the food and letting us use your house! Thanks to Jodi for helping Sandy with the food! And thank you to all my friends for helping me celebrate!

Jayger's 5th Birthday Party

2011-08-21T17:18:00.006-05:00

We were invited to Jayger's 5th birthday party at the indoor playground at Mahoney State Park on Friday, August 19th. The kids were so excited - especially when they saw how big the playground was!! He had a monster truck party!

Jayger - the birthday boy was all smiles!

Christie made the cake! There are toy trucks on it and it was so cute!! He had 2 cousins with birthdays close to his, so they celebrated with him!

Mikena was very excited her brother was celebrating a birthday!

Samantha had a blast!

Alden loved his Big Wheeled Cup!

Clair continued to eat after everyone had already left the table to go play! She could eat forever if we let her!

She was a BIG mess!

Jayger opened Samantha & Alden's present - LEGOS!

Alden & Jayger go exploring together!

Clair loved the ball pit!

She liked to jump and then fall into them!

Rock Wall Simulator! The kids got their own try at this! This is Jayger's cousin Jamison who is only 6 years old! She was VERY good at it!

Mikena joined Clair in the ball pit!

The kids had so much fun and they slept very good that night! Thank you to Christie & Mike for inviting us!

One Last Spray Park Visit

2011-08-21T17:13:00.003-05:00

On the last official day of summer (for us), August 19th, we took one last trip to the spray park! It wasn't busy because most of the kids in the neighborhood were already back in school. The kids had fun and it was a great day for being near the water! It was a great end to summer!

Meet The Teacher

2011-08-21T17:03:00.003-05:00

We met Samantha's Kindergarten teach - Mrs. Morrison - on Wednesday, August 17th. We loaded all of her school supplies into her bookbag and it was heavy!

Mrs. Morrison explained procedures to us and then "quized" Samantha on basic information: Colors, Numbers, Letters, Writing her name, Saying her address, etc. Samantha did great!

Samantha with her book bag on in front of the playground and Plattsmouth water tower.

Doug & Samantha in front of her new school!

Samantha & I also needed our picture in front of the school! Samantha is so excited for school to start! I may shed some tears tomorrow (August 22nd), but I know she's super excited so that helps me out!

Flat Tire!!!

2011-08-21T15:13:00.002-05:00

Doug attempted another Doodlebug trip last Sunday, but a flat tire cut their bike ride short!

Clair was not pleased to have to go back to the car so soon! She was quite comfortable in her seat!

Playground Fun!

2011-08-21T15:03:00.004-05:00

Precious Clair didn't like the sand in her Crocs!!

Doug pushed Samantha & Alden on the swings. They were 2 giggly kids!

Clair got in on the giggling from across the playground.

Handsome Alden!

Beautiful Samantha!

On August 13th, we had to run some errands in Omaha and found this cute little park behind Walmart on 72nd & Giles in Papillion. The kids had fun running off some energy!

Our Favorite Summer Activity: Going to the Spray Park

2011-08-21T08:08:00.001-05:00

We went to the spray park once again on August 12th! We picked up my mom on the way there! My kids LOVE it when Grandma Nancy goes with us places! Our friends Christie & Mike Haag, Jayger & Mikena and Jennifer Teeter, McKenzie, Riley, & Makaya all met us there too! It was a fun day with friends!

Alden & Jayger are best buds!!

Clair actually got wet on her own this time!

Makaya Teeter & Clair are 2 months apart! They actually played nice together!

Samantha & Mikena had fun getting Christie wet...even though she didn't have a swimsuit on! Christie was a good sport though!

Great Friends: Jayger, Mikena, Samantha, & Alden!

From L to R: McKenzie, Mikena, Samantha, Riley, Alden, & Jayger (Makaya & Clair chose to eat their cookie on the other side of the picnic table!)

My mom got cookies for everyone! Before we headed home, we all enjoyed an Eileen's Cookie! Thanks Mom!

Henry Doorly Zoo & Omaha Children's Museum

2011-08-20T07:36:00.008-05:00

August 10th was the last free Wednesday that Samantha & Doug would both be home, so we decided to make it an exciting day!

First, we got up early and wet to the Henry Doorly Zoo!

We stopped at the aquarium first! Alden & Samantha got to see if they have grown over the summer! (Click here to see our last "penguin" post!) (Click here to see our first penguin picture of Samantha and a penguin post from before Alden was born of Samantha!)

Striking a pose!

So tall!

We were the only people in the aquarium for 15 minutes! It was fun!

This is Clair's "attempt" at standing still to get a picture!

They looked through the "bubble" in the glass!

We had a great view of the Loggerhead Turtle in the shark tank.

Daddy & the kids!

We walked to the top of the hill to see the new Indian Rhinos. This is what they were doing when we got there...sitting in the mud. They didn't move one inch for us!

We were all the way at the back of the park and Alden started to whine about walking and all we had was the umbrella stroller, so Doug decided it was time for him to take Alden & Samantha on the Skyfari!

Off they go! They had a blast! Meanwhile...Clair & I had to walk to the front of the park...lucky us!

On our way out, we stopped for a quick picture!

Next, we ate lunch at Fazoli's and headed to the Children's Museum for the afternoon!

The kids checked out the Ice Age exhibit upstairs first!

The kids had fun uncovering fossils!

Clair barbequed me some steak...and watermelon!

The kids enjoyed the Richmond Gordman slides once again! This is Clair's favorite!

Peek-a-boo!

All squeezed in the Hippo!

Alden enjoyed climbing on the Hippo!

Before we left, we had to stop by the Ball Room! Our friends Christie, Mike, Jayger, & Mikena met us there before we left!

We had a few more errands to run, so we had a nice supper at Cheeseburger in Paradise and headed home!

MOPS Playdate @ Copper Dollar Cove

2011-08-20T07:28:00.003-05:00

On August 8th, we had our final MOPS playdate of the summer at Copper Dollar Cove at Jim & Sandy's house. It was a beach party and we had LOTS of kids and moms come! It was a great turnout! About 12 moms and over 20 kids were there and they all had a blast! I didn't take many pictures because I was busy watching for kids going to deep, but here's what I did take...

Ian had fun in the sand!

Clair was busy as usual. She made many trips for water while she was building a sand sculpture.

Samantha & Alessandra built a large sand castle together! (This was taken before they had started!)

Beautiful Samantha!

Christie stayed after it was over to help me clean up, and when were done with playing/clean up it was already 12:30pm (we started at 10:00), so obviously no one wanted to leave because it was so much fun! Thanks to Jim & Sandy for letting us use your beach again this year!

Clair's 1st Trip in the Doodlebug!

2011-08-20T07:13:00.003-05:00

Clair was not as lucky as Samantha & Alden were when they were 6 months old! They got to ride in the Doodlebug (bike trailer) when they were babies. Clair had to wait until this year for her inaugaral trip! Doug took Clair for a bike ride while I was at church with Samantha and Alden working on cleaning our Sunday School rooms.

Clair loved her new Bike Helmet! She put it on at the house and didn't want to take it off before she got in her car seat!

All buckled in and ready to ride! Doug said that she talked to and squealed at puppies on the bike trail! She left her helmet on the whole time they were riding and she never feel asleep!

They stopped for a quick break at Aksarben village. There was a farmer's market going on there, so they walked around a little bit (Doug wished he would have had some cash with him so he could get a peach or some beef jerky, but he only had credit cards with him!) and then went to the water area.

View of the playground and movie theatre from the water area at Stinson Park.

Clair didn't want to get wet. She stood this far away and just stared at the water. Maybe she knew she's not supposed to get wet without a swimsuit on! After this, she did not want to get back into the doodlebug! But, eventually she did! Overall, she had a great time with daddy and the doodlebug!

Alden & Clair's Zoo Trip With Daddy!

2011-08-19T08:54:00.004-05:00

Doug took Alden & Clair to the zoo on August 6th while I took Samantha to see the Smurf Movie.

Alden & Clair were in good spirits at the beginning of the trip!

Doug's plan was to go to the Petting Zoo, but they got there 6 minutes after it closed! The kids did remarkably well for not getting to go in, because they were excited to pet some animals.

From the petting zoo, they walked to the Bears.

Alden saw someone who was not supposed to be feeding the bears (not a zoo employee) and called them naughty! He even knows the animals have special diets!

They they walked to the Cat Complex. Alden is a big fan of the tigers!

It was a very hot day, and Alden insisted on pushing Clair around the zoo!

Look at him go! So strong! (Keep in mind that Clair is about 30 lbs...she almost weighs as much as Alden!)

Lunch with friends in Nebraska City

2011-08-19T08:29:00.004-05:00

We went to Nebraska City on August 5th to have lunch with my friend Mandy Bowen and her kids Lily and Bradyn. We ate lunch at McDonalds and then the kids got to run around the mall while we shopped!

Mandy brought some quarters for the kids to ride the rides!

They enjoyed the rides! And didn't like it when we were done!

Lily & Samantha really enjoyed playing together!

Then we had to stop by my dad's cabinet shop to see his new display! The kids had fun trying out all the cabinets, drawers, and the new shower!

Clair & Alden played Hide 'n Seek...not such a great plan hiding in a clear shower! :)

When we said it was time to go, they all got in the shower and wouldn't let us open it!

One Last Lunch with Mandy, Caden, Cody, & Greyson

2011-08-18T15:43:00.003-05:00

On August 1st, we said goodbye for the last time to the Misers! They moved to Japan on August 2nd! We met at Runza in Bellevue because Caden had never eaten at Runza before and I promised him earlier in the year I would take him before he left for Japan! We also had Marcus over for a playdate, so he came along too!

Friends forever! Caden told him mom that Samantha is still his girlfriend eventhough he is in Japan. Kids say the cutest things...

The only tears were from Mandy & I at the end of lunch...but we promised we would keep in touch through facebook! And by snail mail, as I just mailed her a set of pictures today of the kids to her new address in Japan...I figured she would need something from "home."

Great-Grandma Farmer's House

2011-08-18T15:39:00.004-05:00

We went to Pawnee City the last weekend in July to visit my Grandma "Farmer" and Aunt Karen. We also got to see my Mom, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Donna and her sons Matthew & Jacob, and my Great-Uncle Johnny and Great-Aunt Mary while we were in Pawnee City.

The kids had fun in this rocking chair.

Clair loved her new dolly "TINY" from Grandma Nancy.

I think they were trying to see who could get "ejected" from this chair first! Luckily, no one did!

Unmasking Fashion @ First United Methodist Church - Clothes by Cold Water Creek & Old Navy

2011-08-18T15:10:00.005-05:00

The 1st annual UNMASKING FASHION show at the First United Methodist Church was held on July 30th. Coldwater Creek supplied the women's clothing and Old Navy supplied the children's clothes.

I did all the fliers, tickets, postcards, and programs for the show.

The tables were set up nicely!

Doug's mom made all the food for the event!

Before the kids put on their clothes from Old Navy...

...and after!

Samantha & Alden looked adorable in their Old Navy outfits!

Samantha and her friend Kaia

All dressed up and ready to go model!

My friends and fellow Sunday School teachers - Heather & Kristi

Me and my babies!

This was my first outfit and my first trip out on the floor. I found myself looking down a lot because there were chairs everywhere and instead of tripping, I insisted on looking at the ground as I walked.

Samantha walked pretty fast and was pretty shy, but she did great!

Alden's friend JD walking around with him. They were so cute!

MOPS Playdate @ Katie's House

2011-08-18T10:50:00.005-05:00

On July 28th, my friend Katie hosted a MOPS playdate at her house. There was LOTS of water involved and my kids had a blast! Thanks for hosting Katie!

Clair has started doing this "frown" face...it's kind of cute!

There was a little swimming pool, water table, spray bottles, sprinkles, and even water balloons! Perfect for a hot morning!

Samantha had fun with her friends!

This is actually the photo I used for photo contest on facebook from my photographer - Samantha Lupo! If you have facebook, please log on and vote for Clair!

Alden, Clair, & Jessica Meisinger have fun in the little swimming pool.

British Soccer Camp

2011-08-18T10:07:00.007-05:00

Alden & Samantha went to the British Soccer Camp again this summer! This was Alden's 1st year and he did AWESOME! :) It was very hot during camp and Alden was the youngest kid at camp!

On the 1st day of camp!

First meeting with Coach Tom!

They played lots of fun games! They tucked the "pennies" into their shorts and when someone grabbed the "penny" they were out of the game.

LOTS of water was consumed this week!

And more water!

Alden & Samantha having fun together!

Lining up to play Austin Powers...their favorite game!

On the last day, the kids painted their faces to support their team - ENGLAND.

Drew & Emily Moyer also did the soccer camp with them this year. They were all team ENGLAND.

Alden was very proud of his soccer skills!

The "littlest" kids with Coach Tom.

This was the whole camp! It had a very low attendance this year! I wish more kids would go to this camp! They got a soccer ball, tshirt, and soccer jersey! Its such a good experience for any kid wanting to play soccer!

After the camp was over, they had a water fight! The coach lined up cones that the kids couldn't go past and they just had to shoot their water guns at the coach!

Alison dumped the water bucket on the coach and the coach picked up Samantha and ran around with her!

Next was Alden! He wasn't quite sure about it, but I thought it was fun! The coach was very good at his job! The kids loved him!

The little sisters could only watch their older siblings play soccer! They did so well all week long! They are excited for their turn in a few years!

Storm Chaser Game

2011-08-17T19:20:00.011-05:00

On July 24th, Doug and his dad took Samantha & Alden to a Storm Chaser game to see my cousin Bryan throw out the first pitch. This was Bryan's kick off party for his Make-A-Wish trip to Orlando!

The kids with Papa McKnight.

The kids wore their Royals gear proudly even though they are no longer the Omaha Royals.

From Right field looking at Left Field.

Their seats were right behind home plate. Doug said that the popcorn was the worst he's ever had....just so you know for future reference!

Bryan's pitch!

My family had a cheer section for Bryan!

My mom was there to cheer Bryan on. Samantha was happy to see Grandma Nancy.

Giraffe Class for Sam

2011-08-17T19:05:00.006-05:00

On a nice cool July 23rd afternoon Doug took Samantha to the Giraffe class at the Henry Doorly Zoo.

Samantha - looking at the Okapi.

Okapi - This is the closest relative to a giraffe. It has the same head and tongue as a giraffe, but the same butt as a zebra.

The zoo keeper talked to the kids about the giraffes and the kids got to get up close and personal with the giraffes.

Samantha was the only kid that did her entire craft on her own, the other kids had helicopter parents that drove Doug nuts.

Samantha was very proud of her craft! She had the most colorful giraffe of the day!

Spray Park

2011-08-17T18:26:00.003-05:00

We went to the spray park in Papillion in July with my mom and my friend Christie and her two kids: Jayger & Mikena. The kids had a blast with their friends. Clair had a lot of fun with Grandma Nancy because she was even willing to get wet!

Cat Class with Alden

2011-08-17T15:42:00.004-05:00

Doug took Alden to a Cat Class at the Henry Doorly Zoo. Alden was in the class with 3 other little girls. Alden really thought he was going to get to pet a Tiger because he got to pet a Penguin at the previous class that he went to. He got to pet a tiger, but it was just the fur. The snow leopard was the softest and Alden's favorite to touch.

After class they watched the Sea Lions get fed. Alden was disappointed that the Sea Lions didn't solve a mystery like they did at the SeaWorld!

They sat in the Tree Top restaurant for a quick break before hiking back to the car in the heart! They got a nice treat: Alden got an ice cream cone and Doug got a frozen lemonade. They watched through the windows of the Lied Jungle while they finished their treats.

Les Mills Launch (BodyCombat)

2011-08-17T15:31:00.003-05:00

We launched the new music for Body Combat on Friday July 15th! Holly & I launched it all ourselves. It was a lot of fun! The theme we went with was skulls and crossbones.

We had a good turnout!

These were all the instructors there on Saturday! I taught the new Body Combat all by myself.

The next morning, Saturday July 16th, Beckie & Geri launched RPM & Body Pump.

On Monday, July 18th, Beckie & I co-taught the new Body Combat. Fellow Body Combat instructor -Sarah Aschenbrenner also came to take the class! These are some our regular Monday Body Combat participants (we were lacking in numbers this day).

SonSurf Beach Bash Vacation Bible School

2011-08-17T14:42:00.013-05:00

I was in charge of Vacation Bible School again this year for the Plattsmouth First United Methodist Church. Our theme was SonSurf Beach Bash and was so much fun! We averaged about 60 kids a night! We had music, games, Bible stories, snacks, and crafts each night of VBS. It was a huge success!

We started making decorations and props about a month before VBS and we started decorating the hallways and rooms on the Friday before VBS. It look lots of time to set everything up - THANK YOU to all who helped me!

Christie Haag helped me tremendously with VBS preparations!

Picture of our beach props we used for VBS.

Crafts and supplies ready to go! I had to watch 60 white towels to get ready for tie dying on the 2nd night of VBS. The UMW provided us with money to purchase the towels!

Laura & Anna Glynn helped in the weeks before VBS!

Kristi, Donna, Heather & Kasey helped with setting up the hallways and rooms in the days before VBS started.

Bible Stories Room! Set up to look like we were telling stories around the campfire.

We decorated the hallways with waves and fish!

The stage was set up for our nightly skit and for class pictures!

Registration Table

This was the craft room - all set up for kids!

Another view of the craft room!

The kids played games inside the first couple nights because the heat index was over 100*!

Snacks!

We tie died towels as Mariah helped to tie die Betsy & Maggie's towels because they weren't there this night! They turned out very neat!

Kelby tie dying her towel!

Emma had a good time too!

Green Turtles - Kasey Barr led this group each night!

Blue Sharks - Christie Haag led this group each night

Donna Glynn led the Bible Stories Sunday-Wednesday. We set the room up like a campfire!

Becky Aughenbaugh and Kristi Shotkoski led the crafts each night.

Heather helped JD with his picture frame.

Alden & Caden hard at work!

Kaia, Emily, Samantha, & Stella wait patiently to put sand on their picture frame.

Samantha's Class - Yellow Seashorses - Katie Graves led this group!

Red Crabs - Heather Meisinger led this group!

Snacks! Big D's Dinner! Sharon Smith, Margaret Ann & Jerry Blackwell, & Tina Harvey helped with snacks each night. Doug's mom - Sandy McKnight-made all the snacks for the kids to eat!

Waiting for the next activity! Everyone stood so quietly!

Kyle Graves led the games each night. Andy Rishel, Kiley Wheatley, & Max Hjermstad helped each night!

Doug, Kyle Graves, Laura Glynn, & Anna Glynn did a skit each night of VBS to teach the kids about what we were going to learn about.

Crafts! The kids decorated a beach pail and then we put all their crafts inside the beach

More fun during games!

Caden, Alden, Jayger, & Mikena were all in the same group! Christie had a handful each night!

Pastor Laura led Bible stories on the last night of VBS.

4th of July

2011-08-17T14:34:00.002-05:00

We went back to the beach for the 4th of July! The kids wore Red/Blue lifejackets in honor of the 4th of July!

Jody, Great-Grandma Lila, & Great-Grandpa Lila played games with the kids.

The Third of July!

2011-08-16T12:37:00.009-05:00

We celebrated a little early this year for the 4th of July! We invited our friends out to Doug's parent's house for a little Fun in the Sun on July 3rd. Our friends Christie & Mike Haag, Katie & Klye Graves, and Lindsey Gross-Rhode came along with all their kids!

Samantha & Alden tested out their new goggles that daddy got them.

Jayger went down the big slide!

Grant followed Jayger...but Samantha wanted no part of it!

Clair loves to float on her back!

Mikena & Alden monkeying around.

Crazy eyes!

Clair is still working on that sharing thing...

Samantha & Megan had fun at supper!

Jayger, Mikena, Samantha & Alden watched from above as the adults finished eating.

Jayger & Alden chased each other with water balloons!

Jayger's dad, Mike, was in charge of filling all the water balloons up!

He was a popular man!

Jayger, Mikena, Christie, & Mike stayed late and watched fireworks around the lake with us! Check out their patriotic outfits! Lots of red, white, & blue! :)

Clair has a Popsicle

2011-08-16T12:32:00.003-05:00

Clair enjoyed her 1st popsicle in June after we got back from Texas!

SeaWorld Day 3 and Flying HOME!

2011-08-16T12:05:00.008-05:00

On our final day in Texas, we went to SeaWorld in the morning for one last visit.

The SeaWorld welcome sign! It's ALMOST visible from the road! Definitely nothing like Disney World! (Once again...we've been spoiled with our many visits to Disney World!)

Walking up to the entrance.

Once last group shot of all 3 kids at the entrance.

Clair got to ride Abby Cadabby's Rockin' Wave this time! She loved it!

It is one crazy ride!

Clair just giggled and giggled with Samantha & Alden the whole time!

We walked over to feed the Sea Lions!

We always wondered what the difference was between Sea Lions & Seals! Well...now we know!

We bought some fish to feed them and they barked at us when they wanted more!

For some reason, Alden & Samantha decided to get along while we did that! I don't care why, I'll take it when I can get it!

Samantha feeding the sea lions.

Sunbathing!

We tried to get another picture, but Clair had had enough!

Samantha & Alden wanted to ride Journey to Atlantis one more time before we left the park. It opened at 11:00, so we had to run over there with the masses - almost like a rope drop at Disney World, but SeaWorld actually lets you RUN!

Clair was entertained by dropping her water cup and then leaning over to get it.

The big drop! We are in the 2nd row back on the right side of the picture.

Our big splash!!

We met Doug & Clair at Elmo's 4D movie after that.

Alden loves the 4D movies!

Clair actually left her glasses on the whole time!

Samantha was the only one cooperating as we left the park, so I wanted a picture of this jumping Shamu with her!

This is a big advertisement of the Shamu show we saw the 1st day we went to SeaWorld - One Ocean.

After leaving the park, we went back to the hotel to check out and then made one last trip to Chick-fil-A! Clair enjoyed her COW hat! She says MOOOOO way too well!

Next, we headed to return the rental van and then took a bus to the airport.

The kids actually behaved very well at the airport. We were there over 3 hours waiting for our flight. They had lots of room to run around and play!

Our plane finally arrived! We took off 30 minutes late!

Our flight home was not as fun as our flight to Texas. We were supposed to have a stop in Dallas, TX, but not have to get of the plane. However, there was something wrong with the plane, so we had to sprint all the way across the Dallas airport to our new gate and of course the kids had to go to the bathroom, so we had to quickly make a stop for that. The other plane waited on us and we actually got to board 1st!

We landed in Kansas City over an hour late and then had to wait for our suitcases and our shuttle. It was a long drive back on little highways (due to the flooded I-29 again), but we arrived back in Plattsmouth at about 3am! Doug had to work the next morning, but he did get to sleep in until 7:30, because his first patient wasn't until 8:30am that day! Lucky him!

SeaWorld Day 2 - Lost Lagoon, Bay of Play, Clyde & Seamore Show

2011-08-15T16:01:00.012-05:00

On our 2nd day at SeaWorld, we went to Lost Lagoon Water Park! The water park is actually located inside SeaWorld, so we entered SeaWorld just like the day before.

All 3 kids had swimsuits on and were ready to swim!

Waiting in line to get into the park. Clair & Alden kept pestering each other! It really got on our nerves!

The water park didn't open until 11am (1 hour after SeaWorld opened), so we went to Elmo's Bay of Play and rode some rides. I took the kids on Shamu's Express Rollercoaster. Clair & Doug walked around while we rode.

I took Samantha & Alden on Abby Cadabby's Rockin' Wave while Doug & Clair watched again.

Samantha & Alden loved it!

Big Bird's Spinning Reef was a hit for Alden, Samantha, Clair, & Doug! But...not me! For some reason this little kiddie ride freaked me out! I went on it with Clair and she rocked the "boat" a little too much for me! Alden, Samantha, & Doug had fun in their "boat" though!

Samantha liked the view from the top!

Clair was actually sitting still in this picture! I can't seem to remember this moment!

While Samantha & Alden went on Elmo's Dolphin Dive, Clair & I sat down and waited for the next Sesame Street show to start.

Elmo's Dolphin Dive!

When the clock struck 11:00am - we were off to the water park because we were already HOT! We first went to the Little Gator's Lagoon. The kids loved it here!

Samantha liked this Shamu slide, eventhough I think she was a little big for this area!

Clair loved this turtle. She thought it was her turtle because anytime another child came near her she would scream NO at them! Classic Clair...

Doug cooled off too!

She learned how to jump off the turtle too!

She refused to move from the top of the Shamu Slide and kids got mad at her!

After the Little Gator's Lagoon, we ate lunch before the crowds hit! Shamu had a dance show while we ate. If you ask me...Shamu looks funny in Hawaiian atire!

There were also other characters you could get your picture taken with. These characters all danced too!

After lunch, we walked to the activity pool where there were more activities for the kids to do.

The kids enjoyed these spraying teeter totters!

Clair loved it when she got sprayed.

We decided we had had enough of the water park, so we ventured back over to Elmo's Bay of Play area to play at the Splash Pad for a while.

We needed a mid-afternoon snack, so we grabbed a Shamu Ice Cream Bar (which melted before the kids even got it in their mouth!) and sat in the shade for awhile as the temperature climbed to over 100*.

Next up was the Vibrations water ski show. The kids loved the tricks these guys did! They were very talented!

After the show...all 3 kids looking my direction! Crazy!

We went down to the front to meet some of the performers!

We decided to stay for one more show! The Seamore & Clyde Show was hilarious!

The walrus was quite the hit with the kids!

We ate at Chick-fil-A for supper after we left SeaWorld! The kids had fun in the indoor play area and Doug & I got to relax a little bit! We LOVE Chick-fil-A and would love for one to be in Nebraska (other than in the Mutual of Omaha for Employees only!).

The kids read books to each other before bed.

We had to check out the next morning, so everything needed to be packed before we went to bed. It was a tight fit!!