Doug's Triathlon

Doug finished his 2nd Triathlon last weekend. Doug & I drove to Norfolk on Friday evening and spent the night, and he did the Norfolk Triathlon on Saturday morning. It was horrible weather for a race! It was 45 degrees and rainy and wind of 20+ mph! Thank goodness the swimming was inside! He did awesome! It was a 500m swim, 10 mile bike ride, and 2.5 mile run. Next up: Plattsmouth Triathlon on August 1st.

(In the pool: he's the one with the orange swim cap).

Sam - Soccer Camp

Sam went to her 1st sports camp last week in Nebraska City. It was a British Soccer Camp - where the coaches are actually from England! Samantha was the only girl in her age group - there were 3 other boys under 5 years old. She had a hard time the 1st day and was pretty shy at first, but then by the end of the hour long practice- she was talking "Coach Luke's" ear off! :) The camp was an hour each day (Monday-Friday). Tuesday was very chilling, Wednesday rained, Thursday was fairly nice, and Friday was HOT! Her friend Drew Moyer went to the camp too and his little sister Emily (2 1/2 years) kicked the ball around with Samantha on Friday -she's going to be a tough cookie next year when she is 3 and she can go to the camp too! Samantha learned a lot about Soccer and loved to put her foot up on the ball to stop it and listen for the next drill. She also loved to day dream and payed more attention to the older kids group. She got really good at dribbling the ball. In fact, Nebraska City Grandma told her to "kick it hard" and Samantha said "no grandma - I'm supposed to dribble!" On Friday, the parents got to participate and since Doug had to work, I had to do the drills with them. It was fun to play with her and learn things that we could do at home together! But, the last thing we did was a scrimmage with the kids and it was HOT and I was tired from all the running. Samantha scored 2 goals!! She can't wait to go back next year.

Memorial Day Beach Fun

After a quick zoo trip on Memorial Day morning, we headed out to Grandma & Grandpa McKnight's house for a beach party. The water was VERY VERY cold, so no swimming for us, but the kids dipped their toes in and waded in up to their knees. Auntie Debra's friends Janelle and Robin came with her, so they played with the kids for hours! The kids had so much fun. Auntie Debra tried to build a sand castle with the kids, but it just didn't work too well - maybe next time! :)

Memorial Day Zoo Trip

Doug, Samantha, Alden & I went to the zoo for Memorial Day morning. We got there as the gates were opening and stayed for a few hours, until it got too busy for us. :) We saw the Giraffes, Zebras, Elephants, Monkeys, Gorillas, Rhinos, Lions & Tigers, Orangutans, Penguins, Fish, and had a little popcorn for a snack. The kids had fun!

Memorial Day with the Richardsons

I spent the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend with my dad and the kids driving to Verdon, NE to decorate my great-grandma & grandpa Cook, great-uncle Keith, & and great-uncle Walter's grave. Then we drove to Nemaha, NE where my Grandma Pearl & Grandpa Ward Merritt, Great-Grandma & grandpa Merritt, Great-uncle & aunt Owen & Goldie, & great-aunt Leona are burried. We usually do this on Saturday with my mom & brother & Doug, but because we had a wedding on Saturday, I went early with my dad.

We spent Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend with my side of the family in Summerfield, KS - where my grandpa Keith, great-grandma & grandpa Ehmen, & great-uncle & aunt Joy & Erma are burried, and in Pawnee City at my grandma "Farmer's" house. It was a good day to be around so much family. We all met in Summerfield, Kansas at 11:00am to decorate the graves, and then we drove to Pawnee City for lunch. After lunch, I took the kids up to the Pawnee County Courthouse to see all the flags. They thought it was pretty neat! I have a couple relatives -my great-great Uncle Clair and Great-uncle Bud who both died in WWII - with names under the flags, so it's always been special to us. After that we went to the Pawnee City Cemetary and decorated the grave of a my Great-Great Uncle Claire.

Memorial Day Cookie Time with Grandma McKnight

When we told Samantha that there was a holiday coming up and the colors were red, white, & blue, she immediately said "I need to make cookies with Grandma McKnight and put red, white & blue sprinkles on them!!" So, Doug called his mom and told her that Samantha needed to make cookies. She made some cookie dough and Samantha helped her on Sunday evening. They made "Grandma Barta" Sugar cookies, which involves rolling the dough into a ball, then rolling that ball in sugar and then smashing them on a cookie sheet and then adding the sprinkles. Alden was quite jealous that he couldn't help, so we had to keep him entertained the whole time. :( But, he did get in on the "cleaning" at the end because you can imagine that all the sugar and sprinkles makes for a BIG mess! :)

Curtis & Holly's Wedding

Doug's cousin Curtis McKnight married Holly on Saturday, May 24th. It was a beautiful ceremony- at St. John's Catholic Church on Creighton University's Campus. The kids were great during the wedding, but got very awnery as the night went on. They enjoyed blowing bubbles while Holly & Curtis walked out of the church. The reception/dance were at the Durham Heritage Museum in Omaha. Alden ended up throwing up all over the play while he was eating his green beans for supper - luckily - no one noticed but Doug, Doug's dad and myself, as we frantically cleaned it up. (He throws up alot - but then again - he is Doug's kid!) When the dance started, the kids settled down a little bit and danced with everyone around. There was a polka band and a DJ, so that kept things interesting. Alden enjoyed listening to the tuba player - who was set up about 10 feet from us! The kids really started to get tired at about 8:30 - their normal bedtime - but we pushed them until almost 10:00 - then it was time to leave!