Memorial Day with Nebraska City Papa & Uncle Chris

On Friday, May 28th, we went to Nebraska City and met my dad and brother to decorate graves for Memorial Day. First we had McDonald's for lunch - OF COURSE! :) Then, we went to Verdon, NE - where my Great Uncle Walter Herster is burried, as well as my Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa Cook and Great-Uncle Jack; Nemaha, NE - where my Grandma Pearl and Grandpa Ward Merritt are buried, as well as my Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa Merritt, Great-Uncle Owen & his wife Goldie, and Great-Aunt Leonna and her kids; and finally we went to Brownville, NE - where my Great-Great Grandfather who fought in the Civil War is burried, as well as our friend Dick Osborne. After the cemetery in Brownville, we drove to the church where my Grandpa Ward Merritt preached. The ladies of the church let us go in and show the kids around the church. They got to sit in his chair and see where my dad was baptized at. The kids enjoyed hearing stories about the graves that we decorated. This has always been a tradition for my family of decorated our loved one's graves, and I hope my kids will continue on with that tradition. After we were done in Brownville at the church, we drove back to Nebraska City for an early supper at Valentino's before heading back to Plattsmouth.

Morrill Hall and UNL Campus

After Samantha's last soccer game, we drove to Lincoln to Morrill Hall. The kids loved it the first time with Doug and BEGGED to go back. Since it is free because Doug is faculty at UNL, we decided to make an afternoon of it. :) Clair & I even went in with them this time. We saw the WHOLE museum this time and they kids were still fascinated with it. After the museum, we walked around UNL's Campus and saw the Football statue outside of Memorial Stadium. About 6 months ago, both Alden & Samantha were afraid of the statue, but this time they thought it was pretty cool to get see it. Then we walked toward the union and saw the fountain and the alphabet sculpture and a few others. We met Uncle Chris for an early supper at Applebees before heading home.

Samantha's Final Soccer Game

Samantha's final soccer game for the spring was last weekend - May 22nd. At the end of the game they gave all the players medals and Samantha acted as if she had won the World Cup Championship! It was so cute! She showed EVERYONE her medal the rest of the morning. She finished the season with 2 goals! She really improved over the season and I got to see her score a goal the last game! We are looking forward to soccer camp this summer and the fall soccer season. :)

Clair Loves To Swing!!

We finally got Clair a baby swing, so now she can have fun with the kids outdoors. We had to "temporarily" disconnect the Trapeze - much to Samantha's dismay! :) Clair loves just hanging there and watching the kids play around her. Samantha & Alden took turns pushing her, but we have to watch closely because if Clair is pushed too hard/fast, she will hit her head on the slide.

Preschool Field Trip to the Zoo

Samantha's preschool class had a field trip to the Zoo on May 14th. There wasn't much "staying together" with the class, it was kind of a "go where ever you want - you're on your own" kind of trip. We met up with Alison and Drew Moyer and toured the zoo together. We took Alden with us and he had a blast, but we left Clair at home with Doug's mom and I'm sure she had more fun with Grandma than being in a stroller all day! :) We met early outside the gates and snapped a few pictures with Samantha's preschool classmates, and then we never saw them again the whole day! :) Drew, Samantha, and Alden held hands most of the day and we thought one of them would surely fall down and skin a knee from being connected all day, however, it was Samantha who skinned her knee not once but twice that day! And neither time was from running while holding each other's hands. :) We saw the Giraffes, Zebras, Sea Lions, Gorillas, Lions, Tigers, Bears, Aquarium, and Jungle!! The new Madagascar exhibit was open, and we were able to walk through it. Although, I think the kids were a little disappointed to only see Lemurs, Lemurs, and more Lemurs....and no big animals like on the movie Madagascar. The exhibit was very educational and I even learned a few things about Madagascar! :) I think we were all amazed at how much ground we covered! After the Gorillas, we stopped at the picnic tables to grab a snack and see Samantha & Drew's teachers - Miss Janet & Miss Nancy. This counted as our lunch because they had so many left over snacks from the school year! After our snacks, we went to the Jungle by Drew's request. Samantha and Alden went across the rope bridge with Alison and Drew - which was a first for them! At about 2:00, we decided we were all done and needed to head to the car. Samantha slept the whole way home, which is very odd because she doesn't take naps, but Alden didn't take a nap at all that day. I guess he was just too excited to sleep! :)

Samantha's Preschool Picnic & Last Day Of 3 Year Old Preschool

Last Tuesday, Samantha had her last day of Preschool for this year. Next year she will be in the 4 & 5 year old class! Where has the time gone? She had 7 kids in her class this year, next year she will have a lot more. All of her friends except one from this year's class will be in next year's class. We also had a picnic on the last day of school, however the weather was too bad to be outside for it, so we stayed in the gym. Alden & Clair went with me and they both enjoyed running around and watching the other kids.

No Cavities!!

This was almost a month ago, but we took the pictures on Doug's office camera, so this post is a little late! :) We all had dentist appoints the week of Doug's birthday, and we all came out with NO CAVITIES! Alden, Samantha, Clair, & I!!