More time in Nebraska

One more post on our time in Nebraska.  We had a great time hanging out with Roger's parents.  It was fun talking, playing games and being outside.  The time went quickly and it was hard to say good-bye.  

Everyone loved riding on this.  We even had one trying to plan on how we could have one at  home.  Not sure where we would ride it though.  

We visited Ashfall Fossil Beds while we were there.  Interesting thing is that we met a student from  NC State who had a summer job there.  Small world, huh?

I remember coming here many years ago when Christopher and Rebecca were small.  They had bones buried that the children uncovered using brushes.  There were charts above so that you could identify the bones.

This is part of the current dig site.  They have found many fossils of animals here.  It is fascinating to learn about what they have uncovered and to see the work in progress.

I just thought this was a beautiful view on the site.

Inside the museum/gift shop area.  Three generations.  :-)

Out on the farm was a great place to play air soft.

Group shot.

Sweet sisters.

I've wanted a photo like this for years.  The bugs flying all around made it too challenging though.  I will have to try another time.  Still think this one is fun though.

We got up early in the morning to leave the farm.  We headed out for one of our longest driving days.  More on that tomorrow as we head to Illinois.

Blessings

Leslie

To the Farm

Our next step of the trip was heading north to the farm where Roger grew up to visit his parents.  We arrived and the kids were eager to explore the farm.  The two youngest had never been here before.  Even though it was hot, we spent time playing lots of things outside.

 Checking out a piece of farm equipment.

 Isaiah with his Grandaddy.

 Just two cuties.

 Up in the barn.  Hot and ... smelly.

 But what a lot of neat things were there!

 Oh was this a hit with everyone!

 Notice anything unusual about this bike?

 The girls like making faces and taking pictures of each other.  Sometimes funny.

 Sometimes nice.  (Eliana took this one and did a great job!  She loves taking photos!)

Going for a fun ride.

 

Going fishing with the guys.

 Riding through the fields.

So many fun things to experience.  It was wonderful spending time with Roger's parents.  The days went too quickly though.  The kids are already talking about our next trip.  Hopefully it won't be too much longer.  I know there aren't a lot of words here, but there are a lot of pictures which hopefully speak to our wonderful time!  

More photos tomorrow of our time with grandparents.

Blessings

Leslie

On to Omaha

It was a longer drive than we anticipated.  We had to reroute to go around flooded areas.  We found out the day after we arrived that someone had come up the roads we had planned to take.  It took them 6 hours to make a 3 hour drive.  (This was just a portion of our drive.)

We drove most of the day and stopped to have a nice dinner at Olive Garden.  I was ready for a salad by this point in the trip.  It was yummy.  We arrived late at Roger's sisters house.  It was so good to see them!

We were up the next morning and headed out to the Henry Doorly Zoo.  It is a fabulous zoo!!!  And the first time that Eliana has ever been to a zoo!  Hard to believe with all the field trips we have been on, but zoo had not yet made the list.  Even though it was hot, there were plenty of indoor spaces to cool off.  We had a wonderful time.

We rented a stroller for Eliana so she didn't have to do so much walking and so we didn't have to do so much carrying either!  Below she is trying on a hat for sale.

 Isaiah helping to point things out to her.

 Maybe this meercat.

 Or this antelope of some kind I don't remember.

 Have I mentioned that Eliana likes to take pictures.  One of the problems at times is the angle at which she is taking photos.  They can often end up like this.

 Her sweet big brother gets down to her level - well, closer to it - and its a much better photo.

 She did great with this one.  It really helps when people are sitting down.

 There was a super large fan there with a hose/mister attached to it.  It was so nice!  We could use one of these at home.  Eliana and the others loved it!

 The goats in the petting zoo were fun as long as they didn't approach her or try to look at her in the face.

 She was very interested in trying to feed one of them.  (This is food put out by the zoo for them.)

 We took a train ride around the zoo.

Watching the monkeys is always fun.  

 Eliana hanging out with her Aunt Karen.

 Loved the close-up view we got of the giraffe.

 Its hard to see, but this is a  penguin.  I really like watching these cute little guys!

 Cousins hanging out.

We had a great day and a wonderful visit.  Karen was so sweet to make gluten-free foods for Eliana.  Their hospitality was wonderful.  I am just sorry that our visit was much too short!!!

Missing one cousin in this picture who is in California for the summer.  We missed you Christianne!  

We were also blessed to visit with some other relatives while here, though unfortunately, I didn't get pictures.  :-(

Fun visit.  Much too short.  We need to plan a return trip.  :-)  Know we'd always love to have you here too!

Love
Leslie