Omaha Zoo

The Omaha Zoo.  This trip has been about 8 months in planning.  It all started at Christmas when Paul surprised us and Michelle's family with tickets.  Then it was decided that we would all go together.  Thus began the "scuffle" to find a date that worked with 13 schedules AND a date that wouldn't be busy at the zoo.  We finally settled on August 7 & 8, a Tuesday night and Wednesday.  We found a hotel close to the zoo, with our Farm Bureau discount and it had three rooms available for our family.  Tuesday night started out with some of us having supper at a DeKalb open house.  Then we were on the road with Paul.  We made one stop for fuel on the other side of Des Moines and noticed we had a tire going bad.  Back on the interstate, it wasn't long before we heard the noise of a tire about to fall apart.  We were able to exit and pull under an overpass to change the tire.  It is nearly 9pm and there is a huge lightening storm going on.  We arrived at the hotel by 11pm.  It was straight to bed for everyone.  

Breakfast was at the hotel and we had one of the first spots at the zoo parking lot at 9am!  

We started out in the Desert Dome.  

The children were thrilled with all things animals.  Even if they were something they would see on the farm!

Ephraim, Eden, Eliza, Emmet, John & Mark

There was a booth where you could pet starfish!

The penguins always put on a good show!

Just some colorful fish!

The shark tank was a favorite with all the children!

And the people exhibit wasn't too bad either!  Haha.  Here we are watching the penguins get fed--which turned out to be a bit non-exciting.  They were hand-fed and didn't have to do any diving for their meal.

A penguin right by the boys.

Eliza with an octopus on the left and a sea urchin behind her.

Eden just wanting her picture taken.

We brought our own lunch in and so we took a break by this giraffe.

The giraffes are always neat to watch.

Ask Eden what her favorite part of the zoo was.  "Uncle Paul!"

A look at the map--it's a big zoo.  Lots of land for little legs to cover.

The weather got warm, upper 90's and they had these water misters everywhere.  Even the adults enjoyed the relief.

"How do I look?"

John, Eden, Paul, Ephraim, Seth, Eliza, Mark & Emmet.  

Going over the rope bridge in the Jungle.

Admiring the pretty birds.

The children were thrilled with all the spider and snake exhibits, too.  Here is a photo of the grandchildren with Grandpa & Grandma.

After a quick trip through the gift shop, it was time to head home.  We left by 3:30 and made a stop in Des Moines at The Iowa Machine Shed for supper.  It was August 8, my birthday.  We enjoyed a delicious meal and free cherry pie.

Can't believe I'm 36! 

 (Paul thinks we look like brother/sister in this photo!)

It was a blessed trip to the zoo with our family.  So glad that Paul got us those tickets so we could experience it.  Thank you!

Fishin' on a Sunday

On Sunday, August 5, we set off to do a little fishing.  We had "purchased" a few new fishing poles for the children and they were eager to use them.    We used our Bass Pro Gift Cards so they didn't cost us anything.  

The evening was finally a bit cooler, in the 80's and not 100 degrees.  We thought it might be better fish-catchin' weather.

". . . Live in peace with each other." 1 Thessalonians 5:22

"He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has set eternity in the hearts of men . . ." Ecclesiastes 3:11

"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy."  Psalm 126:2

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Psalm 84:11

" . . . future generations will be told about the Lord." Psalm 22:30

"Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will mediate on your wonders." Psalm 119:27

"For great is your love toward me . . . " Psalm 86:13

"He who walks with the wise grows wise . . . " Proverbs 13:20

"How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!"  Psalm 47:2

"A patient man has great understanding . . ." Proverbs 14:29

"'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.'" Matthew 4:19

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and light for my path."  Psalm 119:105

P.S.  We didn't catch one fish.  The jury is still out as to whether or not there are even fish in the pond.  :s

Tomatoes and Pasta Sauce

Tomatoes are getting ripe and that means it is time to process them.  Last Saturday we made four batches of pasta sauce.  I used the Mrs. Wages mix and froze all my sauce.  The girls were a big help in slicing the tomatoes and putting them in the stockpot.

We slice the tomatoes and heat them in the stock pot until they are soft.  Then I put them in the blender, skins and all.  Just a couple pulses in the blender and they are ready.  I add the Mrs. Wages mix and bring it to a boil.  Simmer for 20 minutes and it is ready to package.  

It was a great way for the girls to work on their slicing skills--using a butter knife.  It worked well and they had a real sense of accomplishment and pride in being able to help.  You're never to young to learn homemaking skills.  

Our finished products:  four quarts of tomato juice and 12 quarts of pasta sauce.  Yummy!

Vacation: one last photo

Somehow, amidst the uploading of over 100 vacation photos, I missed one.  And I actually noticed that I had missed it because it was a cute one.  

It was our last night at the resort, Tuesday night.  The children had three beds from which to pick for sleeping.  Two sofa sleepers and the king-sized bed.  The night before, Ephraim and Eden shared a bed and Eliza and Emmet shared a bed.  But this night was different.  

They all wanted to sleep together.  In one bed.  They really do love each other and like the company of one another.  I think it helps that they share a bedroom and are quite used to sleeping next to each other.  Sure, they have their squabbles.  Sure, they enjoy their alone time.  But I'll take this togetherness and cherish it.  All in all, they get along very well and are each other's closest friends.  

 It was kind of sweet.  I know they were exhausted because they were asleep within minutes.  (Even with Eden snoring.)  

Precious children of mine.

Day 5: On the Road & Bass Pro

Wednesday morning it was time to say good-bye to our resort.  We were loaded up and ready to leave by 8am.  

On our way out, we posed for a picture by the big fish.

There were several of these types of crossings throughout the resort.  For us, it was hilarious because we have one of these at Seth's parents' farm.  And we call it a Missouri crossing.  And here we were, in Missouri at a classy resort and they had three or four of them!

Since we were so close to Arkansas, we had to drive there just to say we did.  We only went about one mile into Arkansas, but it still counts as a state visited.  

Just a look at the scenery in Missouri.  It is just as dry there as it is in Iowa.  But they don't have the corn and bean crops suffering like we do.  It is their pasture that is dire need of moisture.

As a "reward" for sitting through a two hour spiel about the resort's time share, we received $100 in Bass Pro Gift cards.  And conveniently enough, the largest Bass Pro is located in Springfield, on our way home.  We stopped for a bit to look around and spend our gift cards.

The children were thrilled with the live fish, turtles and gar.

The coyote however is not real.

But the alligator was very much real.

From Springfield, it was time to head home.  For our listening enjoyment in the van, we've enjoyed Focus on the Family's Adventures in Odyssey series.  We have also discovered Hank the Cowdog's audio CDs.  Pretty hilarious and the children (and Seth and I) loved them.  We also had a wide assortment of Veggie Tales and praise/worship music for audio enjoyment.  And you can't travel without playing the license plate game,  I Spy and the alphabet sign game.

We came home with a little bit of cash left over.  That's always a good feeling.  Our whole vacation was carefully budgeted with money for hotels, gas, restaurants, groceries and admission fees.   We spend a year saving up a little each month so we can enjoy this time as a family.  We are grateful to our neighbors for checking the chickens/rabbits/pigs/cats while we were gone.  The cows were content in the pasture and Seth's dad checked them a couple times.  We are thankful for the few days that we could get away and have some fun as family.

We only got a few souvenirs while on vacation.  The children all had their own money to spend and they had to learn not to spend it all at the first shop.  They all did pretty well with some direction from Mom "to really think about if they wanted it".   I bought a few books at the Laura Ingalls Wilder gift shop.  We got two decks of cards and I got a few spoons to add to my collection.   I think the best souvenir of all is all the pictures I took.

One last funny picture:  Things were getting a bit wild in the van  on the way  home when the children were making "tooting" noises with their arms.  But they had so much fun doing it!