Nebraska...Experience It! (and Happy Birthday Mike and Ev!!!!)

(I saw this on a wall at the Air and Space Museum and had to take a photo of it)

We left for Omaha earlier than I had expected to on Friday since Mike skipped lunch. We arrived at the hotel around 7:30pm and the kids desperately wanted to go to the pool, so that's what we did. The pool was perfect for them because it's deepest point was 3 feet. They had a big slide that the kids loved. (Don't forget that you can click on photos to make them larger)



Saturday, we went to the zoo. Aside from having the world's largest indoor desert and awesome aquarium, it wasn't any more special than any other zoo. That's okay, though. Hannah had a little toy camera with her and apparently, she was trying to take pictures right along with me. At one point, Daniel tells Hannah to take a picture of a shark and she yells, "I already did!" It was too cute. We all had a great time.

Jacob, Daniel and Hannah feel the sand
Meerkats!!! ( Because they are the coolest animals ever!)
The aquarium was cool. They had a tunnel you could walk through and the sharks and rays swam right above your head!

An outside view of the indoor desert. Hannah goes for a ride on Mike's shoulders.


We asked at the front desk about where good places to eat were and they directed us to Austin's Steakhouse. Jacob thought it was funny that they essentially gave him a fried chicken breast as his tenderloin. After dinner, we headed back to the pool.

Sunday, we were going to do the gardens and the drive-through wildlife safari but we didn't realize they were on opposite ends of the city, so we went to the safari, not knowing what we would do after. The safari was really cool. We saw bison and elk and got really close to a black bear. They had a gorgeous wildflower garden and Daniel dropped his hat behind a viewing fence. Mike wanted to jump in to get it but I told him no. He went to get help and while we were waiting, a group told him to just get it, so he did. LOL! They even helped him back over the fence.

Elk lounge in the water.
Cranes cross in front of us.
The bison try to cool off.
Hannah and I wait for help to arrive.
Mike jumps back over the fence with Daniel's hat.


We then headed to the Air and Space Museum which was just across the interstate from the safari. What a find that was! All three just loved it. They had a flight simulator that Hannah wanted no part of, so Mike and I took the boys. Funny story...Mike takes Daniel and they are struggling to keep it from rolling. Mike finally can't take it anymore and hits the stop button. Jacob and I get on and had requested auto pilot - Mike was mad because he didn't know that was an option. Needless to say, Mike and Daniel had a bad experience and Jacob and I had a great one!

Hannah enjoys a much tamer ride.
Mike and Daniel practice for their flight.
Jacob and I get ready to take our turn!
Jacob and Daniel rest on a plane tire.
This was the cutest plane I've ever seen! It was actually a running airplane, about the size of a small car.


Monday, we had planned on going to the gardens and then to the Western Heritage Museum. Little did we know that the Museum was closed on Mondays. So was the Children's Museum. Anyway, the gardens were really nice. They had a replica of Omaha with a mini train running through it, which was cool. They also had a koi pond that the kids loved.

A photo of Hannah and me on the tram (there are a lot of me on this trip!)
The mini Omaha.

Some wildflowers.


So, after we struck out with the two museums, we traveled to the Crook Museum. Apparently, this guy was an officer in the Civil War. It was very interesting.



As our last activity, we went to the Mormon Winter Quarters. We thought it was going to be something other than what it was. We ended up getting a history of Mormonism and their flight from persecution in Navoo. Hannah and Daniel got to dress up and Daniel decided to volunteer for everything that was asked (it was a guided tour). We then got to see a thing on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Hannah and Daniel have 15 seconds to load their wagons for travel!
Daniel has to count how many times the wheel turns ("1, 2, 3, 5") to judge how far they've traveled.
Hannah and Daniel try the hand cart.

It was a great vacation and it's sad that it was over so quickly. Hopefully, we'll take more trips like this!

Also, it's Mike and Ev's birthday!!! Happy birthday to both of you!!!!