The Good Stuff - Omaha Edition

I love Omaha.  After being here for two years, I have fallen in love with my town.  I think it might be the best kept secret...which makes it even better. 

 Each June, Omaha hosts the College World Series.  You remember my trip last year, don't ya?  Yeah, well...we have decided this one is gonna be a tradition.  And we brought in recruits.  

The boys were pretty pumped and so were we.  Somehow we scored four of the only 50 seats that were in the shade in the whole park.  And thank the Lord, because it got pretty toasty.  

Rex is about to go to a really bad place that he goes to right before he passes out for a nap.  Please note my strategic seating arrangement.

Super fun showing the littles the traditions and rituals of a baseball game.  

Roanin just finished up his first tball season and so he really began to piece it all together.  He asked all kinds of questions and got all kinds of answers.  

My favorite part was how enthralled he got with the concept of stealing a base, which happened a ton in the game we were watching.  He was so inspired, that at his last tball game last week he announced in the car in route to the game that he would be "...sneaking a base today."  *sigh*

And so we let him binge eat to avoid the inevitable.

Love this little monkeybrain.

Shawn Juan worked his magic.  

The afternoon game was over and we drove home and dropped the kids with a sitter and headed out again, under much better circumstances than last time.  

must. take. selfie. of. the. two. of. us. on. every. date. night.

We met up with some friends we hadn't gotten to hang out with in forever.  Which translated into the boys making an attempt to watch baseball and Angela and I ignoring everything and chatting and drinking and chatting.

Oh, and, doing our own personal selfie photo shoot.  It got kinda obnoxious.  

So Omaha delivered some good baseball, better friends, and another night for the old record books.  

Bravo.

the dad plan

So, here's how it goes most weekends round our place.  I struggle to switch from my role as Chief Schedule Maker to Fun Go With the Flow Mom.  So I spend the first half of every Saturday stressing about being breezy, then have some sort of break and then begin my weekend about 2pm.  It used to be much worse, but old habits die hard.  

The good news is that our boys are getting to the age where naps and sippycups and distraction toys aren't as necessary to keep the mayhem at bay.  The boys can hang with us.  They like the stuff we like.  We like the stuff they like.  It's kinda awesome.

So a couple of weekends ago, summer already here...Daddy announced he was taking the reins on Sunday.  No details...he just asked that we show up and participate.  

So he loaded all our bikes, drove us outside the city, and showed us some fun.

And it was church.  Watching my boys in front of me, feeling the crisp snap from a winter that was hesitant to let go, and moving my muscles to keep up...it was magic.  The kind of church where I feel closest to God.  Where I can see the messages and feel the inspiration.

We had just scaled the biggest tree in the little creek at the end of the ride, when The Boss announced we needed to move on to the next spot.  We piled in and an irruption of squeals filled the cab of the truck as we turned left into McDonald's.  

The night before, as we were lying in bed, Shawn asked me if I had heard of the new movie Epic.  He explained to me the main character in the movie is named Roanin (Ronan in the movie).  We smiled and reveled in the joy it would produce in ours when he heard.  You see, Roanin has never met anyone who shares his name.  Never heard of anyone who does.  He would be thrilled.  I rolled over and became lost in something on tv until I heard a video playing on his phone, of which he was looking at.  It was a YouTube video discussing all the new McDonald's Happy Meal toys based on the characters from Epic.  

And of course, the McDonald's run got each boy a Happy Meal with the "Ronan Glider" included.  Not having any idea about the movie or the name connection, the boys were basically high on a greasy hamburger, some salty fries and a new toy.  Mom wasn't super upset either.  

After we ate and threw the Ronan Gliders as many times as humanly possible, we got another announcement that it was time for the next adventure. 

The matinee, candy of our choice, and a couple of hours of snacking and snuggling with my boys was on.  And when Roanin (and Rex) heard his name in the movie on the lead Leafsman?  fuugettaboutit.  Shawn and I looked across our two little men and gave each other a visual fist bump.  

We followed up the movie with a little backyard free-for-all.

And of course, Dad didn't disappoint with his fort making skills.  Because that is just how he rolls. 

And as I watched my boys, being raised by this amazing man, I could hardly believe how lucky they are.  How lucky I am.  He is the person that has been perfectly formed to fit like an intricate puzzle piece against me.  He gives me room when I need to feel in control and gives the rope of our marriage a little give.  But the second he senses that I am giving in and trusting him, he doesn't let any slack in our line and pulls his weight and mine as well.  He takes control and blows my mind.  

And if there were one thing I would want for my boys to absorb from this father of theirs, is how to be such a good person.  How to be a man. How to love others more than they love themselves.  

Happy Father's Day, babe.  Thanks for the family date, and for being you.  

my little animals in the zoo

On our first trip to Omaha, when we were trying to decide if this would indeed be home, we made a stop at the zoo.  I'm not saying it was the only thing that totally sold us on the town...but it sure did help.  The boys and I have had a love affair with it ever since.  

 We loved our zoo back in Waco, but this one takes the prize.  We haven't been able to cover every exhibit on one visit, which only means we are repeat offenders.  There is a newly remodeled aquarium that is ahhmazing.  

There is a working train, some ski-lift type thing that gives you the bird's eye view of baby rhinos and giraffes, a carousel, a petting zoo, and an IMAX.  About a year ago I took Roanin to the IMAX on a special date, and we saw a movie about chimps.  He was thrilled.  The film was 3D, his first ever, and about 20 minutes in I looked over at him and with the most gigantic smile possible, he had his little right hand out in front of him trying to touch the monkeys.  It was kinda the cutest thing ever.

The boys ask me if they can get this type of glass ceiling in their room every time we come.  My answer is always the same: maybe.

Chasing/harassing the peacocks is actually not part of what the zoo had in mind as an activity, but I like to think of my boys as innovators who think outside the box.

The last time we went it was unusually cold for a spring day, and so desperate times called for desperate measures and I had to hijack a spare pair of the boys' gloves that were in the bottom of our stroller.  Just keepin' it classy.

The cat complex is pretty intense, especially when you see them consuming raw meat (incidentally...this made me kind of sad.  this poor girl probably wants to run and chase something and actually kill it instead of licking ground beef off the floor, but my guess is mauling doesn't really sell memberships so we'll take what we can get.) and has been super fun this spring because one of the mommas recently had 5 cubs.

They were so cute I contemplated asking a staff member if I could switch two of the cubs for my two boys.  I figured the damage to the house would end up being about the same.

This zoo is providing such good memories for us.  I feel so lucky to be here.  Just one more reason I love me some Omaha.

Huntin' Memories

Having little boys comes with certain rites of passage.  Manly things.  Stinky things.  Lots of poop jokes.  

So Roanin got a bow and arrow for his birthday and has been obsessed with it.  Shooting targets, shooting the wall, shooting us...ahem...needless to say he likes it.  He then got to thinking about other things he could shoot.  He camped out in the yard for hours trying to hunt a squirrel.  It didn't go well...turns out squirrels are quite fast and Roanin's aim is, well, not quite the best yet.  

Enter the man who makes all little boy rites of passage a reality: Dad.  Dad hooked up a turkey hunting trip for the two of them, no Rex and no Mommy, and Roanin was pumped.  Off they went...my baby who is becoming a boy and the man he idolizes.  It was kinda the best.  

This meant one thing on the home front:

Mommy and Rex weekend.  To say this made up for not being quite old enough for the hunting trip would be an understatement.  You see, Rexy loves his mommy.  He gives new meaning to the term "Momma's Boy."  We both kinda felt like we hit the lottery. 

We did a little museum.  And with no big brother to follow or no time constraint of where to be next, Rex reveled in leading me around and doing exactly what a three year old wants to do.

The fun didn't stop once we got home.  We made food together, went for a walk, explored some woods, played pretend and just soaked each other up.

This, of course, was exhausting.  And the icing on the cake was going to sleep together in Mommy's big bed without even changing clothes or washing off our custom makeup.  It was EPIC.

Before bed, we got an update from Man Camp.  Success.

Turns out Daddy was able to deliver not only the experience, but a little souvenir to bring home.  

Love a man that knows how to simultaneously handle a shotgun and a six year old.

Roanin learned how to find the turkey, make a responsible kill, clean the turkey (his favorite part may have been plucking about 100000000 feathers...but that is probably not the most manly detail so we will move on), and use every part of the animal they could.  We have turkey to eat all summer long.  My little man's recollection of the experience was priceless.  What a weekend...memories for all four of us that are sealed in the vault.