College World Series 2008

For the first time in 13yrs of living in Omaha I finally made it to a CWS game. This evening after a weekend FILLED with activities -- we went to watch NC vs Fresno State... (Fresno won 6 to 1)

Ben was a trooper and had a great time - if you don't count the times he was standing in the chair and it folded on him and his little leg got stuck..

You say Tornado - I say Tomato

The past few weeks we've had some really strong storms blow through our area. Fortunately, the really nasty stuff has missed us. Last week we had tornadoes touching down all around us and we were out front trying to spot something 'cool' (we didn't see anything but a bunch of dark clouds). While we were running inside to listen to the weatherman and run back outside to see if we could spot the tornadoes Ben picked up on what was going on... So now when it rains Ben asks us if we are going to go see the Tomatoes.

Sidewalk chalk war

Happy Fathers Day

Ok - Stick with me on this one...
Yesterday - Matt and I ran out to the boat store and bought Pete (and family) a new kneeboard for "Father's Day". Early this morning before everyone else was up I hid it behind the seat of the truck. We put the towels back there with it, so once at the lake we made sure everyone was in the boat.. and when Pete walked by the truck we asked him to grab the towels. When he grabbed 2 towels and didn't see the board, we all started laughing and asked for another towel... when he grabbed a 3rd towel and STILL didn't notice the board we were hysterical with laughter.. At this point he was VERY aggravated with us. "Why are you all laughing at me?!" I told him to look again.. and he DID! and grabbed a 4th towel.. and STILL missed this HUGE board sitting right in front of his face! While we were all in the boat laughing so hard our sides hurt he proceeded to chunk ALL of our dry towels right into the lake. So not cool. We jumped out grabbed the towels and then cautiously walked him back to the truck to see his new kneeboard in the truck. Once he realized he was stoked.. but then no one really wanted to get wet.. b/c it was 8am and the air was still chilly... and ALL of our towels were WET... (of course I jumped right in and skied anyway!)

Carni's in town

This week has been crazy... with Matt and Jenn hanging out it seems like we never have enough time. We went to the lake Tuesday night and Ben SKIED!!!! BEHIND THE BOAT!!! We were so stoked! His ski always goes to the lake.. and I guess by seeing Matt and Jenn board he figured it was his turn.. so he ASKED to ski.. I think Pete and I actually cried a little, yeah ok.. we didn't.. but it really was sweet.
Today we went to the zoo.. and enjoyed a little College World Series fan experience... I forgot the series started today.. and the ball field is right across from the zoo. But it was cool... Not too crowded yet.. The zoo has a new butterfly exhibit that is amazing...




The carnival is in town this weekend too! So the kids have been heading down in the evenings, hanging out with friends... eating funnel cakes.. and riding the rides... Tonight we took Ben down.. and he even rode a few kid rides... and of course HAD to ride the ponies for $3... b/c he obviously didn't get enough horse riding last week in Texas... He had his choice of horses too.. and he picked the white one that (besides the size) looked like Fly Boy.

Tomorrow is back to the lake... and Sunday - Father's Day.. a few of us are volunteering to work the Duathlon.

back home

After a week away - we finally made it home... and how sweeeeeeet it is.
We drove down to Texas so we would have room to bring Jenn and Matt (and stuff) back with us..
First stop - NanaMom and Pa's. Uncle Jon drove down and stayed the night with us and taught Ben the 'silly face'....

Aunt Maybee, Jenn and Matt also came in and we all had a really good time riding horses up and down the road. Uncle Billy and Aunt Starr stopped by for a few on their new Harley.. and it was super cool. Aunt Starr brought Ben a gift later in the week -- it was a huge box of finger paints! I wasn't brave enough to bust them open at Nanamom's, but we will definitely bust them open this week. Mandy even mosied on by (all the way from next door) when she wasn't busy with ballet practice or flag corp or grad parties..

After a weekend of Texas-style fun - Pete decided it was time for him to head back North.. and left us with the family to melt in the 100+ degree heat (which really wasn't as bad as I expected).
Too keep cool - we played in the pool, sprinklers and with the water 'pow-pows'.

Pa took us on a mini-excursion around the county - and we got to see cousins, the lake, and this really cool tractor. There was even a dog that made us a little home sick b/c he looked just like our Tally girl.

Second stop - Enchanted Rock. Wed morning we woke up at 4am and drove several hours down towards Fredricksburg. I listened to TomTom and took the back roads to the state park.. and as much fun as it is to drive through peoples farms with loose livestock and deer running everywhere.. I think next time I'll stick to the main roads even if it does mean 15 min longer on the road... I had my fair share of cows and deer running in front of the car.

Me and Ben at the top of Enchanted Rock... What a climb with a 40lb pack attached to my back.

Third Stop: Ben's Great Grandma's house. We had a really nice (but crazy short) visit with my Mimo and Ben's Popo and Memaw.. Memaw convinced Ben that he 'needed' a cat like hers (Doggy). Thankfully after a day or two he forgot how badly he 'needed' a cat. While down in the area - Matt and I picked up a few geocaches.. and one took us to a site where artist David Drake sculpted (i hear by chainsaw) the "Texas Shephard" from a storm-stressed Pecan tree.

June and the boys - Cade and Conor stopped my and oh Lord the fun they kids had! They are 1 yr younger than Ben and pure trouble!... This is the best picture of all 3 of them I got - Trying to convince 3 boys to sit still is IMPOSSIBLE!

Finally we trekked home and hit the lake the very next day.... Our life is jam packed right now with things to do.. fun and chores...

All the way to texas...

Ben with his "hoe-down folks":

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"I don't want to ride the horse. That horse is TOO big."


"But Mommy's riding, will you ride with Mommy?"

"I wanna ride ALL by MY SELF!"

Of course when it's that hot - you have to get squirt guns.. Ben decided he was going to squirt Paw to see if he could get away with it. Shorty said "two can play at that game", and proceeded to turn on the sprinkler.. What a blast!