Other Omaha Memories

 While we were at the Omaha zoo, Harper decided she wanted to go down

the super fast slide out of the treehouse.  I told her I thought

perhaps she was too little, but when she said "I a first grader!!!"

I knew I had to let her go.  It started out good and she made it

up the steep climb to the top.

On the way down, she started out fine.

As she picked up speed, she got scared and rolled onto her side.

Fortunately, she walked away with only a bad scrape.

Some chocolate banana ice cream at Ted & Wally's helped it feel better.

After a long day at the zoo, we decided

to cool off at the hotel waterpark.

The hotel had a huge buffet breakfast.  The waitress was

amazed at how much this little child could eat!

Harper is in tears in the picture below because we were talking about

how it was time to go home and she said she

wanted to "stay in Omaha forever!"

After a lot of snuggles and some of her favorite foods --

macaroni & cheese with a side of fresh fruit and french fries

she decided it would be OK to go home, as long 

as "we come back again and bring Ashley!"

We can't wait to go back to Omaha again!

Omaha Children's Museum

The Omaha Children's Museum is the perfect

place for my curious, imaginative and inquisitive child.

Harper played in the Hy-Vee grocery store for a long time.

 

She learned about dinosaurs

and worked on her car.

She pretended to be a bank teller

and a nurse

and a fireman.

She worked on her fractions at Pizza Hut

and helped paint the windows.

She explored an old fashioned fire truck

and danced with friends.

Harper loved the water tables

and decided she would be an astronaut when she grows up.

Her favorite area was the Super Gravitron -- 

which has pneumatic, hydraulic, and mechanical sections.

We honestly could have stayed here and played for weeks!

Omaha Zoo

Harper and I decided to road trip up to Omaha for a long weekend.

It had been a couple of years since she had been to

the Henry Doorly Zoo, and I knew she didn't remember how fantastic it is.

We started off watching the giraffes

and rode the train --twice!

This zoo has so many fun things to do!

In the Adventure Trails area,

they encourage the kids to play in the creek.

 

There is also a giant treehouse

 

and some humongous bugs.

 The aquarium is top notch

and we even got to pet the stingrays.

 Harper laughed when a stingray splashed her 

and got her shirt all wet.

She loved watching the gorillas

and when she saw one who looked sad,

she decided to pat him on the back "to make him feel better."

There were playgrounds scattered throughout the zoo

and we ate lunch overlooking the Lied Jungle.

After lunch, we toured the jungle.

 and Harper got splashed by the waterfall.

We saw so many different animals.

The Alaska Splash Zone was Harper's favorite part of the zoo!

 

 

We can't wait to go back and see it all again!

 

Lawson Picnic 2017

On Christy and Lexi's last night here,

we went to the Lawson Carnival.

There were lots of rides

and after Aunt Christy "helped" Harper on

the monkey bars about 200 times

we cooled off with Harper's favorite shaved ice!