Trip to the Omaha Zoo

We went to the Omaha Zoo with Evie and Ethan's cousin Claudia. Evie and Claudia were so cute and goofy together. It was a great time. It was a bit cold outside but a perfect day for all of the indoor attractions. Not a lot of people there also, so it was nice to just let the kids run free a bit.

The ice outside was dripping from a waterfall in a Gorilla habitat. It was in this neat pattern. Each piece hanging down was the size of an arm.

This mama Gorilla was holding her baby. Pretty cute.

Evie found this rock that looked like a pillow...just perfect for taking a nap.

This was maybe the craziest insect I have ever seen. It looked like leaves and sticks.

Christmas package from Aunt Luci

The kids got to open the box that arrived from Aunt Luci. The kids had so much fun with their reindeer antlers and noses that blinked.

Ethan wore his nose for almost 3 days straight. He wore it in the car, to school and even insisted he could leave it on for his nap. I laughed when I walked out of his dark room and it was like a strobe light was on...and right in his eyes. He wound up taking it off I guess because he did take a nap and woke up with out it on.

We all loved feeling Evie's soft gloves.

Look at all that loot. Thanks Aunt Luci.

Evie's 5th Birthday

Evie asked for a Ninja birthday party this year after a friend of hers wore his karate costume to school for Halloween. We happened upon a ninja costume on sale after Halloween. She has been working on her karate chop moves on Ethan. Ethan wants a Pirate birthday party so he gets even with his sword. Evie is excited. She is moments away from her cousins arriving.

We also are lucky to celebrate my mom's birthday with Evie since they are only a few days apart. Something special I hope she will always remember. Grandma turns 60 this year - you'd never know it though. She has more energy than the grandkids.

Dinner time. Just a few of the cousins - I love that the family has so much fun together.

Happy Birthday to the most amazing mother!

Jack and Evie

Most of the kids dressed up, which was fun. Emma is sporting knives in her hair.

Finally, it's time to open presents. Evie picked the one from grandma and grandpa to open first.

Aubrey and Jeremy

Louis, Laurie and my dad

Mom opening dad's gift. A pretty cross necklace.

Ethan and his buddy Joe.

Claudia

Clare sang a special happy birthday song to grandma and Evie

Mom and dad have a fun tradition of getting the grandkids matching jammies. It's always a fun picture.

Evie wanted a dragon cake and we ordered mom a fortune cookie for her cake.

Isn't that cute...all those matching jammies. The kids were sitting around the bowl of fortune cookies waiting for their cake.

Happy Birthday Evie.

Happy Birthday Grandma

Maddie is holding up the message from the fortune cookie. Happy Birthday Grandma Potter. We love you so much.
Grandma and Joel
Aubrey and sweet little Maria

Grandma is helping the kids get their new farm out of the box. Thanks mom and dad, the kids love it.

Evie, Claudia, Ethan and Emma

And a little party favor to take with at the end of the night. I'm so grateful to be around family and that the kids are such good friends with their cousins. It was a fun time.

Nick and Ewan visit Nebraska

We had a special treat to have our friend Nicole Burger and her 9 month old son stay with us for a few days. We were lucky to have good weather. It was chilly in the mornings but the afternoons warmed up enough to be outside. The kids were happy to be outside. Evie found her chalk and quickly decorated the back patio.

Ariel with legs who collected a bag of shells

Ewan liked crawling in the grass.

He even got to swing for a bit. The kids haven't been out much before this with the weather being so cold so this was a nice treat. Ethan was happy to swing. He could swing for hours if I had more patience to stand and push him. I think an hour is my limit.

Nic brought the kids t-shirts from Reno, NV. They wore them proudly to school and told everyone about their new shirts.

We had Laurie and Mandy over for dinner to see Nic. The kids played nicely which gave us grownups time to eat and chat. Joel is feeding little Ewan. He is such a good boy. He never fusses and takes every situation (however loud and no matter how many kids are in his space) and handled it like a pro.

Nic, Bob and Mandy making sushi for dinner.

Ethan sporting his t-shirt from Nic and giving some love to Emma. He was actually quite flirtatious.

Good morning Ewan. The kids usually huddled around where ever Ewan was. It was fun to have a baby in the house.

Ewan playing peek-a-boo with Nic

Ewan found the blocks

Once again the kids gathered around Ewan eating. We're just getting ready for the kids' Christmas concert at church. They just got out of the bath and Ethan came down wearing Ewan's pants. I couldn't believe they fit him around the waist but as you can see they were quite short.

After dinner, we headed to the kids Church school for a little Christmas concert.

Ethan was a present. His whole class dressed up as presents. Ethan was a good boy. I wasn't sure if he would stay put but he didn't move. He just stood as still as I have ever seen him.

With party hats on they sang Happy Birthday to Jesus

Ewan enjoyed the music. It was cute to see him clapping or eating his snacks like popcorn at a theater.

After the concert the kids enjoyed a snack reception and ran around with their friends. Nic and Ewan took off at 5:30am the next morning so it was off to bed and an early morning. We had a great time seeing baby Ewan. Thanks again for the visit Nic!!