Back so soon?? I know, I'm feeling blog happy this week.
When we made our first trip home to Omaha in February, we landed on the day of their worst winter storm that winter. Ok, ok their only winter storm that winter. Seriously, it was insane; like 10 inches of snow cumulated I think. We thought it was pretty amusing that the one single trip we made back home would land us on that day with that weather.
Well, we found out at the end of May that we would be making another trip back in July. Justin had to return for a couple of days for meetings, so we thought it would be a perfect time to see family and introduce Griffin. I'm not sure I'd call it perfect timing anymore. As you all know, you were experiencing quite the record heat and drought back home. We came back for that. Just for that. Talk about one extreme to the other! Winter storm...100 degree heat. AMAZING! haha We found it, yet again, amusing considering it was our only trip back for probably the rest of the year and quite possibly the rest of our time out here.
And so our journey began on July 8th at 11 p.m. After finally making it through security (wow, was that a challenge with a 3 year old, newborn, stroller, bags galore, milk and having to check in twice because one ticket didn't have "infant" on it), we walked to the furthest terminal and waited a short time to board our plane to Phoenix. The kids did great on the 5ish hour plane ride! Griffin slept the entire time and Gracie finally crashed around hour number 4 of the flight for about 45 min. She was too in love with her new movie and new games on the iPad to put it down.
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| First flight for the little man |
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| Gracie was upgraded to First because of her fly miles, but came back to visit us "Economy" folk. |
Our Phoenix layover was uneventful and pretty short. Quiet honestly, I don't even remember it. We boarded our flight for Omaha on time and landed around 2 p.m. CST. Grandpa Mike was there to greet us and bring Gracie's car seat. Gracie was pretty excited to be there and see Grandpa. After getting the rental and collecting the luggage, we packed the car and headed out to Mike's for a late lunch.
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| Triple G - Grandpa with Gracie and Griffin. Griffin finally gets to meet Grandpa! |
We stayed at Pam's for our trip and that first night, we all passed out around 7 p.m. We were exhausted to say the least.
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| See all 4 of us. out. like. a. light. |
The next day I also got to see my "old" coworkers whom I still call my coworkers (wishful thinking). They came to play at Pam's house with Gracie, Griffin and I. It was so great to see them and catch up. I really miss these girls and all their silliness. They are some of the sweetest, most helpful people I have ever met, and I'm so blessed to call them friends and not just coworkers. As I sit here and type, I am praying that I get a teaching job next year.in Millard.at Rohwer.in 2nd.with my team. I don't think I'll find as great of a team as I did with them. That would be a dream come true! But really, I'd just be happy with a job. :)
The same day brought a very tiny little visitor, both mom and baby. Emily and Tenley came to visit us! I was so sad the day Tenley was born because I wanted so much to be there for Em and Charlie and to help welcome Tenley to the world, but unfortunately, I was too many miles away. This is our first meeting with the little peanut herself. Such a cutie! Welcome Tenley! We loved meeting you and can't wait to see you more and more!
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| Finally meeting his little gal pal :) |
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| Tenley 3 months and Griffin 2 months |
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| Griffin and I both look a little scary but nonetheless, best friends with best friends. |
AJ got to meet the little one as well. Griffin met lots of people for the first time obviously but unfortunately I didn't get a picture of all them. Next time.
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| Uncle AJ |
Like I said earlier, we came back to Omaha because Justin had some work meetings to attend. On Friday of the last meeting day, Kiewit held a family night at the Henry Doorly Zoo. It was pretty hot out but we were thankful that it was later in the day. We got to see the new aquarium and checked out the Kingdom of the Nights and part of the butterfly pavilion. We also got to take Gracie to her first 3D movie, Sharks. She wasn't too into it. Luckily, we didn't have to force her to stay because the movie ended up stopping in the middle of the show, so we left early and went to climb on the lions (statue, not the real ones). We had so much fun and can't wait to come back to take her to the rest of the park.
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| Justin went Scuba Diving and found a Groctopus |
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| Checking out the cockroaches...the same ones we see at home in Hawaii. |
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| Gracie and her wings |
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| So excited about the new aquarium! |
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| Saw some neat new things |
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| Love the new floor to ceiling tanks |
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| Penguins were all sleeping but not this little girl |
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| Japanese crabs...crazy |
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| Oh Nemo, how you have made the aquarium that much more fun! |
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| Our little Nemo |
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| The actual Nemo |
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| Turtle! |
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| Gracie wasn't impressed with the 3rd Dimension |
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| Everyone needs a picture on these lions! |
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| Kiewit kids |
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| Playing on the little cub. Perfect size! |
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| I love those cheeks! |
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| Super cheesy smile :0 |
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| Gracie with some Kiewit girls |
On Saturday, we went to the Griesman's for sausage and peppers and some friend time. I had been waiting for that meal since 1988, ok not really more like 2008. It was a long wait and so worth waiting for. It was delicious! I probably could have eaten the whole pot, but I was generous and let others eat as well. We appreciated the time, hospitality, food, and conversation. We love our friends so very much.
Saturday night was an open house type get together with the Feldman's and Andresen's. We were celebrating Tina's and Brandon's engagement and us visiting. But mostly the engagement! We are so excited for Tina and Brandon, and we are so honored that we will be a part of their special day. Congrats guys! We love you so much!
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| Griffin eyeing Brandon, making sure he's a good fit for his God Mother |
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| Gracie passed out on Grandpa |
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| Kevin and his future Prep Student |
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| Brandon, Tina, Justin and me |
Sunday was a special day in Griffin's life. We baptized him into the Catholic faith. We were so thrilled that this worked out to do it while we were back. We wanted family present for the special day. It took place at Holy Cross Catholic Church with Justin's sister, Tina and my brother, Adolfo as the Godparents. He was such a good little boy!
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| The only time it's OK to wear shorts with a tie and vest |
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| Parents, Godparents, Griffin and Gracie |
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| Excited for baby brother |
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| Being baptized, the water scared him and he cried for just a little bit. |
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| Oil on his forehead |
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| Lighting the baptismal candle |
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| New member of God's family |
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| Griffin with his parents and Godparents |
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| Gracie was so over being there at this point, can't you tell. |
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| Another group photo |
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| Griffin and his nina and nino :) |
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| Justin's family |
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| Our little family |
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| My family |
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| Grandparents and Great-Grandparents on Justin's side |
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| Feldman's |
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| Our little trooper |
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| So tired! |
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| Griffin and Grandma Linda |
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| My oh so cute nieces and nephews; Zach, Lexi, Reyvin, and Andrew |
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| Dianna, Alejandro, Lizette and Benny |
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| Griffin with his Tia and Tio |
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| Daddy with his girl |
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| Gracie and some of her cousins |
Monday evening, we did dinner with my family and celebrated Benny's birthday. He is just weeks younger than Gracie. I love hanging out with my family because they are all hilariously funny and entertaining. Never a dull moment with these family members. Love you guys!
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| Presents! |
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| Presents! |
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| Obviously, Lizette thought we were getting to loud. She was probably right. |
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| Eating birthday cake and cookie! |
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| This just cracks me up because I know there is a picture of either myself or my Tina sitting just like this as a kid. This was a typical kid seat at Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc. |
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| What mom? |
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| Lexi with Griffin. We miss our weekly babysitter! |
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| The cousins and Aunt Dianna |
Back at Pam's, Gracie was treated with a mani and pedi. She is finally starting to like having her nails painted. She was always scared when I would ask. Apparently, I do a mean mani/pedi. ;)
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| Getting her nails painted |
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| Pretty pink toes |
On Tuesday, we had planned to meet with my friends and their kids at Bounce U. Justin, the kids and I went to Farmhouse that morning for breakfast. It was yummy of course. Our favorite breakfast spot. After breakfast, we drove out to Bounce U to meet Emily, Jude and Dominic; Anna, Fiona, Callie, and Elsie; and Emily and Tenley. Welllll, while waiting for the doors to open and our friends to show up, Gracie got sick in the car. Seriously??? We had to throw away her shirt and blankie. :( She was crying so hard because we couldn't stay. She wanted so badly to play with her friends. That was all she talked about before we left and once we arrived. We still don't know what caused her to get sick. She never had a fever and never got sick again. She acted fine the rest of the day. It broke my heart to see her so sad about not being able to stay and play. Next time, we are planning the playdate early so that if something happens, we've got other days to meet up. Lesson learned.
We also etched out some time during our quick 10 days to make other pit stops. We had dinner with my Aunt Rosie and Uncle Tom the day after we got in. We got to see their new house, hang out and eat some hamburgers and hotdogs. We also made a stop to visit my Great-Aunt Helen on Saturday. She is 96 years old! Amazing woman and still kickin'! She used to knit us booties and baby blankets when we were little. Such a sweet lady. On Wednesday, we did some running around. We stopped to say goodbye to my momma at her work. I had to take this picture because I have one of Gracie just like this with my mom, only Gracie was a little older than Griffin and typing on the keyboard.
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| Griffin and Grandma |
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| Gracie and Grandma |
That afternoon, we stopped and had lunch with Grandma Rose. We also had some visitors stop over at Pam's to see us and say goodbye. My big brother and his friend; Emily, Charlie, and Tenley; and Emily, Matt, Jude and Dominic.
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| My big bro and Gracie |
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| Gracie and Jude |
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| So cute, he put his arm around her! We were laughing so hard. He is going to be quite the ladies man! |
We left early Thursday morning. Again the kids did great! I feel like the Phoenix stop is our best bet. The Hawaii flight is just long enough and the layover and Phoenix/Omaha flight are just short enough to make it perfect. Also, we had quite the fiasco in Phoenix with my phone. It slid off my seat and I forgot it on the plane. Justin went back to search for it and the rude lady went and looked for it. She couldn't find it. So I went back and found the same rude lady who directed me to customer service. A nice man let me go on the plane and I FOUND IT! Oh my gosh, what a relief! Thanks to the nice guy, I didn't have to see my phone fly off to some other state and I didn't have to buy a new one.
We had such a fun trip that was jammed pack with activities and visits. 10 days can seem like a long time but not when you are going home. It's never enough time. It's so hard to see everyone and do all the things we want to do while we are back. We don't want people to feel slighted or that we don't care. It's just that we have a ton of family, many friends, and lots of places to go and see and do while we are there. We thank those of you we did get to see for finding time to see us. It means the world to us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for making our time home so much fun and so worth it. Judging from the next picture, we were more than exhausted from all the fun.
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| Sleepy girl |
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| Wide awake :) |
Until next time Omaha. I'll keep missing you and wishing we were there, but until that time comes, we will be here enjoying the time we have left.
