The best zoo. EVER.

No trip to Nebraska is complete without a trip to the zoo! The day after the funeral, we decided to take the kids there.  A much needed break from the heavy emotions and having to sit still and quiet so much.

So with my swollen face and puffy eyes from all the crying the days before, we headed out.

Lillie literally did nothing but cry the entire first 2.5 hours there.  We caught up with some of my family and my hilarious older sister said, "Geez, why don't you take her to the zoo or something!" ha ha ha. I know right?! Poor girl was soooo tired.  We decided to leave for lunch and she was asleep before we even left the parking lot.  Upon returning she cried more.  Out of the like 6 hours there, she was happy for the last 2 hours.  So, when you see her sad face, or a red face with a smile, you know why :)

Cherry and Damon were beyond excited.  They were so little the last time we went they didn't remember it.  And seeing their faces and getting to witness their excitement was pure joy for me.

Little Braddock had  a blast hanging out and getting pulled in the wagon everywhere.

I took tons of pictures, but none in the awesome dark swamp.  And the Aquarium was closed. I was so bummed! They are doing a 10 MILLION dollar remodel and it opened a week after we left.  Someday....

So here is WAY too many pictures of some of the fun, adorable, amazing, and creepy things we saw. (and if you see pictures that just aren't up to par with my usual, it's because they are from my phone) :) Enjoy!

Isn't the black bird amazing? Looks so prehistoric!

naughty grandpa letting Damon pet the rays! Ok, they were not barricaded off so I am sure it was fine.  And Damon still has not quit talking about it.

(see, swollen face, puffy eyes and can't even smile! I look awful but it's with all my kiddies.)

This is about the time this began...

He looks ferocious yawning. Then he scratched his pits and smelled them and then just layed there like Joe Cool.

Uncle Justing had some fun with Braddock :) And Braddock now loves sunglasses. Especially for Peek-A-Boo!

 

 

Poor Kids...

Don't they look thrilled? It was a LOT of walking. ha ha haa

My favorite part, inside the insect side of the butterfly pavilion, there was a forest with some free flying birds. And this adorable little female, I can't remember the species, was hopping around following me and the kids. So I crouched down and she came right on over! And she LOVED having her head scratched.

And this is how it went by the end. Braddock just wanted to be free to crawl! Lillie was FINALLY happy, and the other two of course were content.

Nebraska Fun

Nebraska was quite a trip.  Filled with so many emotions.  Along with some amazing experiences.

I want to wait to share the funeral with you until I get some more things put together.

So we will start with the drive, the very VERY long drive.  That usually takes 17 hours.  But for us on the way out we had to split it into 2 days.

Lillie woke up the morning we were leaving to pink eye. Stellar.  She was a grump but still managed to give some smiles every now and then.

The hours in the car went something like this:

Please note: 2 pictures do NOT belong here. Ok they do.  Thank you Wyoming for your ever unpredictable weather and your lack of mercy! UGH.  It got crazy 2 minutes after the blizzard picture.  Driving in a white out, with semis running all over the place, visibility was like 4 feet, and we were on a good inch of ice and snow. SCARY STUFF! Then we had sunshine once we got past Laramie..I think?

Shh, do you hear how quiet that is? No, no. It was NOT like that at all! Constant whining, and crying, and questions, and are we there yet? How much longer? blah blah blah.  Seriously- I think I detest long drives with small children now.

We stopped at a really cool rest stop along the Oregon Trail where you can see the ruts still left by the Wagons that many years ago.  It was at this rest stop that I realized I needed to quit whining. 

Lunch stop was in some random town, with an original Pony Express Station.  Which we found only by meandering through the old town. 

 

Finally to our hotel in Omaha 2 days later.  Where our kids, sadly I am ashamed to admit, had their very first real experience swimming in a  pool.  I neglect them don't I? The've never had swimming lessons, therefore, the only water they have experienced is the beach at Bear Lake, and the bath tub.

Next up, the ZOO!