Missing Omaha

I had no idea how much we would miss Omaha until we were gone.  I tend to live towards the future and sometimes forget to live in the now.  I enjoyed Omaha, but had I known just how much I would have missed it, I would have maybe taken it all in a little more.

I really miss... 

chatting with my friends

Having fun RDEP parties

I can't believe how little Kinnie and Andrew were when we moved there!

The beautiful gardens!

The view out our front door, it never EVER got old

The once a week dane classes at the clubhouse and cute little recitals

The rainstorms!  The buckets of water that poured from the sky and amazing lightening storms

Decorating our little window 

The visitors!

"Our" swings.  We were pretty much the only ones who used these swings since we lived on the outskirts of the complex.

Kinnie's and Andrew's little room

Letting the kids roam the front yard while I worked on dinner

The ZOO!  I miss that place soooooo much!  

The big slides downtown

The gardens in the winter

Sharon!  We miss Sharon's friendly face and small conversation.  She always gave us little homemade gifts and lots of stickers and paper.

Lucy!  Our home was sandwiched right in between Sharon and Lucy, it was the best.  I miss Lucy's sweet sweet face and deep conversations.   She was a smart lady and had a lot of opinions.  I just liked to listen to her.

Those are just a few of the things:)  Andrew asks if we are going to go back to Omaha to visit.  I would love to go back and visit someday!

First Days

First day of kindergarten.  She was ready, and excited!  A little nervous on the first day

So excited to try the monkey bars on the first day.  She was so frustrated that she could only hold on for 2 bars.  The first couple of weeks after I picked her up she was so excited to tell me about the monkey bars.  "Mom today I did 3 bars...mom today I did 4 bars...mom, I made it across today!"  It was really important to her that she learned to do the monkey bars.  I loved her updates and determination.

Andrew's first day of preschool.  I was nervous for him even though he was pretty cool about it.  I just thought for sure he would be so sad when I left him.  I kind of forget how old he is sometimes.

He fit right in and didn't even watch me out the door.  

Graduation (iN mAy!)

I guess it is a little late to post this but I documented this wonderful event on my personal blog and wanted to put it on here as well.  It definitely deserves to be mentioned and recognized.  Four hard, time-consuming, learning-filled, and stressful years for Landon to become a Doctor of Dental Surgery.  He handled it well and put a lot of effort into studying and learning and succeeding.  His graduation was a neat experience and a perfect way to commemorate all of his hard work and time.    

I am not sure if I want to keep up on this blog.  I keep going back and forth on my decision.  I started a personal blog to do journaling and don't think I want to do both, but for now, here is a little update and pictures of the kids.

Sidney

Sidney is 15 months.  She has a unique and funny personality.  She loves animals of every kind but mostly dogs.  She can bark like a dog and pant like a dog.  She is our first to undo the toilet paper roll, climb on chairs, be interested in electrical sockets, etc., you get the idea.  She keeps me on my toes and makes me realize how very different and special all of our children are.  I love her so much and am completely wrapped around her itty bitty finger.  She is still a little girl.  She LOVES her Grandpa Bruschke and Grandpa Bell and wants to be with them whenever they are around.  She is already good at teasing us and has a great little smirk to go along with it.  She holds up her hands as if to say "where is it?!" whenever she is looking for someone or something.  

Andrew

Andrew turned 4 in July.  He is so excited to start preschool next month.  He loves everything pirate, cowboy, sports, cars, motorcycles, games.  His favorite game right now is Uno or playing games on the computer.  He is such a good big brother to Sidney and puts up with her sitting on his head or patting his face really hard.  He is always up for a good laugh and has a good sense of humor.  He has started to take his coloring seriously but rarely finishes a picture because it takes too long.  

Kinnie

Kinnie will be 6 next month!  She has seemed to grow up so much this summer.  She can't wait to start kindergarten and I only hope it matches up to her expectations.  She misses her friends from Omaha like crazy!  She said she woke up the other morning crying from a dream about her friends.  It breaks my heart but she has made a friend down the street and I am sure she will make some friends in kindergarten.  She has a happy personality and is always looking at the bright side of things.  She is still very cautious about things and timid in certain situations but she loves life and has a great sense of humor.