Summer! Whew, did we ever play hard. It was frankly amazing and frankly awesome. Frankly, it felt like we were gone forever, and frankly, the time flew too fast.
Eli kicked off our summer travels by flying all by himself from Salt Lake to Omaha. (Okay, maybe not all by himself. There was a pilot involved too.) Anyway, here is on the Salt Lake side.
And here he is on the other end in Omaha.
Papa Kay was waiting at the airport to take Eli to the College World Series. These boys may be generations apart, but they are united in their love for baseball.
Can you tell Eli is excited?
If you look closely, you can see Eli in the orange hat at the fence, hoping for a player to come sign his ball. In the end, he lucked out and gathered several signatures.
Spoiled with a new shirt and a shake...does life get any better for a nine year-old boy? Eli's all smiles, even though his favorite team, Michigan, didn't win.
While not at the College World Series, Eli helped grandpa with some fun yard projects.
They even ventured down to Lauritzen gardens to search for gnomes. I'm loving the top button and knee socks, Cheezstick. :)
Playing with Papa Kay can leave a boy all tuckered out. A child after my own heart, Eli loves his pillow almost as much as I do. It's fun to see him in the bed that was mine for so many years.
Before too long, Eli and Papa Kay's bachelor pad was bombarded by the arrival of NomiAnn, Brooklyn, Talia, Annika and I. Once we were reunited, it was right back to the familiar sibling rivalries. Here are Talia and Eli getting off to a competitive start for half marathon training.
We invited some Omaha friends to join us on the legendary zipline. Here's Jessica and her youngest.
Naturally we had to spend a day at the zoo. More accurately, we spent a day at Adventure Trails within the zoo. With so much to explore, it was hard to convince the kids to go anywhere else.
Brooklyn by the Beehive.
Funny story. The woman reaching behind Annika is actually trying to get a different goat to stop eating Annika's pretty ruffles. Since NomiAnn made the dress, we were particularly appreciative.
We slipped away from Adventure Trails long enough to pet the stingrays...
...and splash with the whales.
Talia got a little soaked.
We even dropped by the apes to see the baby gorilla. The lady in the rocker has my dream job.
Overall, it was a marvelous day. Thanks so much for taking us, NomiAnn!
Back in West Omaha, the animal exploration continued every night as Annika searched for fireflies at dusk. One evening she caught over 100 lightning bugs!
An all-natural night light. (Don't worry--we released them.)
Before long, we were back on the road, headed to New York. Along the way, we stopped at the Indiana Sand Dunes to enjoy some freshwater beach.
Even though we were only there for a couple of hours, it was great to stretch our legs and cool off.
That night, we stayed in Detroit so that we could spend July 4th at the Henry Ford Museum. What better place to celebrate Independence Day than at this Museum of American Innovation.
Poses of our own invention.
The Model T--dissected.
I loved watching the kids work on the assembly line. Papa Kay loved picking up the pace with the conveyer belt.
Our completed masterpieces.
We also got to help build a full-size Model T.
Annika and Eli installed the muffler.
I was also fascinated by the textiles.
These intricate punched weaving cards were quite literally the predecessors to computer processing.
Back to the Model T, apparently they put the toxic fumes to good use. Check out this article!
...and riding a vintage carousel horse.
We even tried to get around on stilts.
Papa Kay was pretty good, especially with just one good knee.
To round out the day, we boarded the train for a tour of the farms.
After slipping back to the hotel for some power naps, we headed back to Winfield Village in the evening for an Independence Day concert. Here are the boys in front of the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop.
Annika liked this bike.
The Salute to America concert was fantastic, with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra performing alongside the Jazz Ambassadors of the US Army Field Band.
Annie graced us all with her modern interpretive dance on the lawn. As we were leaving the event, she expectantly asked one of the thousands of people passing by, "Did you see me dancing?!"
And a picture of my Talia, just because she's beautiful...
...and a tad sleepy.
In spectacular fashion, the concert concluded with fireworks and actual cannons accompanying Tschaikovsky's 1812 Overture. That's an experience everyone should have at least once in their lifetime. Thanks for helping it happen in ours, NomiAnn and Papa Kay.
When I tell people that we drove to New York over the summer, they usually moan and comment about how awfully long that drive must be. True, it is a long way, but there is always joy in the journey. Our appreciation to all who shared that joy with us.
