Springtime in Omaha

Some people go to Disneyland, others to Hawaii...I choose to go to family - wherever they might be.  This year Eila and I exchanged the majesty of the Northwest mountains for the Midwest prairie.  With the notable exception of the fact that Adam and Zoe couldn’t come with us, it was a perfect spring vacation.

Let’ face facts - football fan or not, Eila has Husker blood running through her veins.

The trip started with the most terrifying part - a solo flight out of SeaTac with an infant in arms.  I have much to be grateful for: #1) Alaska Airlines now has a direct flight from SeaTac to Omaha #2) I have a husband who believes in the value of the extra bucks it takes to take that flight #3) Alaska Airlines is the BEST airline.  Not only are they friendly and intelligent, they made it extremely easy to fly comfortably with Eila.  Since the flight wasn’t full they put an “airport hold” on the seats next to me both coming and going so that no unsuspecting other passengers were stuck with us as we bumbled our way through the process.  Finally, I am super thankful for a wonderful little daughter who was quiet, cooperative and even sleepy on our three hour flight.

You’d be tired, too, if you’d been hanging out in the airport for hours.

Enjoying my toys and the empty seat next to Mommy.

We felt even more fortunate to arrive in Omaha to BEAUTIFUL weather!  Papa Kay picked us up from the airport after going to battle with his RAV4 tires.  You know you have an organized dad when he can get a flat tire, call AAA, and still make it to pick you up from the airport within 10 minutes of collecting your baggage.  Our first stop was, unsurprisingly, the Wheeler household.  Always willing to let me come and turn her house upside down with fun and shenanigans, there just isn’t another house in this world more filled with love and laughter.

Picking Brooklyn up from Girl Scouts in style.  True to our history, Kara and I managed to get slightly lost wandering the streets of her beautiful neighborhood as we sought out the school.  It’s a good thing my sister is the most fit mama around - I was huffing and puffing just jogging myself around the area - she barely broke a sweat pushing both of our bumpkins, too! 

Speaking of Girl Scouts, our eldest niece, Brooklyn McCall is taking after her mother in terms of organization and motivation to get fit.  With the help of her family and inspiration from her previous elementary school in St. George, Brooklyn petitioned her school to allow her to start a Mileage Club at her elementary school as a part of the completion of her Bronze Award for Girl Scouts.  Unsurprisingly, Brooklyn’s project is turning into more of a full Wheeler family event as Kara, Eli, and Annika all trek along to recess to help punch runner cards.  Talia, at my last count, was leading the runner-board with the number of laps she’s sprinting during recess each day.  Not one to be left out, Jason spends hours sitting with his wife into the wee hours of the morning laminating the rainbow of running cards.  Even Nomi Ann got in on the action by making cute little aprons that hold all of the different cards and charms for the workers.  Congratulations on the success of your program Miss Brooklyn!  You should be very proud of your accomplishments and the difference you’ve made in your school’s culture.  Keep up the great work!

Kara punches a runner’s card to show she’s completed another lap.  

Helping so many wonderful little runners made us peckish - so Kara took us out to this adorable Mediterranean family restaurant.  I love finding little hole in the wall places - not only was the lunch price right (we ate amazingly delicious, healthy food for less than what it would have cost to go to McDonalds) but the company was lots of fun, too. 

Cute like my Auntie, indeed!  Eila was good restaurant company while Annika was great restaurant entertainment :)  Lentil soup is made for wearing, right?

While I’m on the topic of little Annika - can I just take a moment to tell you all how AWESOME that little munchkin was with even littler Eila?  I think Kara was just a bit nervous to see how her youngest would react to the invasion of an even smaller creature to her home for a whole week, but Annie just accepted Eila as her own real life baby doll.  It was so fun to watch them together and imagine their years to come as they become friends.  

Putting the plug in.

Pushing the Bump around the grocery store.

 The Wheeler house has tons of fun stuff to keep a baby occupied.  Eila took her first swing ride in their backyard.

Swinging is exciting!

 She also took her first trip to the library.

Beware, libraries come with dangerous creatures.  Here Eila is being swallowed by a book loving hippo.

 Being home in Omaha for more than three days actually allowed for some extra special time to catch up with long-time friends.  Here’s Eila in Abbie Schneider’s beautiful West Omaha home.

Abbie still looks so much like the 9th grade girl I met playing flute in marching band.  It weirds me out to no end that I now TEACH those kind of students, now.

The wacky brood.  Abbie’s to gorgeous daughters were wonderful with Eila.  They shared all of their toys and showed her lots of fun new tricks.  If Eila turns out to be half as articulate and intelligent as Abbie's sweet ladies I’ll be feeling quite proud of myself. 

After hanging with the Schneiders, Eila and I headed over to NomiAnn and Papa Kay’s house.  We had fun shopping and making another crazy Aunt Callie Concotion for dinner full of veggies and quinoa.  Eli may not have been a fan of dinner, but he was was certainly interested in entertaining Eila.

Loving the Cousins

One of Omaha’s many hidden treasures was found the next day at the Joslyn Art Museum.  Kara is so good at discovering new and exciting ways to entertain her children...and those that are still children at heart.

Kara, Papa Kay, Annika, Eli, and Eila all in front of the Joslyn’s Chihuly.  See, we can find pieces of the Northwest no matter where we go!

Last November the Joslyn opened a wonderful new young artists area.  Bright and airy, it was the perfect place to spend a half hour before pre-school.

Artists at work...

Apparently Papa Kay’s fixation on peanut-headed beings extends far beyond Eila’s headband. 

Later that evening we put Papa Kay on babysitting duty while the rest of us packed a few bags to head over to West Omaha.  As you can see they certainly had a good time together.

A meeting of the minds.

After such intense conversation, we all needed to re-charge.  A stop at Cheddars was just what we needed.  Papa Kay dressed up for the occasion - please note the pink hair bow.

You can also see our stellar parenting skills in action.  Notice that Eila is being cared for at the kids table by Talia, Eli, and Brooklyn.  We paid for their services in pasta.  

The adults all played hooky the next day in order to spend some quality time together.  Naturally we decided to spend that precious time at Nebraska Furniture Mart looking for new family room sofas.

I love this picture for so many reasons.  1) It pictures Eila with her favorite Uncle Jason. 2) Uncle Jason is donning his Settlers T-shirt and 3) The painting above them both seems absolutely perfect for such a joy-filled moment.

Our shopping adventures complete, we returned home for some more play time.  Imagine our surprise when, after dinner, we found Eila looking like this.

Considering I’d put her down with just her Binky in her Bumbo - the mountain of toys was a great mystery until we saw this.  

My favorite part is when Annika gives Eila the blank and then takes her Binky.  It’s about time Eila learned that life is about give and take.

Unfortunately, even the most adventurous Spring Breaks must eventually come to an end.  NomiAnn and Papa Kay helped Eila and I make our way through the airport.  

Matching in pink

Whispering words of wisdom from one generation to the next.

Apparently Papa Kay whispered the perfect magic words to Eila in order to make her another wonderful travel companion.  

Another sleepy flight.

And here we’ve come full circle.  Eager to see her dad and sister, Eila soon became wide awake and enjoyed her empty seat.  The new turtle toy was compliments of her cousins and has already taken up residence atop her car seat.  

Thank you again, Omaha family, for welcoming us so warmly.  We can’t wait to return the favor.