A New Adventure

Today was such a fun day. It has been so refreshing having more time together as a family since Dave's big test is now behind him. This was the first weekend we've had since the test where we didn't have anything going on, and we took full advantage of it! As mentioned in my previous post, we hung out with some friends last night and watched fireworks together.

This morning we thought it would be fun to enjoy the outdoors once again...have I mentioned that we're totally procrastinating with packing up our house?! That's another time, another post, I suppose. Anyhow, the architecture firm I worked for prior to Will being born, designed a pedestrian bridge that crosses over the Missouri River downtown Omaha. It was completed several months ago, and we had yet to check it out. We packed lunches and took a stroll across the bridge. On the other side there's a great park, so we let Will play for a while, and then walked back. At the foot of the bridge there's a small splash ground. Lots of kids were running through the fountains, but Will decided he was too hungry to play, so we ate our lunches while watching the other kids play instead :)

FirEwoRkS!!!

fA week from today we will be traveling to one of our favorite vacation spots...Park Rapids, MN. It's a 9-hour drive, so that part isn't the most exciting, but Will did a great job last year, so we're holding our breath for a repeat performance ;-) Since next Saturday is the 4th of July and we'll probably be exhausted by the time we arrive, we figured there's a good chance we won't get to see fireworks that night.

It just so happens that last night was Omaha's annual "Concert in the Park" to celebrate Independence Day. This park in which I'm referring to, I have mentioned several times in this blog. It's a beautiful preserve consisting of 65 acres of wide-open (and very hilly, I might add) spaces. Several bands kick off the evening with music, and the event ends with a firework display.

We were out of town for it last year, but were able to enjoy the fireworks portion with our good friends Jonathan & Desirae (and their 4-year old twin boys) last night. We opted to view them from a location a little further away because the parking is atrocious! Being that they don't start the fireworks until 10 p.m., we figured it was already a stretch, since Will is usually in bed before 8:00! He had a great time running around with his two buddies from church, Samuel & Joseph :)

Our photos didn't turn out the greatest since it was so dark, but they're still great for memories sake.













Will's eyeing those drinks thinking, "Man - those sure look better than the water my mom packed me!"













And even though I didn't have a tripod on hand, I still wanted to try to get a pic of the fireworks, so I tried my darndest to hold the camera steady. When it was all over, Will kept saying, "more! more!" He LOVED it!

A Fun-Filled Day

Since Will had been under-the-weather with a GI virus for the past several days, he was ready for some fun. Thankfully he started to feel better yesterday, so we felt okay about taking him to church this morning. As always, he had a great time with all of his friends at church...they love running around outside together after the service. Following the church service, we went to one of "our" favorite places to dine, affectionately known as McDonald's...ever hear of it (see, Heidi...I told you you're not the only one)?!
































To top off the day, our church's annual picnic was held tonight. It was the perfect evening for it, too - mid 70's and sunny. It's always at the same residence, and for good reason - it's the perfect location - complete with a huge yard, pool, playground area for the kiddos, and a volleyball net. We are so thankful for our church home. The Lord has blessed us with so many wonderful friends there, and it's fun to watch each other's kids grow up. We have been attending for about 2 years now...just a couple months before Will was born. It's a fairly young congregation, and we've literally hit a baby boom. I would wager that since Will was born, there have been at least 15+ babies born, and all have been boys, with the exception of 2!! At last year's picnic there were infants everywhere, and tonight was a fun contrast watching them running around together.

The Miracle Diaper Rash Cream...saving one bottom at a time.

I realize this is a very strange post, but this stuff has worked miracles on Will's little tush, so I thought I would share the "recipe." A friend of mine gave it to me, and it's been a lifesaver on multiple occasions...thought you all might benefit from it as well. It's far better than any prepackaged over-the-counter creams I've tried.

Mix equal parts Desitin Creamy & Lotrimin
Add a splash of Mylanta, then mix well.

I use a small butter tub to mix and store it in.

If you're curious what these different ingredients do, well, the Desitin is self-explainatory, but since diaper rash is essentially a fungus, the Lotrimin targets that. The Mylanta seems rather odd, but it actually helps cut down the acidity of the uh...well, the stuff that causes the rash in the first place :)