Wisconsin Dells Vacation 2009

Craig, Zach and I went to Wisconsin Dells, WI for an insurance convention. We decided to leave Cameron at home so we could spend a little more one on one time with Zach. This turned out to be a great decision becuase it would have been a bit more challenging to go to the waterpark and do the DUCKS tour with a baby. We are so thankful for Allison, Grandpa and Grandma Vyhnalek and Grandma Heyen and Shane for watching him. Yay for wonderful families. We missed him but knew he was in good hands. Here is a little summary of our adventure....leaving NE entering Iowa....for a long, long, long, drive across that state. Zach while driving through Iowa. This was about 3 hours into the trip. He watch his dvd with "Emergency" season one playing the entire time. We had to turn it off to get him to nap a tiny bit. Notice the wind turbine in the back. I was just amazed by how many of those "farms" that there are in Iowa. They are HUGE. We met lots of semi's hauling one blade which took up the whole trailer and they needed a "wide load" lead car to warn everyone. Very cool..
Zach was super excited as can be to reach the hotel. He was pumped about the room and excited to see what we were going to do. The view from our room was fantastic!!!

Playing mini golf at our resort. Our hotel is in the background. This is very interesting with a 3 yr-old. Zach mainly wanted to hit the ball in the water and move on to the next hole. It was so funny.

Here we are getting ready to go on a tour. Zach was so excited to be on the "boat with wheels." We looked it up on the internet before we left and this was his only request and the thing he wanted to do the most. It was so fun and very pretty. Myself and Craig on the DUCKS. Zach helped me take this picture...not to bad.
This is called Hawks Bill, I believe and was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine many years ago. Sure looks like one to me. There were so many amazing rock features and beautiful trees and plants to looks at.

This small deer just ate right in front of us while we stopped. I think they get so used to the tours they don't even get scared. This was yet another exciting moment for Zach and the rest of us. Beautiful!

Elmo joined us on the trip.

Zach and Elmo taking a little rest at nap time.

We had to stop and get some cheese and curds before we went home. This was so yummy.

The biggest deer I have seen in my life so of course we had to stop and take a picture. I am sure zillions of people have done the same. Thanks to the people who own him...this was so funny.

Picture of the waterpark early in the morning. There was so much to do. There was also an indoor waterpark you could also access through an underground walkway under the parking lot. This way you can swim all winter long and never have to go outside...great planning on the resorts part.
More slides.
These are the slides coming out of the indoor waterpark. So much fun!!!

German Clock TowerZach and the biggest hotdog he has ever seen. And no, he did not eat it all. I think he had three bites but I give him credit for trying.

Zach and Craig at a wishing well. I forgot that Zach has never done this before. He thought it was great.
Outside next to the German Tower and a cute little "Square."

Of course we had to stop at a fire station. This picture is a little fuzzy, but we had fun as you can tell. It was a great trip and we have tons more pictures but this is just an idea of all the things we saw and did. I will go back there again some day. It was wonderful. I am so lucky to have a great husband and kids to share these memories with. It's just another event to add to my ever-growing collection!! I am blessed.

Swimming Lessons & Rolling Over

Zach finished swimming lessons on Friday, July 10th, just before we left for vacation. He passed or as he told me "I tested out Mom." He did a great job and is a lot more confident in the water. On the kick board.Zach and his teacher.
Looks like he is thinking hard about what to do next.

He did a great job and we are very proud of him.

Cameron has started to roll over more and more. Here are a few shots of him in action.

The Starting position

Now we start to roll.
Success! Now we are over.
I call this pose "crunches." He wants to sit up by himself so bad. He is going to have great abs.

Vacation pictures and info will be coming soon!

Fourth of July

On the Fourth of July, Zach and I went to Seward with Grandpa and Grandma Vyhnalek and Aunt Alli to watch the parade. Zach LOVED the fire trucks and ambluances, no big shock to any of us. He would tell me if one of them was coming down the parade route about 1 minute before the truck would reach us. He was comparing Sewards fire trucks to our departments. It was so cute. He could have cared less about the candy, he wanted to see more trucks. My cute little firecrackers.

Craig and Cam came up later and we all had supper at Aunt Suzies and Uncle Richards. It was lots of fun and we all ate way to much. The boys fell asleep on the way home and we thought the night was over, but Zach woke up and asked me, "Where did we just come from? Are we going to watch fireworks?" - All in a bit of a daze from the mini nap. Craig took him to watch some fireworks and I stayed with Cameron who was still sleeping after bathtime. So an uneventful evening for me but that's ok, I was pretty tired after a long day. It was unusually cool for the 4th and Nebraska weather so that was a nice change.

Traveling and Swimming

We have been busy people here at our house. On June 19th, we traveled to South Dakota for Craig's cousin's wedding and came home on the 21st. It was in Yankton and the kids once again traveled great. We are so lucky. No one gets car sick and we really don't have to stop much except for bathroom breaks and food. I love the dvd player and so does Zach. I sat in the back with the boys for awhile and even got to watch a movie. Craig put on the headphones and listened to the cd I burned with his favorite songs. I am not so sure if that is legal or safe, but most of the time he would hear us talking to him so it must not have been to loud. :)

Zach started swimming lessons in Wilber this week. He is getting a private lesson and loves it! Today they did water safety and what not to do at the pool. He is getting much more comfortable with the water and went down the slide with his teacher and jumped off the diving board. He even went under water!! Wow, I was impressed. Here was my little boy who not to long ago, would not allow his feet to leave the person holding him in the water- doing this. It's amazing how fast he took to swimming. I am happy we decided to do it. We are going to Wisconsin soon and there will be a water park so we wanted him to have water awareness at the most and now I know he will be fine.

We sound like world travelers. This year has been one of many trips. I hate to think of next year when we go on one vacation. Zach is not going to know what to do. Who knows maybe we will be able to do a couple each year. It's been fun.

Cameron has started rolling over regularly. He loves to be on his tummy now. The hard part is about 3 minutes or so and he's done and can't quite figure out how to get back on his back. He is a storyteller and has found his voice there is no doubt. He doesn't have the routine that Zach did at this age, mainly becuase I stay home now. I can kind of predict his day. I should write it down for when we leave go to WI. We are leaving him behind and both Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunt Alli have agreed to watch him. I hope he will be good. We love them for doing this for us!

I thought this was cute but I don't want it to become a habit.

We spent a little time in Davenport last weekend so here are a few pictures. Uncle Shane sure takes good care of his nephews.

Cameron thinking really hard.

Shane and Zach on the 3 Wheeler. Zach just can't get enough of the rides. It can be this or the lawn mower and he loves every minute.

Updates soon

Well it has been awhile since I have been able to update our page. I promise there will be more coming soon....stories from South Dakota and swimming lessons and more. Cameron is helping me type this as we speak. This is the second time I have written this so....to be continued. ;)

Park

Well today we met up with my friend Kylie and her two little ones, Kellan and Maeli at the park in Denton. We had lots of fun on this warm sunny day. Of course I forgot my camera. That park is great, it has the compressed rubber under the playground to soften falls and makes it nice to push a stroller. Going over rock and wood chips is such a pain. Then Kylie had us over for lunch which was great. The kids had fun and it was nice for the Mom's to catch up again as well.

We are busy getting ready to go to Yankton, SD for Craig's cousins wedding. It is only about 4 hours there and after making the 9 hour trip to Minnesota in May, this should be a breeze. The kids travel well so we will hope for the same again this time. Thank the Lord for DVD players. It's the best investment we have made in awhile. Zach has his headphones, we push play, and away we go. Hardly a peep out of him until he wants a new movie. It's great!!

Here is a little funny thing Zach told me the other day. He was just getting done being in timeout and he said, "Mom, I prayed for you." I said, "You did, what did you pray for me about?" He answered, "I prayed for you and for fire trucks, because Jesus likes it when we pray." I said that was very nice. I got to thinking if he prayed that I would stop sending him to timeout or something if it might work? Who knows, at least he learned more good things at Bible School. Silly boy. Zach at vacation bible school.

Tummy Time for Cameron!Big Brother Zach reading his firetruck book to Cameron. Zach told me that Cameron doesn't know about pumpers and hoses so he needs to teach him all about them. That's my little fireman.

Vacation Bible School

Here is a little video of Zach at Vacation Bible School. He is obviously the one in the middle, not the little boy standing so still….keep watching it gets very funny towards the end and remember this is only part of one song. Oh my, I can’t imagine what the Christmas program will be like, or can I? We practiced his songs at home and he sang very well and even danced a little. They were all so funny to watch. Craig, Cameron, and I as well as Grandpa and Grandma Vyhnalek, and Aunt Allison were able to make it and he was performing for us all. At one time he was trying to raise his eyebrows and move his forehead like Craig does to be funny, why he chose to do it up there I don’t know but it was hilarious!!! We laughed so hard.

Check it out:

Wasn't that funny? Oh my. He keeps us entertained to say the least.

In other news, I am painting a hutch that my sister Melissa and her boyfriend TJ gave us. I am going to put it in our dining room and am painting it dark purple to match the accent wall. I have taken over the garage on the side where Craig parks "Blue Betty" our Buick La Sabre. Poor thing, I think she will be OK. (That is a hint of sarcasm if you didn't catch it.) The first coat of paint is drying and the second one will be going on soon. Of course I pick one of the most humid days to paint. It rained this morning and was just raining a second ago while the sun was shining. I will have pictures of it when it is all nice and settled in the house.