The Longest Day of the Year

"She snapped them out with her fingers. “In two weeks it’ll be the longest day in the year.” She looked at us all radiantly. “Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it.”"
-The Great Gatsby

I always miss it too, but this year, I didn't. It was about 9:30 pm and was still very light and I said to the kids that were up (yeah, I know, it was pretty late, but it was so light!) it's the longest day of the year! We need to go outside and enjoy it. We got rewarded for going outside - we were treated to a dazzling display of fireflies. They were just blinking all over the place. I've seen a few here and there, but not like that night. I think they must have been celebrating too. So, happy June 21st! And if you missed it, there's always next year.

Video of Emma Walking

Well, Here is a video of Emma taking some of her first steps. She's been doing this for a few weeks now. First it was just 2 steps at a time, now she's up to about 4 or 5. She loves to practice every chance she gets and I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon. Now, if she would just not try to walk at the top of the stairs....

It was an accident

To a three year old, everything is an accident. Obvious things, like dropping your lunch, are an accident. But things like writing on the wall, taking your brother's toy, or eating a cookie behind the living room chair - those are accidents too. Because if it's an accident, you've done nothing wrong and therefore, you cannot be punished. At least I think this is what is going through the head of the afore mentioned three year old. Sometimes I'll find him with chocolate smeared on his face and a bag of chocolate chips on the counter. Then he gives me this look, similar to the one in the picture, but more pronounced, more innocent, and says "it was an accident!" I think to him it actually was an accident - an accident that he got caught. Someday maybe he'll learn the true meaning of the word, but for now, we'll be having lots of accidents.

All about Omaha

Well, since we've been here for a few months, I thought I'd write about some of our impressions about this new place where we live. First, to dispell some myths. Omaha is not flat nor is it filled with corn. In fact, the valleys of Utah are flatter than Omaha. There are rolling hills everywhere. Even the farmland is rolly. I haven't seen a ton of corn either - Omaha is mostly houses and businesses. Another myth - no mountains means no outdoor beauty. The sky is so beautiful here. We have sunsets and thunderstorms and everyday paints a new picture. Also, the lack of mountains means the days are longer. In the summer, sunrise is around 5:30 or 6 and it actually starts getting light very early. There are no mountains for the sun to creep over.

There is shopping everywhere. We live a stone throws away from Target, Walmart, Lowes, and a myriad of other stores. And those are the stores that are all within 8 blocks of our house. We also live very close to a new shopping center called Villiage Pointe. It kind of reminds me of the shops at Riverwoods in Provo. There is a movie theater, tons of great stores, and most importantly, a Coldstone Creamery. I feel like I've only explored a tiny segment of the city and I'm sure there is way more out there. We also have a great zoo. You can see everything from penquins to sharks to elephants and more. We spent an afternoon there in just the aquarium and rainforest. Luckily we have a year pass so we can take our time enjoying it. If baseball is your thing, we are the home of the College World Series. I actually never knew that there was a CWS until we moved here, but still, it's pretty cool. There was an article in paper recently talking about what a cool city Omaha is becoming. Here are some of the highlights:

"The city that was barely on the national concert scene six years ago now ranks in the top 20 in the world - yes, world - in concert tickets sold. Its gleaming new Qwest Center Omaha pulls in national acts such as U2, Green Day and the Rolling Stones.

High-end retailers such as Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn, which Omahans once could find only in catalogs, have set up shop.

New local events, from citywide festivals to small, eclectic arts openings, flourish.

And young people seem to have noticed.

"There is a cool factor for Omaha," said Amanda Jedlicka, 33, director of Habitat for Humanity of Omaha. "I sense a lot of optimism from my peers."

The water, electricity, and natural gas are much less expensive here. I didn't know what to expect before we got our first utitlity bills, but I was pleasantly surprised. They also have gas stations here with ethanol. It's a little bit cheaper and it's supposed to be better for your car. If you can swallow our high property taxes, you can see that housing is very inexpensive. Also, the high property taxes do come with some benefits - great schools. It also includes some things like trash pickup and recycling.

The people here are also great. Everyone is very friendly. Several times I've had people start conversations with me at the grocery store. Everyone is very religious here. There are so many different churches. The people here in the LDS church in our ward here are very friendly and open. Not many people here in the church have extended family around. So, the ward becomes almost like a second family. Also, there are a few interesting sites if you are a church history buff. Omaha is home to Winter Quarters. There is a visitors center and a small temple. Council bluffs is about 15 miles away and there is more Church history stuff there.

So, I just wanted to enlighten you about this great place. It's made me realize that there are wonderful places everywhere.

Time to Reboot

The other day Josh, my 3 year old, wanted to use the computer. I started up sesamestreet.com, got him oriented, and left to do other things. A little while later he came upstairs and said "computer not working". When I finally made it back down to the computer (one of the downsides of having your computer in the basement), the Windows XP login screen said I had 35 programs running. Everything was extremely slow - let's just say the computer was a little bogged down. There were several instances of Firefox, Windows explorer, and Google Earth running. It took a while to get everything shut down. The situation was better than the other time I left him unsupervised on the computer - a black screen with the words "insert your boot disk" ominously staring at me. I think that's the last time I let him use the computer on his own. I'm just glad he didn't erase the hard drive.

Fireflies

We have fireflies here! Someone told Aaron that they had them here in Omaha but I didn't believe it until tonight when I saw one. We were all playing outside and I saw this weird bug flying around. All of a sudden it's tail end lit up and we were all mesmerized. We had them in Virginia. I never really thought much of them as a teen ager. Then when I brought my kids back there (when they were 4 and 2), they were just so excited. It was so much fun to run around the yard and chase them - maybe try and catch one. I'm wondering how long they will last. In Virginia, it was always around the 4th of July - and they only lasted a few weeks. It's just long enough so you're still excited to see them and not tired of them yet. I wonder how long they will last here? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Locks of Love

Here is the before and after of Rachel's haircut. You couldn't have seen a girl more excited or happy about the way her hair turned out. She was able to donate her hair to the Locks of Love foundation. They put it in a ponytail, cut it off, and Rachel quietly asked me "remember, I wanted my hair all the same length". I assurred her that they were going to do more than just chop off her pony tail. She was all smiles as she looked in the mirror at her new 'do. This morning she was so excited as she took a shower "It was so easy to wash my hair!" And brushing it? No tangles. So, even though it turned out a little shorter than I thought it would (doesn't is always?) , and the fact that I'm going to have to blow dry it every day (to make it look as cute as the picture) still makes me extremely pleased with the result. Also, one of the best things about hair? It always grows.

Birthday fun

Yesterday my oldest daughter turned 8! It was a fun and exciting birthday for her. Yesterday we had a family party. The main present that she wanted was a trip to the Build a Bear Workshop. She had fun there and we came home with a purple bear wearing a butterfly t-shirt and a denim skirt. Personally, I like bears sans clothes, but dressing them is all part of the fun! We made ice cream sundaes - mainly because I didn't want to have 2 cakes hanging around the house. She also got some books - Anne of Green Gables, and 4 Little House on the prairie books - the Rose, Caroline, and Martha years. Rachel is just hitting the age where she loves reading and I want to have plenty of good books around for her to devour. She also got a Karaoke machine from Grandma - which was a big hit. Even her brothers beg her to let them use it. It is a lot of fun.

Today was the friend party. My initial rule was that they could have one every other year - now I'm beginning to think that is too often. Birthday parties stress me out big time. I am so glad that it's over. We had 7 other girls here. We made book marks, and flip flops, and played a game. I think the moral of the story is to try a craft first before you have 8 little girls try and do it. I think it went okay, the flip flops just took a lot longer to make than I thought they would. She got some fun toys. She's especially excited about the Bratz doll because I won't let her buy them - oh well. I'm just glad that she' s made so many friends since we moved here. The final excitement of the day is getting her hair cut. She declared she wants a bob - just like her favorite first grade teacher. I've always loved long hair on little girls, but she has had long hair for a very long time. And, it is very difficult to brush it. I think she'll be darling. I'll have to post a before and after. So, the festivities are about over. I'm just glad I won't be having any more bad dreams about not having enough flip flops...

First Steps

Well, my sweet little baby girl just took her first steps. That is officially the beginning to the toddler years. Since crawling is still her first choice in modes of transportation, I can't call her a toddler yet. It will probably be a few more weeks until she really starts walking. That's probably a good thing since the walking comes with a lot of falling - and bumps - and bruises. I can't believe I'm actually feeling weepy as I write this entry. My last baby is walking.... I never thought this phase of my life would be over. In about a year, I'll be done with diapers too. And I've been dealing with that for the past 8 years - almost non stop. I guess that's okay. I probably need the energy for the next phase. I can't decide if my oldest is officially a "tween" yet, but I know that part is coming - sooner that I realize. I think I can still call her a baby until she is 2.... or maybe 18.

Sleeping like a baby

So this is one of the many interesting positions my sweet little Emma likes to be in. At first, I was worried that she couldn't breathe very well, but the steady rise and fall of her chest told me otherwise. Babies are pretty amazing in terms of how flexible they are. They can quite easily do things like suck on their toes. Emma also does what I call "baby yoga". So far, her favorite pose is downward facing dog - she can also do it with one leg extended. It's so cute - she'll be crawling around and just start posing. I can already tell she's going to be a very advanced child.