4th of July in Omaha

We had a fun 4th of July weekend with our visitors. Grandma and Grandpa and Michelle arrived safely the evening of the 30th. We were all very excited to see them. That night we were treated to a fireworks display that we could see from our deck. It was pretty impressive. Thats when we realized that the 4th of July here is not just one day. The festivities and the fireworks just keep going and going.


Saturday was Rachel's baptism. It was very nice. Everyone that came said that it was a lovely service. Michelle spoke about Baptism and Grandpa spoke about the Gift of the Holy Ghost.


On Monday, we went to the Mormon Trail center and Cemetery. We toured the visitors center. The kids had fun trying to pack a wagon, pull and handcart, and sleep in a ship bunk. Then we discovered that one of the Bloomfield's ancestors is buried at the Cemetery and is the only marked grave of the hundreds of people that were buried there. Her name was Amy Porter.



Later that day we went to the Whole Foods Market. It is an organic grocery store and it has some pretty interesting foods. We got some Edamame, sweet potato chips, organic soda (I refuse to call it pop - that's what people in Omaha call it), natural Turkey bacon, and some other stuff. I don't think I'll be shopping there on a regular basis, but it is interesting to look at what they have to offer.


On Tuesday, we went to Omaha's Old Market. It is in downtown Omaha and consists of a few blocks of cobblestone roads and sidewalks with some neat shops and restaurants. The kids favorite was the Old Market candy shop. We all had lunch at the Old Spaghetti Works. Rachel and David had a Peanut butter and Jelly pizza - which was a big hit. I think its the first time we have gone to a restaurant and the kids have finished their meals. David had 2 pieces left and when the waitress was about to take his plate away, he said "I was going to save that!" She brought him a box and that made him happy. I was going to take of picture of the pizza when we got home, but David ate the rest of it on the way home. A fun time was had by all. When we got in the car to go home David said "mom, I feel so good inside - we should do this every day!"

That night, Michelle babysat. Grandma, Grandma, Aaron and I went back to the visitors center to see the new Joseph Smith movie. On the drive home, we could see fireworks in every direction. It was something I had never seen before. It's legal here to have the fireworks that shoot up in the air and explode - kind of like the professional ones you see. So, for about an hour (or maybe more) there were big fireworks going on everywhere. You could see in every direction (no mountains) and the back deck of our house provides a nice view. It was quite a sight.

We were sad to see everyone leave the next morning. We are so glad that we had some visitors!