Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Mother's Day Weekend


What a fantastic week we had! Gorgeous weather, a fun day trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE, and a Mother's Day spent getting spoiled by my loves. 


Friday night ice cream run to DQ. I have to laugh because ordering has become quite the hassel with all kids yelling their orders at the same time. Another one of those things we're working on.


The past few Mother's Days we've gone on a weekend getaway (two years ago to Omaha and last year to Wisconsin Dells). This year we had plans to stay in Omaha to go to the Zoo, Old Market, and hiking in the Loess Hills, but rainfall predictions changed our plans. Instead, we simplified the weekend with a day trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo. We took my mom, dad, and sister to the zoo with us for Mother's Day.

We hadn't been to the Henry Doorly Zoo in two years. It was neat to see all of the major changes the zoo has undergone. I'm eagerly awaiting for a good portion of the zoo to be finished up. We may need to go for a late summer or early fall visit when it's completed.



Max spent a fair amount of time with his face in the zoo map and not looking at the animals.




The new giraffe and elephant habitats will be amazing once complete! There's tons of grassy areas for the giraffes and the elephants will get a watering hole. I was a bit disappointed because I had thought those areas were complete but they were still being worked on. There was a lot of  construction going on all over the zoo.



The minis with Grandma and Grandpa Harmeyer


So happy to be at the zoo that he did a dance as he walked.



Watching the seals training.




We were all in awe of the peacock feathers and noises they were making....until my sister (who works at the Blank Park Zoo) informed us they were trying to mate.


Elizabeth got cold on the train ride (that she asked to ride every two minutes until we finally obliged to keep her quiet) so I shared my shirt.





The awesome new splash pad that will be open later this summer.


The kids took over the cameras for a while and captured some awesome shots of the polar and sun bears.





We took some time out for lunch, then back to the exhibits.


The gorillas were so cool to watch! One gorilla really wanted Elizabeth's Doritos she was munching on.




Our annual gorilla statues picture.



My favorite moment of the day was when we were watching the Siberian tiger (no pictured) walk it's cage. As it neared us, Elizabeth hit Harrison and said "it's coming for YOU Harrison." 





My little King Penguin



Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the minis in the gift shop with big stuffed animals.



Our last stop for the day was the Butterflies and Insects building. Two of my biggest fears. I was not happy but the rest of my family happily went through the building. We did get to see a few bugs mating and got to answer lots of questions about why the bugs were trying to "scratch each other all over the place." Great way to end the day.


After a long day at the zoo, Hubs and I treated ourselves to Five Guys (we kinda failed to eat anything all day long) while we drove around Omaha for a bit before making the two hour drive home. We do plan on being back in Omaha soon so we can hike in the Loess Hills and go to DeSoto Wildlife Refuge.




The drive home was for resting and watching a movie. The last half hour of the ride, we blared music and sang.


Everyone went to sleep in good time Saturday night. Sunday morning everyone woke up early because "it's Mother's Day!" Some of us were woken up before they were ready. This was the first Mother's Day in a while that we've been home. It was incredibly special to be home and enjoy breakfast in bed with my three excited minis. They were so thrilled to be celebrating Mother's Day. When we travel, the focus is on our adventure. This time, the kids took their usual getaway excitement and poured it into Mother's Day...or "a party day Sunday" as they called it.


Breakfast in bed thanks to Harrison's insistence that he bring me eggs in bed and Hubs willingness to cook everything. I can't say it was relaxing since the three minis had to eat on the bed too and the cat made himself comfortable on my lap, but it sure was special.


Even the big stuffed white tiger in a baby carrier made it onto the bed during breakfast.



The kids let me rest a bit after our early morning breakfast. When I emerged from the bedroom, I found this that Max had set on the living room floor. When he saw me looking at it from his "hiding" spot on the other side of the couch, he said "help me! I turned into a snake!" 7 year old boy humor.


We went furniture shopping "just to get ideas." Instead I wound up with new furniture but I'm not complaining (other than we now have to spend our week getting rid of the old furniture). The kids loved the free cookies at the furniture store.





After naps and dinner, we played the Pie Face Game (at the kid's request). Simple game, the kids loved it, but mostly they just used it as an excuse to eat the whipped cream.



Of course I was the first to get pie in my face.


Elizabeth wasn't a fan (she freaked) and the boys loved it.



I am so incredibly blessed to have this much love and fun in my life daily. I had a great weekend celebrating being a mom. What did YOU do for Mother's Day?