First Day of School

I'm a little behind because the first day of school was August 18, but that is just way too early in the summer to start school anyway. (Unfortunately there is no picture of Ted on his first day, but he was excited too.) Dylan was all excitement about starting kindergarten and Kara was mostly excited and a little nervous about her start at a new school. They felt like the first day was pretty long to be away...and a little long for me too. But I have to admit that now I am ready to send them off in the morning and they are excited to go. It's amazing how many things you can do on your own! But it's such a great feeling at the end of the school day to pick them up and have them run out with smiles and hugs and have them back again. And we're all happy when Dad gets home too!

Our Big Trip West

We had a great whirlwind tour of California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Arizona.

In California we got to celebrate birthdays with two great-grandmas,

swim in the ocean (Despite the unusually cold July in San Diego),

and use our free volunteer passes at Disneyland

In Nevada we got to visit some of our favorite beaches around Lake Tahoe.

In Oregon kids had fun with cousins, swam at Cascadia...

and enjoyed the Benton County Fair. It's been years since I've been to a county fair...they are still as interesting as ever. Kara got to be an assistant to Adam the Great...I can't believe you haven't heard of him!

We got to stop briefly in Bryce Canyon in Utah.

Finally on to Arizona for a houseboat adventure on Lake Powell.

There was kayaking,

riding behind the boat,

and lots of swimming and playing in the water.

Now we are back home in Nebraska ready to start the next part of our adventure here. It was fun to see many of you on our trip and hope you can make it out this way!