Today I'm thankful for:

My wonderful husband.

OK, this is our family blog, but I (Laura) write the posts. 

Lately, I've been gone... A LOT.  

This summer we got new license plates for our vehicle:

Travelin' Fam

I didn't know how true that statement would be! One of our nieces thought it stood for Traveling Female...that was true, too.  I feel as though I saw the gas station attendants across the state more than my friends that live here!  When I added it all up, I had been out of town (beyond day trips for work in the panhandle) 17 times in 15 weeks.  

Here is a breakdown:

Denver x 2

Lincoln x 4:

Go Big Red!!

South Sioux City 

Laramie, WY:

Road game

Milford 

North Platte 

Lexington 

New Orleans, LA:

Enjoying a carriage ride

Kearney 

Elsie 

Omaha

Chicago:

I've got some handsome men on my hands!

Ashland 

Yikes!!!!!

Just another day!

Now, I was lucky enough to have Bryan and the boys with me on 9 of the trips, but on the other 8, my WONDERFUL husband stepped it up and was an awesome dad to our lucky sons.  I am pretty sure there were several people who made the conclusion that he was a single dad (and a great one at that!) 

What a great dad!

I think we are going to be home for a little while now. I'm happy to get to be at home for a few days this break.  I know it won't be long before we are stir crazy and on the road again, but for now, I will be enjoying short drives and sleeping in my own bed!

So, as I count my blessings this Thanksgiving, I want express my gratitude to God for blessing me with such a wonderful husband.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Quick Trip to NOLA

On our way!

In our effort to get to all 50 states, we decided to take a quick trip to New Orleans to knock another state off the list. 

Our first stop was for some food.  We had po-boys at Johnny's.  YUM!! Sorry, no pictures of the delicious-ness that was.  The sandwiches were billed as 8-inch sandwiches, but I'm pretty sure each one was at least 10-12 inches long with LOADS of meat.  

Then we went on to Jackson Square.

Sad faces...Mason was hoping for a different kind of park.

Whew!  Some plants to play on

Carriage ride around the French Quarter

The French Quarter

We stopped for a little snack at Cafe du Monde. Of course, per everyone's recommendations, we tried the benginets.  They lived up to the hype.

SO MUCH POWDERED SUGAR!!!

On our second day, we ventured out to the Louisiana Children's Museum.  It.was.awesome!!! We had so much fun there.

Exploring on the way there

Light table

Experimenting with pulleys

Slides in the toddler area

Who has more hot air?

Big bubble!!

Huge bubble!!!!!

Climbing wall

A Tale of Two Deanies...both great in their own right.

One that had delicious home-style cooking and Bryan's favorite meal of the trip: the Fried Catfish

The other that had the largest 1/2 portion of seafood I have EVER seen!!

Just a little too cold for the rooftop pool.

Mason loved watching the street performers. 

Here he is dancing to the music

And here he is posing with the tin man

Burbon Street

Normally, I have a no Nebraska clothes rule on vacation, but we had to support them on game day! 

After we flew back, we decided to take an extra night and stay in Denver.  The boys got to play in the pool and that made everyone happy! 

If you ask Mason, this was the most fun we had the whole time

An adventure 7 years in the making

I'm almost embarrassed to write this post.  Bryan and I moved out here in July 2004. Just a little over a month after we were married.  We bought a house in Gering. From our house, you can see a few things.  If you look out one direction you see the Gering Pool.  We've spent hours there-mostly since the boys have come into our lives.  If you look out back, you can see the Wildcat Hills.  We have hiked in those.  If you look in another direction, you will see something that most people think of when they know where Gering is: Scotts Bluff National Monument. I have admired the beauty of the Monument on snowy mornings and spring days.  I have walked the path at the base of it to get some fresh air.  I have driven to to the top at Christmastime to see the beautiful view.  Last weekend I did something that I should have done long ago. I finally hiked it.  Now I should tell you that we hiked down it...I don't think a certain 5-year old would have been too thrilled about going up and down the 1.6 mile path.  


Here are some pictures from the hike:

The beginning!

Don't drop your brother down the side of the monument!!!!!

Cool rocks

We even remembered to get a family picture

This is awesome!!!

Can anyone explain to me why 95% of the flowers we saw were yellow?  Especially at the top. 

On our way

Tunnels are awesome! 

The boys

Victory!

He said it was a great time, but he was happy to be done.

It won't be another 7 years before I hike it again.  Bryan is ready to hike the whole thing as soon as we are in town to do it...which might be another 7 years if you know our schedule!!

Off to Kindergarten!

Well, I guess the time has come for our little man to embark on a new world.  This week he headed off to Geil Elementary. 

As is true with most things Mason tries, he was very excited for it all and didn't skip a beat in going.  

We had to try to keep up with him on the walk to school.

He even got to walk to school with one of his friends who went to daycare with him for years so it made for a great first day.  Grandma Sue came and stayed with us for a few days and helped us get into the swing of getting where we need to be.  It was a great week. 


Mason agreed to be interviewed in hopes of making this post slightly more interesting.

Mason's and his teacher Mrs. Bohnsack

What are your thoughts on Kindergarten?
"It's a great Kindergarten"


What's the best part Kindergarten?
"That we get to play"


What is the best thing to play with?
"The best thing we play with is Legos-I'd have to say"


How's the food?
"It's GREAT! And there's milk"


Are you excited to go back tomorrow?
"Yes"


Anything else you want to share with the people wo read this?
"No"


Those are about the same answers I got all week when I asked about school. He is happy to go every day.  


He is back to his preferred 6 am wake up time and loving it-I'm just happy he doesn't have to be rushed in the mornings.  He has enough time in the morning to hang out and do his own thing-like this:

The boys

So, now we are the proud parents of a Kindergarten boy.  I'm sure this will be a fun adventure!

Today I'm thankful for:

Extended maternity leave

Sam was born in February, and I have been fortunate enough to spend most of the last 6 months hanging out with him and Mason during my combined maternity leave and summer break from school.  I will return to work full time (or at least my version of full time) this week.  I wanted to take  some time and reflect on the past 6 months.  It has been a great experience!  Here are some of the highlights:

Me and my boys

Proud papa

Took a few road trips.

Played in the snow 

First big trip as a family of four to Phoenix, AZ

Took Mason to his first concert: Eric Church and Jason Aldean at Country Thunder in Florence, AZ

Saw the Grand Canyon for the first time

Had lazy days at home

Celebrated graduation...

...baptism...

...and birthdays.

Got myself a mom car.

Watched some t-ball

Got to spend some time in the mountains with these guys

Enjoyed outside

Survived surgery

Cooled off at the pool

It has been so much fun making memories with the awesome people in my life.  Now it is time to return to work.  While it will be hard to leave the boys, I am ready to get back to one of my other passions in life, my job working with such awesome people here in the panhandle and throughout the state.  I am happy that I have been able to spend the time at home. I am a lucky person!!