Weekend

What a weekend. A huge storm hit Omaha on Friday night. There were a few hours of worry, but thankfully everyone I know is safe and sound.

Natalie had her second swim meet on Saturday. I got to be a timer. It was so fun. I actually got to time Natalie for a race. She did awesome. She swam the backstroke, freestyle and a freestyle relay. In the backstroke she improved her time by 13 seconds. She swam the 25 meters in 30 seconds. I was a very proud mom! She ended up getting a second place ribbon for the relay and would have received the 2nd place in the backstroke but we put her in the novice group so she just got a participation ribbon. She earned 2nd though:)

We went to Omaha on Sunday to my parents house. My nephew Wayne was here from Knoxville Tennessee. He looks so good. He is a personal trainer so he looks very healthy. I need him to train me. Daisy, Randy Jr and Sr, and my sister's family were there as well. It's always fun to see everyone.

It seems we have a ground squirrel making a home under our patio. I've contacted Orkin and hope to solve this issue soon. My neighbors gave me their advice, let's just say I could never do what they want me to do. Their plan involved drowning and stomping. Ooooh! I'll keep you updated on our little problem. Nolan is my nature boy and will be traumatized if he sees anything brought to their death. They are really cute though:)

I better run. I hope this finds you all well and happy:)

HOW EMBARRASSING!

I just read the last entry and just noticed all of my spelling and grammatical errors. I will do a better job of editing from now on!

Weekend Fun

Natalie had her first swim meet on Saturday. I was so nervous for her I thought I might be sick. I wasn't worried she wouldn't win, I just wanted her to do well (and not drown). Her first event was the backstroke. She did so well. She kept looking back to see if she was at the wall. She told John after the meet that she was so excited after the first race that she thought she was going to cry. Her next event was the freestyle. She did her first dive and did very well. She didn't get a ribbon, but she doesn't seem to care. I didn't think she was competitive,  but apparently she has inherited some of my family's trait because she told me today after practice that she WILL get a ribbon next time:) I'm just amazed that anyone can swim like that and not choke on water. I still have to plug my nose.

Now for my funny Nolan moment. As I have stated before, we have been looking at dogs for sale online and in the paper. Well, on Sunday there was a section in the paper with local babies. I pointed out our neighbor girl out to Nolan and he said, "why are they getting rid of her?" I burst out laughing of course because I realized he thought it was just another add in the paper. Of course we explained it to him and then we all had a good laugh. I'm glad he says these things out loud because I would hate for him to think people advertise babies in the paper.

I hope you are all having a wonderful summer so far. It is going to fast, as usual!!!

Take care,

Karen

Back from Kearney

I had a great work trip to Kearney. I love having the opportunity to see my co-workers away from work and the stresses of home. We had a nice time shopping, sitting in the hot tub, eating, having a drink or two, and just having some interesting conversations. On Tuesday night we even had a complete stranger walk in our room and use our restroom. We had all been in a room chatting. Our group had dwindled from about 15 to 5 and we had the door latched so it wouldn't lock. There was a knock and then the door flew open and a very drunk man walked through and proceeded to go to the bathroom with the door wide open. The guy at the front desk was already on his way up because someone else had called to complain about him. This man was part of our conference and was there at the first meeting on Wednesday am. 

I was at swim team and lessons with my kids this morning. They are doing well and loving it. Natalie is competing in her first swim meet on Saturday! She is doing the back stroke and freestyle. Wish her luck!!

I'm signing off for tonight. I 'm very tired.

Karen

Bailey and Sadie

Bailey is the yellow lab mix and Sadie is the collie mix. They are both 9 right now. Bailey has a torn ACL, but she is a trooper and gets around great. They are my fur-babies.

consequences of swmming

Well, it's only been one week of swimming lessons and swim team and Natalie already has swimmer's ear. She is pretty miserable at times. Our doctor told us about a solution you can put in it after swimming to dry the ear canal. She is not able to swim for 3 days, that is like torture for Natalie.

We have had such a busy week. We went to Omaha yesterday to see my friend Molly and her three children. I hadn't met her baby yet, he'll be 1 in July. They are so cute. They play hockey so my kids were able to see them in all of their hockey gear. So cute. After that we went to cookout with some old family friends. Nolan had a great time but Natalie started feeling bad during dinner so we left early.

After a rush filled week we all crashed today for over 2 hours. I don't know if John and Natalie fell asleep, but Nolan and I had a great snooze as we snuggled together. He is so cuddly. 

We are still keeping our options open about a dog. I really want to rescue a dog, but I keep getting e-mails from local people with puppies. So far I've received pictures of ShihTzus, Bishons, Shiba Inus and Shorkies. They are all so cute. If you are interested in a dog, check out the website: hua.org. Read the stories of each dog with a box full of kleenexes near by. My favorite is Hitachi, he is so cute and Hitachi Haney sounds so good:)

John wants me to remind everyone to root for the Celtics on Sunday. He has been a fan for years, back in the Larry Bird days. If they win tomorrow I will ask about the dog again. I know not to bring it up when they lose or during a game. 

This week I attend my yearly meetings in Kearney. It is usually a fun trip. Last year I got sick so I'm hoping I have better luck this year. We leave Monday night and return Wednesday night. 

Natalie's first swim meet is next Saturday. I'm not sure if the young ones compete yet or not. I should find out this week. I'll post when I know more!! 

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day to all of the dads!!

Karen

The first entry:)

I'm totally copying my sister-in-law, Jamie, but I've always wanted to blog too. This will be a place for us to share pictures and fun stories about our family. With a 7 and a 5 year old, we are always busy and full of stories. 

Today we went to the pool for 5.5 hours. The kids are now sacked out of the couch while I am typing this. Before they crashed, we decided to ride along in my sister and brother-in-law's camper to Beatrice for their oldest son's baseball game. It was really fun. Nolan thought it was amazing that a moving vehicle could have a stove and a bathroom. Oh, how sheltered he is. The kids did nothing but eat crap at the concession stand while we tried to watch the game. Luckily, nobody has thrown up, yet:)

Natalie is becoming quite a fish and thanked me for signing her up for swim team. She loves meeting new people. It has also given me the opportunity to meet some new people too. I've been so lucky to be surrounded by great people in the activities she has chosen. We couldn't have asked for a better group of parents in her girl scout troop and now with swim team. 

Hopefully, this will become a fun place for people to visit. I hope to include some fun pictures of our entire family, including our fur-babies. I would also like to keep you all posted on our possible adoption of a rescue dog from HUA.org. I've almost talked John into it!!!! I'll keep you in the loop!