Nebraska 2010: Part One

Nebraska 2010: Part One

DAYS ONE, TWO, and THREE

May 2nd - 4th

(This is a really long post. Take a deep breath before diving in. Reason for it: I promised Daddy (Tony) and Nana and Papa (DeeDee and Warren) that I would do a good job with blog posts and pictures. Oh, and a sidenote to you three: the internet will be in tip-top shape soon and ready for some Skype. We're waiting for the new modem/router combo to arrive in the mail!)

DAY ONE: May 2nd:

On Sunday morning Natalie and I were backing out of the garage by 6:58am, on our way to Nebraska. It was hard to wave goodbye to Tony, but I knew we had precious memories awaiting us with NE family. So, away we went...

My mom/Grammie, Lynn, flew into Rapid City, SD at 12:45pm and we were there by 1:30pm to pick her up and finish the drive home. It worked out really nicely. We went straight from the airport to a gas station, and this is where Grammie Lynn got to hold Natalie for the first time in about four months.

After filling up, we took off and made it to our final destination by 10:30pm (CST). I was amazed at how well the trip went, but I'm thinking that will be the last time for QUITE SOME TIME that we can make it in one day. Natalie was sick and tired of her car seat. What a great little trooper she was!!!

When we got home here to NE, Natalie was exhausted and full of tears, so it wasn't the best greeting for Grandpa John, Auntie Carrie, and Uncle Biff. She went to sleep right as I layed her head down in the playpen and we had a bit of a rough night.

DAY TWO: May 3rd

The next morning was nice because Grammie Lynn took the day off from school to rest up from the trip and to spend some more quality time with Natalie and I. She got to feed Natalie cereal for the first time, and was impressed at how well she eats.

Grandpa John came home from work for lunch and missed seeing Natalie eat her cereal, but he did get to see her for a bit before her nap.

After Natalie woke up from her nap, she, Grammie, and I headed into Hastings to see Great-Grandma Colleen Hohlen and make a grocery run to Wal-Mart. I forgot my camera for that event, but we knew we would see Great-Grandma again that night. Thanks for the homemade icecream Grandma! You're the best!

After supper Natalie and I, along with Grandpa and Grammie, went to see Carrie in her last Madrigal concert. I was SO excited because this was the first time I had the opportunity to see her sing since she has been in high school...and it was her last concert...crazy how that worked out! Natalie did pretty well. She was a bit restless so she and I went in the back and stood for most of the concert. Everytime the audience clapped she would whip her head around like an owl trying to pinpoint where that noise was coming from. SO CUTE!

It is a tradition at Adams Central for the choir to circle the audience in the auditorium and have any alumni present join hands with them to sing acappella "The Lord Bless You and Keep You." Before Carrie left for her concert, she informed of where she would be lined up in the circle so I could come and find her. I did and it was a wonderful experience to stand side-by-side, hand-in-hand, singing alto with my little (about to graduate from HS) sister, one of my all-time favorite songs. Grammie was busy taking care of Natalie in the back so Grandpa tried to snap a photo, but it didn't flash so it didn't turn out. The lady behind us got a picture and will hopefully get it to us soon!

Following the concert we got a GREAT picture with Great-Gma Colleen.

Later that evening at home Grammie and Grandpa gave Natalie her Valentine's present. She got three new books and we read through them all. Here she is reading and playing with Grandpa John.

I captured some pictures of her hands while she was playing. So precious!

And a picture of Grandpa John's massive hands compared to one of Natalie's legs.

DAY THREE: May 4th:

Natalie slept great last night and woke up as happy as ever this morning. It was just her and I this morning as Grammie went back to school. We stayed busy around the house helping out in any way we could. Grandpa came home for lunch again and was able to catch Natalie after her nap just before he left to return to work. He had a cup of water and decided to share it with her, and we were both surprised at how well she drank the water. No pictures of this yet though.

Not long after Grandpa left, Aunt Carrie came home from her last day of high school. The night before she had spent the night at a friend's house and they rode their bikes to school for their last day. Six and a half miles Carrie said! They painted special shirts for the ride and rest of the day. Here she is with her's! It makes me giggle!

Natalie hadn't had any cereal yet by the time Carrie came home. We put her in her Bumbo chair and gave her a baby biter cracker-thingy. Here she is getting progressively dirtier and dirtier.
Yummy!

Still clean and enjoying it so much!

Now that's a hard-working tongue.

Oops, she dropped it and had to pick it back up again.

Officially a mess! But an 'oh-so-cute' one!

After her chewy thing Carrie fed her cereal. Aunt Carrie did very well!

After Natalie's cereal, we decided to go outside and enjoy some sun for a little bit. It was 76 degrees, but a bit too windy, so Natalie didn't last outside too long, and it was past naptime!

Hmmm...what is this funny feeling stuff???

Hi Zoey! Such a great doggie with Natalie.

I LOVE this picture. Natalie's blue eyes with the blue sky and the contrast of the green grass. Oh, and Molly's profile too! She's already protective of Natalie.

When Grandpa got home from work, he had to show everyone how well Natalie can drink out of a cup. Grammie got some pictures for us.

Check out the focus on the faces of both parties involved.

Spending some time with Uncle Biff after his golf meet, which by the way he did VERY well at!

Grabbing his nose! Testing to see if he has the "Hohlen" nose.

Aunt Carrie blowing on Natalie's belly.

So precious!

Oh, my feet!

I'll give them a taste.

Wearing Uncle Biff's golf hat.

(I think she looks a lot like cousin Cameron Reddig in this picture.

For those of you that know him...what do you think?)

So proud.

Uncle Biff's first cereal experience.

He did pretty well.

We have a great video of this too...another post.

After dinner, Grandpa John and I went out and planted 75 trees for his pheasant habitat around his pond. It was beautiful evening, so Natalie and Grammie came out and watched us.