Never in a million years did I think that I would "vacation" in Nebraska. I mean really, Nebraska. There's nothing in Nebraska but corn, right? Wrong. Did you know that Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo is one of the best in the nation (www.omahazoo.com) and that they have a fantastic children's museum (www.ocm.org)? Well, now you do!
Last weekend, we made the hour-and-a-half drive to the Cornhusker state to meet Ethan's cousins and their son for 2 wonderful days! Friday, after naps at Uncle Matt's house, we took Evelyn and Eyler (who is 2) to the Omaha Children's Museum. We all (well, the adults) would have been much better prepared if we'd been wearing our running shoes! The kids had a blast and every where they went, they were running.
Evelyn and Eyler make music on the Light Piano.
If we'd have let her, Evelyn would have spent all afternoon in the Super Gravitron - all sorts of fans, wheels, levers, you name it, moving balls around the room. Her favorite part? Every few minutes a siren sounded and all of the balls were dropped from a basket near the ceiling in the middle of the room. She loved chasing after the balls and finding all of the holes, baskets, and tubes she could put the balls in.
There was also a carousel! This was Evelyn's first ride on a Merry-Go-Round and she loved it! 
And the grand finale, a dance party in the Theater! I don't know if we had more fun watching Evelyn bust a move or the young man (an employee) with mouse ears and a tail (which we think he was hiding chapstick in the end of). Either way, everyone had a great time.
Saturday morning, the three of us were up bright and early (as usual) and headed to meet our old neighbors for breakfast. We had the most wonderful neighbors, however they moved to Omaha last January. It was so great to see them and catch up, but it only made me miss them even more.
Following breakfast, we met back up with the family and headed to the zoo! Since moving to the Midwest, I'd heard nothing but good things about the Omaha zoo. Once we got there, it was easy to see that every thing I'd heard was true! So many animals and so many different exhibits!
Here, Evelyn and Daddy look at some of the bears. It was a beautiful day and the Sun Bear was living up to his name. He was lying at the base of a tree, on his back, eyes closed, catching a few rays.
They also had a small petting zoo (why is it that all petting zoos have goats?!?!) Evelyn loved showing off - she'd pull on the goat's ear and say "Ear!" I don't think the goats were as impressed with her as she was.
Evelyn eye-balling Eyler's juice. I'm starting to see just how difficult it is to get a picture of 2 small children. These 2 did great - no fights and no melt-downs!
Evelyn's favorite exhibit, by far, was the aquarium - she could get right up next to the glass to see all the diffierent fish, and here she smiles as she watches the penguins!
All good things must come to an end... Eyler gives Evelyn a big hug good-bye. We had such a wonderful time. So much fun that we're already talking about doing it again next year! This wasn't Evelyn's first trip to the zoo, but it was definitely the best. 
