Sunday Fun!

We visited Omaha's botanical garden today and saw some cool stuff! Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of the beautiful gardens.

My Trip Up North

I left last Wednesday for Northern Minnesota to visit a paper mill that makes a lot of the paper OTC buys for catalogs. We were supposed to fly commercial to Minneapolis where a charter jet would pick us up and fly us to the mill town. Our flight out of Omaha was cancelled due to fog so the charter just zipped down to pick us up. We got to avoid the whole commercial hassle (on the way there anyway). One of the guys on my team had never flown before so that was his first flight experience. I wish I could travel like that all the time! Here's a picture of me getting on the plane.

We got to tour the forest and hear about the mill's sustainability practices, which were fascinating. They employ a forest ecologist, who has a Bachelor's degree in Forestry and a Master's degree in soil sciences. She took us around to several different stands and told us all about the habitat - trees, vegetation, soil, insects and animals. As you can see, their trees are already starting to turn. It was an awesome experience. This is me, Michael and Ted - we make up the catalog purchasing department.

This is where we first got out of the car and the smell was amazing. Sort of like an air freshener only better, real.

They cut all logs into 100" sections for transport to the mill.

Notice all of the debris on the ground. In places it was more than knee deep. They leave it there to provide cushion for the processor's weight (to avoid compacting the soil) and to provide homes for insects and animals.

When we were here, I had my eyes peeled for wolves! It was really dark in places.

Neighborhood Picnic

Our neighborhood picnic was last weekend. They had lots of fun activities like bouncers and pony rides. Chloe had so much fun in the bouncer that she wouldn't hold still long enough for a good picture (as you can see in the bottom picture). Chloe wasn't too hip on the ponies so the nice cowgirl stuck with her. I think Chloe finally let go of her on the last circle.

Prima Ballerina

Chloe started dance class a couple of weeks ago. Here she is with her classmates - she's got her back to the camera, second girl from the teacher on the right. Aren't they adorable?

Parks had to hang out in the lobby. He enjoyed people watching.

OTC Family Picnic

We went to the OTC Family Picnic on September 13 and had a bunch of fun.

Chloe liked the bounce houses

and the popcorn.

Contrary to how this looks, Ray was not sharing his beer with Parker.

We Parked at the MAC in CB and rode a shuttle bus to the picnic site. They were playing "oldies" (like from the 80's) on the bus and Parker was jamming to Bang Your Head by Quiet Riot. He loves to dance and will bounce to just about any type of music he hears. He's particularly fond of Jimmy Buffet's Cheeseburger in Paradise.

More Labor Day Fun!

Parker and our niece Addison were cruising the dinner table on Sunday night.

Parker earlier in the day exploring sand.

We just got up and couldn't resist looking out the window. It was a beautiful morning.

Dad & Chloe rode up to Sunrize donuts to get some breakfast. Yum!

Fun With Iris

We went to the zoo with my friend Jen & her daughter Iris over labor day weekend. You can see here that Chloe is the only one who wasn't super excited about the carousel. We also spent some time with Jen & Iris the weekend before at the Children's Museum - it was girls' day out as dad & Parker stayed home. Chloe was a little scared of the dinosaurs exhibit but she has talked about it constantly since we were there. We'll have to visit again and see if she enjoys herself any more. Iris was having a blast. Iris's little brother Coen should be arriving any time now - we can't wait to meet him! Parker is looking forward to having a boy around.