New House

It's official! We close on our new house on July 28 and then move in when we get back from Colorado. Not a bad 40th birthday present for Jayson!

Father's Day

More to come...

Weekend with MJ & Kaylee

Summertime is finally here... as Kenny Chesney sings.  That means we had a great time with MJ and Kaylee spending the weekend with us.  In addition to the CWS, we had soccer and baseball practice, played some poker, visited the Strategic Air & Space Museum, went to the Mahoney State Park water park and wave pool, climbed the observation deck there, and locked the keys in the car!  Oh well, lots of fun and only one small hiccup :-)

FunPlex

We took the boys to Fun-Plex as they had never been.  Had a great time riding the rides and swimming in the Motion Ocean wave pool.  I especially enjoyed our location near the pool: right between the Margaritaville bar and the Jamaican band.  We ran into one of Jayson's work colleagues and they all started getting voice mails about the same time so we had to cut our time a little short.  But we will definitely be back!

College World Series

This year the kids had their first College World Series experience.  Of course I had nothing to do with them becoming fast LSU fans (ha ha ha).  Jayson and I took them to Bellevue East to watch them practice.  They had a ball going for batting practice homeruns. 

Then I took Wolf and Zach, and MJ and Kaylee to their first game.  Before the game, we had a blast going up and down 13th Street getting baseball bracelets and hats embroidered with their names.  They had fun at the Fan Zone, trying their luck at pitching, announcing, and winning some prizes from the AT&T tent.  They were even filmed for a KXVO CWS commercial!

It was a great experience for all of them and they can't wait to go back next year for the last CWS at Rosenblatt!

Golf...Fore!

Swimming, Baseball, Poker, ...and a New House?

Coming soon!

Jayson's Graduation, Mother's Day, and Baseball

Coming Soon!

First Weekend of Baseball Games and Another Track Meet

Zach had another track meet at Lewis and Clark. He ran the 1600 and the 4x100 relay as well. What a great cross country season!
Wolf's baseball season started and Jayson is assistant coach. The MuckDogs are a new team in Millard Athletic Association.

Wolf played his first game on May 2. He pitched for the first time, received some sage advice from dear old Dad before batting, and scored after a nice triple.

Danielle's Wedding

Kayla's cousin Danielle was married on April 25. Kayla helped take photos and we had a BLAST at the reception. We danced the Chicken Dance, the Cha-Cha Slide, and more. We laughed a lot and stayed until after the music was done. Congrats to Brian and Dani McBride!

Zach's Track Meet and Birthday Party

Zach competed in his second track meet April 21, running the 1600. It was held at his school, Lewis and Clark Middle School in Bellevue. He did well!


We had a 13th birthday party for Zach on April 24 at Thunder Alley in Elkhorn. It is a huge bowling alley with indoor go-karts and laser tag. He brought some school friends and most of the Flynn's came out as well. A teenager in the house now!

Spencer's Baptism

We traveled to Oklahoma City last weekend where Jayson served as nephew Spencer's godfather. It was a wonderful visit, highlighted by Misty's wonderful cooking and baking (I need to get that recipe for those breakfast biscuits that disappeared so quickly!).

Jayson met his godson, Zach played with his youngest Lucas cousin, and Wolf didn't quite know what to think of Spencer (Wolf standing on the opposite side of the room when Jayson says, "Wolf, don't you want to meet your cousin?" Wolf waves at Spencer and says, "Hi Spencer." Then he turns and goes outside.)















We swam at the La Quinta hotel where we were staying, walked Harley, played basketball in the driveway, took shelter inside during the thunderstorm with hail, and Wolf crashed on Jayson's lap and swears he didn't fall asleep.















Spencer's baptism was held at the Tinker Air Force Base Chapel and was a very nice service with the minister referencing The Princess Bride.















Wolf warmed up to Spencer and started to play with him, Spencer enjoyed seeing the baby in the mirror, Madison did a beautiful reading at the service, and we wish we lived closer to the Lucas family in Oklahoma!!!
















We took some family pictures and the men compared bald spots!















Unfortunately the rest of this week has been plagued with sickness here. Wolf got sick on the drive back and was sent home from school on Monday. I came down with it Monday night, and Jayson started in Wednesday night. It has been an ugly week here!

We are looking forward to Zach's 13th birthday party tonight at Thunder Alley...as long as we are all well enough to make it!

First Track Meet

Zach ran his first track meet tonight. He competed in the 1600 and did well against Papillion! We are so proud! (Click on the collage to see larger images.)

Kansas City and Easter Weekend

We are back in town for a few days and then heading down to see Justin and Misty in Oklahoma City this weekend for Spencer's baptism. We can't wait to see everyone!

We had a great weekend in Kansas City with Mikey. The first day we took the boys to Paradise Park in Lee's Summit. It is funny how we thought the biggest attraction for them would be the go-karts and the rock climbing wall. They were more intrigued with the Foam Factory where you threw foam balls all around and shot them out of cannons. They weren't too sure about the go-karts as they had not driven them before, but they became a quick favorite. We spent a long time there and then went to the batting cages and driving range with Mikey and Edie in the dark. What a great range right by his house!















On Saturday we went to the 810 Zone in the Plaza for lunch and some arcade games. We then headed to the newly renovated Kauffman Stadium for the Yankees vs. the Royals. We had a great time with Johnny and CeCe Zadina, Mikey and Edie, and Jeff and Kristen Marinovic. Although is was a "little" cold during the game, the funniest part was when Edie pulled out the Japanese flag for Hideki Matsui.















We headed back to Omaha on Easter morning and went to my Mom & Dad's to see everyone. Baby Tommy, Baby Chloe, and Ellie are so cute!

National Space Sympoisum and Lisa Lane Wedding

It has been so busy I can't believe it is April! Wolf has started baseball, Jayson is assistant coach, Zach started track, I just returned from a week out of town at the National Space Symposium, my cousin Lisa was married, and Jayson's work is finally slowing down a bit.

It is great to have the boys back this week. We are heading down to see Mikey in Kansas City this week and are all going to the Yankees game on Saturday. This is the first major league game for the boys so we are excited. If the weather is as forecast, should be 50s or 60s...not too bad for an April game in KC.
















Pictures from the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Kayla with Bill Nye the Science Guy, the first Chinese astronaut to make a space walk, Neil deGrassi Tyson (the next Carl Sagan), and Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian astronaut and first private female in space. Also, the view of Pikes Peak from my hotel room, Garden of the Gods, and the Broadmoor Hotel where the conference was held.















Pictures from Lisa Lane's wedding April 4, 2009.

(Remember to click on the collages to see the images larger)

Tom and Jill's Reception

This weekend was Tom and Jill's reception. It might be a little bit before I get the pics posted, but here is Michael John's toast - a must see! Great job MJ!

New Game

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! I will be joining the festivities today with my family, and Jayson and Zach are heading to the Nickelback concert tonight. It is Zach's first rock concert (and a school night). They had a great time. Zach said, "Dad, this is the best concert ever!" To which Jayson replied, "This is your only concert so far." Zach replied, "It is still the best!"

The boys invented a new game of catch with the trampoline last night. Too bad they weren't having a good time! (Click on the collage for a larger image)

Student of the Week and Other Updates

Zach had exciting news this week and we are so proud of him. He was named Student of the Week! His photo will be on the tv screens throughout the school during conferences next week.

We are also proud of his quarterly grade report which shows he has been working hard. Five A's and two B's this quarter! We celebrated by going to see Race to Witch Mountain yesterday.








Wolf's baseball team for the spring is the Muckdogs with Millard Athletic Association. Jayson will be the assistant coach for this new team.







We went to Michael John's scrimmage the other day and here is a collage of his pics. (You can click on the image to see it larger.)



















Wolf and Jayson also played catch. Here are a few shots from that.

Jamaica!

Coming Soon!

Mom's Birthday and Jill's Wedding Shower / Luncheon

Coming Soon!

Valentine's Day

Zach & Wolf went sledding in the backyard on Valentine's Day. We had lots of fresh snow and it was a great time until Wolf forgot to stop himself and went right into the garage...head first!





We spent Valentine's Day night at my Mom & Dad's. Chloe was so cute! Her little ponytail was pulled out later and her hair was everywhere. I especially like the pictures of her looking at herself in the mirror.

Baby Tommy and Baby Brigid were so good. Jen is holding Brigid and Ellie is playing peek-a-boo while Mom holds Baby Tommy. Madalyn, McKenna, Beth, Katie and I played Princess Bingo. You can imagine the excitement :-)

The small picture of Katie shows her eating an Oreo cookie. Only she was experimenting with the frosting by scraping it on the back of the chair. It is so cute how kids process new things!

(Click on the collage to see the larger pics).

Rock Star!

Zach's guitar lessons are already paying off. Only 3 lessons and here is what he can do.
(click on the collage at the bottom to see the larger pictures)

Remodel Pics

The bathroom remodel and new kitchen floor projects are done...finally! We are happy with the way they turned out. In case you don't recall, you can scroll down for the past pictures. What a difference a floor makes! (You can click on the collage to view the pics closer)

Snow Day

You probably heard about the snow storm that hit us today. We finished with somewhere around 7 inches from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. All schools were closed, the Base closed, and even UNO closed. Too bad Zach, Wolf, and I already had the day off. Bellevue Schools had winter break so I took vacation time to be off. If you click on the collage below, you can see some of the fun the boys were having making snow angels, throwing snowballs, etc.

Boys Brought Home Good News!

We are very proud of Zach and Wolf for being selected as High-Ability Learners (HAL) at their schools. Wolf was selected for all-around subjects, and Zach was selected for history. For those not familiar with Nebraska Education programs, the following Legislative Bill defines HAL. Very similar to the Challenge programs we had growing up.

LB 647, which was adopted by the Nebraska Legislature in 1994, has the following requirements: For school year 1997-98 and each school year thereafter, each school district or ESU . . . shall identify learners with high-ability and contingent upon available local, state, or federal funding, provide programs or services that will address the educational needs of identified students at levels appropriate for the abilities of those students.

LB 647 contains the following definition of a learner with high ability: Learner with high ability shall mean a student who gives evidence of high performance capability in such areas of intellectual, creative, or artistic capacity or in specific academic fields and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to develop those capabilities fully (LB647, adopted 1994).