Omaha is H U M I D and H O T! We are used to a hot, dry climate, not this. I have to admit this is taking getting used to. When we first moved here there were kids playing everywhere and at all times playing outside. The last 6 weeks here... it is a ghost town, no one is outdoors and kids stay up late and all start playing outside after dinner.

 When we live in our bathing suits, this little guy likes to take it off and leave it. What an adorable fireman!

 Colby and Ethan love when Daddy gets home from work.

 Locked out of our building, the boys didn't mind at all.

 We took a limited amount of toys with us this summer and the boys got very creative. (They are putting legos on the train tracks)

 Grandma and Grandpa got to visit us a lot over the summer, which we all LOVED! Colby and Ethan loved hanging out with their Grandparents.

 Freddy's was this great burger joint that we found and fell in love with, they even had real ice cream, not the gross stuff!

 Colby and his turtle tat from the Zoo, best zoo ever!

 Ethan was the first one out of quiet time and was loving that Dad let him watch the ipad with headphones.

Posted in: 2012, colby, craners, darrin, ethan, us on Monday, November 5, 2012 at 0 comments  

 Kenefick Park is minutes from our "summer home". The path is a steep walkway that leads up to the top of the hill where two Union Pacific trains sit and can be easily seen off the freeway.



 Trains are massive, you never realize it until you are standing next to it.
 Doesn't every mom carry Thomas around in her purse:)




Union Pacific is a huge part of Omaha's rich history, it is fun learning about it.

Posted in: 2012, colby, ethan, us on at 0 comments  

Posing the same, cheesy, Yep! That's me!!





I had the boys do a tough pose, Colby and Ethan are showing me their muscles. Sooo handsome!


My Craner boys. I love them so much!

Posted in: 2012, colby, ethan, us on Friday, July 27, 2012 at 2 comments  

Once a year Omaha features "Family Day" where a family can experience lots of fun places for 15 bucks. Awesome deal! We went to the Lauritzen Gardens, Durham Museum, Dodge House and the Joslyn Art Museum. I am fascinated with all of the museums and how much I can learn. Okay, I might learn a little bit more without a 4 and a 2 year old.......... but they are still super fun and we had a great time.

The gardens had a train the kids could ride, the weather was ridiculously hot and humid and I was wishing it was acceptable to wear a bathing suit while waiting our turn. The kids really liked going on the train and made the wait worth the profuse sweating. : ) 

Posted in: 2012, colby, ethan, us on at 0 comments  

At the Kanesville Tabernacle stands a statue of my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather Henry Miller from my Mom's (Byers) side. His brother, Daniel A. Miller, is my Great, Great, Great Grandfather on my Dad's (Miller) side. Hmmmm... AND Daniel Miller's wife, Clarissa Pond, is who I am named after! :) Both Henry and Daniel were Captains of several hand cart companies. Legend has it that they always timed the trips right and never lost a soul. In fact, a journal entry tells the tale of one particular company crossing a swift river.  A pregnant woman and her wagon were caught by the current and dragged down stream.  Suddenly, Henry jumped on top of the wagon, cut the top open with his knife, and pulled the pregnant woman to safety! Wow! I am proud to have some great family heritage. It was nice to be able to visit my ancestor's home.

Kanesville was originally named Millers Hollow! How cool is that!

Posted in: 2012, riss, us on Sunday, July 1, 2012 at 4 comments  

 We haven't been able to go on any dates since we moved to Nebraska and Darrin and I love our date nights! I think everyone who is married should always go on dates but since we don't really know anyone.... well enough, we are doing lots of family dates! The kids are loving this! A couple weeks ago we noticed the fireflies, they are SO much fun. I feel like a little kid, I love to run around and find them, and try to catch them.
For our family date night we had quite the party! We went out for dinner and then we went to the grocery store so the kids could pick out some yummy snacks for our movie night. We all got in our pj's and brought the beds downstairs and watched Cars and all slept in the living room together. Now this type of camping I can do! ( I know if I think that is camping- I am pathetic) We ate popcorn, had lots of snacks, soda and fun. Halfway through the movie it was dark enough outside to go chase the fireflies. Normally our kids go to bed early so they never get to see them but they thought that it was so fun and special to be up this late with mom and dad. They love fireflies, they love chasing them around! We came back in and finished the movie and then Darrin and I stayed up late watching shows. It was so nice having a fun evening with the fam and in the morning I made a killer breakfast (pinterest has the best ideas)  before heading off to the zoo!

Posted in: 2012, colby, darrin, ethan, riss, us on Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 2 comments  

I found these to show you how cool this place is, the top is an aquarium that you can walk through with gorgeous fish, sting rays, sharks and lots of cool fish. The next, is of the Lied jungle, one of the worlds largest indoor rainforests!

"Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is nationally renowned for its leadership in animal conservation and research. It features the largest cat complex in North America, "Kingdoms of the Night" is the world's largest nocturnal exhibit and indoor swamp; the Lied Jungle is one of the world's largest indoor rainforest, and the "Desert Dome" is the world's largest indoor desert as well as the largest glazed geodesic dome in the world."

 The Henry Doorly Zoo. We live right down the street and we are so happy about this. The zoo is in the Top 10, it really is amazing and so much fun. The boys and I love going, we haven't missed a week yet. Great getting out of the house activity. It even has an IMAX theater, the boys love seeing shows in 3D. The best part is the price. 99 gets you a year pass and free movies, best bucks ever spent!



 Here kids can dig up bones in the rubber pit. Colby and Ethan love this!




In the Rainforest, it is massive!! There are paths the kids can go on under waterfalls, so fun.

Posted in: 2012, colby, darrin, ethan, riss, us on Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 1 comments