Nebraska... the Good Life

... or so it says each time you cross the state border.  

Source

After our fun week in Kansas City, we headed to Nebraska where we were greeted by these two beautiful faces:

As a child, I always found it kind of trite when people would say things to me like, "My, look how much you've grown!" But in the case of our niece, Kahlyn, and our nephew, Akio, it's SO true.  I'm such an aunt...

Kahlyn is now walking, talking, and pretty much eating everything in sight.  And Akio is at that point now when you can have an actual conversation with him.  Don't even get me started on his iPad/tablet navigating skills.  But more on our time with them later.  

During the week, there were a lot of firsts that we were able to add to our repertoire of life experiences.  For instance, Patrick built his first fence.  

My dad decided he wanted a fence to go around his garbage cans (as we all do) but was forced to delay it due to his recent back surgery.  Patrick, being the wood-worker-wannabe that he is, happily volunteered to do the labor.  He did everything from digging the holes, laying in cement, and cutting the boards.  

And I was there for the photo opportunities.

(Another staged photo-op.)

What a beautiful fence if I do say so myself.  Those garbage cans don't know how good they've got it.  

On my list of firsts, it was an epic moment when I mowed the lawn for the first time!  Exciting stuff, I know.  (It's called being an "indoor girl" and having three brothers). 

 

Akio helped me mow the lawn as well.  Since I was a newbie, thankfully he was there to pick up my slack.

We also helped out by trimming some hedges...

And pulling weeds.  Again, with Akio's assistance.  He's a really good helper.

As a reward for our hard work, we went to Rosie's pizza.  You thought New York had the best pizza, but little did you know that it actually exists in Nebraska...

Another thing you should note if you want to dine at the Engel's household is that you need a minimum of 3 different kinds of hot sauce on hand at all times.  And probably a bottle of Tums.

While we're on the subject of food, I should mention that my sister-in-law Lindsey whipped up some Indian tacos one night that were de-lish!  Lindsey is part Native American and learned how to make this dish from her mother.  She even made her own fry-bread from scratch.





While in town, Patrick and I got to see some of my old friends from high school.  Here we are at DQ with my friend Sam and his wife and children.  Sam and I have known each other since kindergarten so it was fun to see him as a dad.  Their baby - Sebastian - was only days old!

We also met up for some drinks with my friend Megan and her husband Jared.  They took us to some new places around town, like Pearls and this Irish pub called McCarthy & Baileys.  Megan and I have been friends since Freshman year of high school.  I hadn't seen her since my wedding, so it was great catching up.

The rest of the week was spent chilling with the family.  Since it was kind of a mishmash of activities, I'll switch to caption-mode. 

One of those rare moments when Kahlyn let me hold her.

(She's kind of a "daddy's/mommy's/anybody but Uncle Patrick and Aunt Monica" girl.)

Papa Greg doing his thing in his chair.

Alexa and Akio playing on the swing.

The lighting makes Alexa look deceptively angelic in this photo.  

Akio helping us out at the grocery store.

And helping Uncle Patrick win this car game.

Kahlyn hanging out with Uncle Taylor

Patrick showing Akio the real way to play kickball.

Playing with Patrick's remote-controlled helicopter with Akio and his cousin, Audrina

Our make-shift launchpad

Another rare moment for Kahlyn letting Auntie Monica hold her.

Best friends - Koko (6 months old) and Hurley (3 years old)

They could easily knock this gate down, but surprisingly they don't even try.

They have their own section of the backyard to romp around in.

Oh, hello there.

Little does she know that Uncle Patrick is sneaking up behind her 

(actually the expression on her face indicates that she may have figured it out).

She loves Grandma Debby and Grandpa Greg.

Just the guys.

Storytime with Uncle Patrick.

Kahlyn prefers reading two books at one time (and usually backwards and upside down).

Akio likes to ask what every single character is doing in the picture.

Oh yeah, and Taylor launched a rocket one night.  We watched it disappear into the sky and then... 

Well, yeah... we still don't know where it went.

At the end of our stay in Nebraska, we had an important event to celebrate:  Kahlyn's First Birthday!  

Her birthday was actually the week before, but they decided to delay the party (probably because a party's not a party unless Uncle Patrick and Aunt Monica are around).

Here's Lindsey with the birthday girl in her birthday sash.

Here's the family before the big cake moment.  

After Akio helped her blow out the candle, she was left to her own devices.

She was a little tentative...

... but eventually she dug in, although I don't think she quite got below the frosting.

I sure did, though.

There were lots of family members present at the party.  As always, I was glad to see Uncle Harry and Aunt Janet!

Happy first birthday, Kahlyn!  We're glad we were there to celebrate with you!

During the party, Akio had another thing on his mind.  My parents live only a few blocks away from a railroad track, so whenever he hears the horn, he's always begging someone to take him to see the train.  After cake time, Patrick and I were happy to take him train-watching.  

It was fun to see how mesmerized he was by the trains.  He could hardly wait for the following week when we promised to ride an 1880 steam train with him in the Black Hills.

Speaking of the Black Hills... pictures to come!

oo,