Last year, on a beautiful spring day, Dave had the great idea
of taking a "skip day" and spending the day together as a family.
As many of you know, this was very difficult for me as I'm a rule
and routine follower and spontaneity is not my strong suit.
But, we did it and we had a blast. Thus was born:
Rouse Family Fun Day Tradition!!
This year FFD was planned (yes, I planned our spontaneous fun day)
for Tuesday May 17th.
To add a little more excitement, if that's possible, we kept it a secret as to
where we were going other than, "it's not in Iowa".
It was so fun listening to the girls try to figure out where we might go.
On the morning of the trip, I handed each of the girls a "ticket" to FFD.
It entitled them to: "Omaha Children's Museum, Henrly Doorly Zoo,
and dinner at Spaghetti Works at the Old Market".
They were thrilled! So we loaded up the car, popped in a movie
and headed out!
First stop was Omaha Children's Museum.
That place is awesome!!
Think Science Center times 100!
There was so much to do and the staff were great.
Bonus: free admission for Sci Iowa members!
Three girls ready for some fun ~
RouseHouse putting out the fire ~
As if there wasn't enough to do, they had painting
in the craft room ~
This trip had several "mommy moments" for me.
One of the most overwhelming moments was the realization
that Claire is growing up. It is a fact of life that she
will one day turn to me and say, "mom, I don't
want to go on FFD with you guys this year."
And I will cry and say, "tough stuff, get in the car".
And it will be sad.... but she will go anyway and
punish me all day for it, but I'll still love her! : )
But, this year, she was a joy and a sweety and
a great daughter and sister!
We had a great time in the craft area.
Dave is the crafty parent in our group ~
While the big girls played with blocks
and cranks and pulleys, Avery layed on the floor
waiting for a pile of balls to fall on her, then laughed and
laughed and did it again. Ahh, Avery!
She did learn to lift her own body weight with
a little help from dad ~
We wrapped up the museum with a ride on their carousel ~
Next stop was Henry Doorly Zoo.
We are Zoo people and we had a great time!
The crew, ready for an adventure ~
Everyone walked the shaky bridge, even Aves ~
We did the Skyfari twice. Avery loved the views,
I loved the rest!
Avery's favorite mode of transportation ~
I love my little gorillas. That's Avery's impression of the Gorilla ~
Ella's favorite was the butterfly garden. Sweet, beautiful
and sensitive, just like her ~
My favorite part of the day was how well everyone got along.
This was are first "big trip" with no stroller or diapers.
We were just a family of five, walking and exploring,
enjoying each others company.
I am very proud of how well everyone did and what
a great time we had because of it!
In their own words ~
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
Enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, Praise God!
