Omaha, Nebraska Day Two

 Considering how hot the weather had been just a day before we arrived in Omaha (the weather on Thursday was perfect), we weren't that disappointed that it was only in the 70s with a light drizzle most of the morning while we were at the zoo. We were never cold and it was MUCH better than being hot! God knew exactly what we needed for a fun day... 😍

Chris and I love the Omaha Zoo and it was even more fun bringing Kim and Cynthia with us! They'd both been before but Cynthia was only about 4 or 5 and didn't really remember much. She held my hand through most of the day and I could actually feel her nervous excitement as we wandered around. It was so sweet! 😊 

First stop: Animals of the Night to see one of Cynthia's favorites, the beaver. And she got to see all four of them!

Then we walked through the orangutans and gorillas... I just love the gorillas! So solemn and serious while they stare you down through the glass. 😄

We were also blessed with four free activity wristbands when we arrived and we took advantage of them pretty quickly and went to pet the sting rays... It was so cool! It was probably Cynthia's favorite part! 

With cooler temps, there weren't a ton of people and so many animals were out and about also enjoying the reprieve from the heat... 

The rain had stopped by this time, so we hopped on the Skyfari ride to see the zoo from above... 

After lunch, we went to see Cynthia's other favorite animal, giraffes and on the way we got to see the baby elephant. So cute!  

Another blessing, it just so happened the giraffes were open for feeding... 😍 Despite being warned, she wasn't prepared for just how strong a giraffe tongue really is. LOL

Then we went to my favorite part of the zoo, the Lied Jungle! 

With the day nearly over, we walked all the way to the train station and waited in a very long line only to be told the train had broken down and was done for the day. So we hopped the tram and rode it to the carousel...

We worked up quite an appetite and we introduced Kim and Cynthia to Japanese food. I'm not sure Cynthia loved it but we were proud that she tried it just the same. Even sushi... 😋

Then it was ice cream for dessert and off to bed... 

Omaha, Nebraska Day One

 Despite my rule of not going to the same place twice, we made an exception to go back to Omaha with Kim and Cynthia. It's just too great of a place not to share! 

We left at 0 dark thirty (aka 5:45am) and had an uneventful 6-hour drive to Omaha. 

First stop was the Kiewit Luminarium. (I still don't know what that means but it's a fun new science museum right on the river) Kim and Cynthia played a bit in the super cool playground while Chris and I ate our lunch. But it looked like so much fun that Chris joined in and climbed to the top of the "spider web rocket" so they could go down the slides... :) 

So many fun things at the Luminarium to see, touch, explore, learn, create, play with... We had a great time there! 

All that learning makes you hungry and despite the strange name we went for an early supper at The Old Mattress Factory. No, we didn't eat mattresses but we did have some tasty food! Thanks to the recommendation from a friend at church. Yum!

In order to walk off all that food, we went back downtown to walk the Gene Leahy Mall, River Front and across the Bob into Iowa. Oh, and we stopped to play some more at the playground... :) 

We didn't get any pictures of it but our favorite thing at the playground was the zip line! 

It is so neat that they light up the entire playground so it can stay open late for families to stay... 

All that walking made us hungry for ice cream but too tired to do anything else but crash once we got to the house... Whew!