Thank you!

Grampy, Grammy, Benny, and Deanna all came to visit this weekend. We had such a fun time, and Dane was highly entertained! Here are some pictures of playtime.

We miss you all already! Come again soon!

A little choppy...

...on Lake Mead, but we had a nice time just the same.

Night on the Town

Delicious dinner at Spago.

In front of the Bellagio, just waiting for the fountains.
We took in the Blue Man Group performance at the Venetian and then had some gelato as a late dessert!

Evening at Lake Las Vegas

After dinner, we headed out to Lake Las Vegas to enjoy some live jazz and more ice cream/gelato! A beautiful sunset on the way.

Benny and Deanna take in the performance. Dad and Mom.

The little monkey checks out a fountain.

Walking with Grammy.

Nebraska

We took a little vacation to the midwest last weekend to escape the heat. We flew into Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Mike's parents met us there and we drove down to Omaha to spend our weekend with Mike's siblings, Melodee and Mark, and their families.

Grandpa and Grandma were so fun to ride with in the car! Dane had a blast dancing to their great selection of kid music as we drove along.

Camping

We headed out to Branched Oak Lake near Lincoln for some camping and boating.

Here is Zachary, catching fireflies. He's quite successful!

Dane tries his first roasted marshmallow. Mmmm!!
Dane in his little nap tent. He looks a bit grumpy here, but he really seemed to think it was a fun new game!

Bubbles!

Wakeboarding

I'm sure some of you are starting to wonder if we do anything else! Yes, we spent lots of time wakeboarding, and yes, I am subjecting you to yet more pictures of us wakeboarding. We got up around 6:30 the first morning to very calm water.

The heavy dew on the boat almost looked like frost. It was chilly, but not that cold!
Mike catches some air in the morning sun.

My silhouette.

Mike cuts through the glass with our campsite in the background.

Nice, calm water. Hardly enough wind for that sailboat!

Hugh shows his stuff.

Tubing

Each of the kiddos had a little ride on the tube.

Ellie...

Zachary...
and Dane.

Cousins

Dane was in his glory with big cousin Zachary driving him around the yard in the red Jeep!

Playing piano with cousin Ellie.

Family

The whole gang (minus Grandpa and Grandma). Back row- Mike, Dane (hiding behind a head), Amanda, Mark, Anna (and baby Morgan who is scheduled to make her arrival next month!) Front row- Hugh, Zachary, Melodee, and Ellie.

Story time

Water!

Dane loves to play with the hose, so we let him help fill Teddy's water dishes.

Watch out, Mom!
This looks pretty cool. Maybe I'll just stick my head in it!

Animal Planet Edition

You think she's trying to tell us something?!?

The "dog days" of summer. Teddy just lounges in the shade to keep cool.

We have a couple of hummingbirds that hang around our little backyard fountain. It was fun to watch them chase each other around this evening. I put up a hummingbird feeder a few months ago, but I've only seen them at it once. They seem to enjoy the fountain better.

One of the little lizards that climb the trees and brick wall around our yard. They blend in pretty well.

I don't have any recent photos of our other cat. We've had some houseguests recently, so she hasn't been showing her face much!

Of course we couldn't leave out our little "monkey." He's been learning to use his own spoon(s) and making a fine mess in the process. Who knew that yogurt made such good hair gel?