Happy and You Know It!

One of my favorite songs to sing with the kiddos is "If you're happy and you know it..." This is currently one of Sutton's go-to songs as she likes to clap her hands and stomp her feet.

This picture just makes me happy. And yes, I know that it's sideways, but it's 4:30 a.m., I'm headed out the door to San Diego and I needed a little "happy" as I leave for a business trip! Hope it makes you happy too.

Tootsie Pops

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop? I imagine that you're wondering what this has to do with anything. I often ponder the same type of question, but mine has to do with photos of our girlies. How many photos does it take to get a good pic (two smiling faces looking in the same direction, etc.) of the girls together!?!?

We thought we'd see on Saturday before we headed to the fair... I'm posting them all and will let you decide. I'm still not sure how many photos it takes, but sure enjoy looking through them.

Nebraska State Fair

The Nebraska State Fair saying farewell to Lincoln and moving to Grand Island coupled with the fact that in our 15 years in Nebraska neither Travis nor I have ever actually been to the fair, prompted us to load the girls up in the bike trailers on Saturday afternoon and pedal down to state fair park to check it out for ourselves.

It was a great afternoon, and we actually could have left the fair without ever even having stepped foot on the midway. Emme and Sutton LOVED the animals and the afternoon felt a little like best-in-show livestock edition! We watched goats being shown and the girls were mesmorized by the horses being shown.

We finally made our way to the midway, where we did all the things one should do at a fair... We ate hotdogs, corndogs, drank lemonade and smoothies and experienced the famous pineapple whip (which by the way was amazing!). We played games and Daddy won each of the girls a stuffed animal. We (or I should say Emme) also made sure to ride a number of the carnival rides.

So, it was well worth the trip and I actually said to Travis on our way out that I just might consider a trip to Grand Island next summer--the pineapple whip was to-die-for!

PS - Yes, Emme is officially a fashionista--the cheerleading outfit and soccer shoes were absolutely her idea :)

Henry Doorly Fun and Celebrity Sighting

We frequent the Children's Zoo in Lincoln at least once a week, so when Travis suggested that we head to the zoo in Omaha on a recent Saturday morning the words weren't even out of his mouth and the girls were chanting "zoo, zoo, zoo!" This was mommy and Sutton's first trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, and I think it's safe to say that neither of us was disappointed.

Since it was sort of a spur of the moment trip, we stopped at McDonald's in Gretna for a quick bite to eat. Check out the pics below to see who just happened to be there also... the girls thought it was cool but neither wanted to get too close.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Amidst all the summer fun we've been having, the girls and their daddy planned a (surprise) birthday party to celebrate ME! The party was complete with silly string (note the first pic), balloons, ice cream cake decorated with candles spelling out "32," candy necklace party favors courtesy of Emme, a "Birthday Princess" party hat and my three favorite people. Perfection!

Emme thought it was great, however, asked her daddy pointedly as they were getting ready for the party... "doesn't mommy have any other friends?"

While Daddy and Emme are Away...

Sutton and Mommy will play! We decided to have our own adventure while Daddy and Emme were in Kansas City, so Sutton and I decided to invite Sutton's buddy Jackson and his mom Shilo for a playdate at the zoo. What a great morning!

Perhaps these photos can be the start of their wedding video someday?!? :)

Daddy and Emme's Royal, Farm-tastic Adventure

Travis has decide to start a new tradition with each of the girls--an annual one-on-one overnight daddy/daughter adventure. Last weekend marked the first of what I imagine will be many fabulous, magical trips that Travis and Emme (and eventually Miss Sutton) will share together in the years to come.

A trek to Kansas City for a Royals game (apparently there was a five course meal that started with cotton candy and ended with ice cream with a whole lot of hot dogs, popcorn, etc. in between. Emme told me that their hotel was "posh" (thank you very much Fancy Nancy :)). Saturday they spent much of the day at the wonderful Deanna Rose Farm. They said it is a must do!

If only I could have been a fly on the wall... I guess the pictures and stories will have to do.

New Home Sweet Home

It dawned on me that I haven't yet posted the biggest news of the summer... We have a new address! On July 10, we said goodbye to our first home and hello to our "forever house," as Travis and I lovingly refer to it.

We are so excited about our new home, but I have to admit, I was surprised at how sad I was to leave the O'Hanlon house. When I walked through the empty house the night before our closing, I remembered how proud we were the day we signed the papers and moved in. Our life together really started in that house--a dental practice, a dog, being a care-free couple who could come home to a place of our own but then take off and travel at drop of a hat, bringing home our two beautiful baby girls, making new friendships and nurturing the old friendships. We did a lot of growing (up :)) on O'Hanlon Drive. What a wonderful first home!

When I walked in the new house though, I knew immediatly that this was our "forever house." I looked up at the staircase and envisioned our girls walking down those stairs on their first days of school, first dates, their graduation days, their wedding days, etc. Heck, I even thought the backyard might be just the place for a wedding someday (Travis is rolling his eyes now). What's the first rule of real estate... don't get emotional, right?!?!

So, we're off and running making new memories in the new house as of just a few weeks ago. I'd be remiss not say a big, public "thank you" to Aunt Kelly, Uncle Bymer and cousins Trey and Lily for letting us "crash" in their attic for almost ten days while we were between homes!

With all that being said, come see us!

Giddy-up... Finally!

A quick post for our followers. The Antholz Fam decided to take advantage of Wild Wednesdays at the Children's Zoo last night.

The highlight was that Miss Emme finally "got back on the horse" or in this case "got on the horse" period. She's come close many times, only to shy away from taking a ride at the last second. I sensed that last night might be the night she would finally follow through, when she actually told me which horse she wanted to ride. And ride, she did--twice!

I stood beside her and held her hand until she got on the horse. As I headed to the stairs to walk beside her on the ride, she looked up at me and said that she wanted to go by herself. A little surprised, I wasn't quite sure how to feel--so proud of her independence, but sad she didn't need me beside her. I imagine that this is the first of many times that I will want to walk beside her and she will want to venture out on her own. Is that how parental success is measured?

Go figure that we didn't have the camera with us. So, although there are not pictures, we thought this was still big news. Giddy-up!

August Already...

Holy moly! I can't believe that my last post was Mama's Day. I've got some catching up to do! I promise I will try to get that done soon. It's hard to believe that the summer is winding down. Coming soon-- a recap of June and July in pics.

For the time being, here's a fun pic of Emme that I took at the Children's Zoo last weekend. We had a "girls weekend" while Daddy was on his annual fishing trip to Colorado.