We Visited the Dallas Temple

At the end of our trip to Texas, we had a full day to visit my good friend Lani in Dallas! It was so fun to catch up with her, and it was also fun to tour Dallas!

Me and Lani

Trying to get her to smile by making a game out of it... "Ok Chloe... now frown!"

"NOW smile!!!"

Kiss

Chloe loves the temple.

Chloe is Getting So Big

I walked into her room the other day to find that she had piled all her library books up on her bed. She climbed onto the bed and situated herself in the middle, and was "reading" the books to herself. I think she was copying momma, as I tend to read in bed. As you can see, she has the book "Boo Boo" on her lap. When I came into the room she was saying "good food boo boo said" which is repeated a lot in the book. Chloe memorizes library books really quickly, and pretty thoroughly. It always shocks us!

I was staring at this picture tonight and suddenly saw that Chloe looks a lot like me. I had always seen mostly Zach in her features, but now I see that she looks very much like me too.

We sure love this little girl!

Chloe is Two!!!

This top picture actually belongs at the bottom. I can't figure out how to move my pictures once I've put them up (blogger must have changed something). Anyways, this picture is of cows in a little barn area- with Zach and Chloe hugging :) It is from the county fair we went to.

Here is the beginning of Chloe's birthday. She was outside playing baseball with daddy and auntie Maddy. I made a bear cake, and mom made the bumble bee cupcakes.

My end product. I think last year's was cuter and yummier, but Chloe was VERY excited when she saw all the m&m's (or "pee pee candy").

My mom is always outdoing herself with the artistic cakes. The bumble bees were made of doughnuts. They were really good, but in the next couple days, the icing piped on them soaked into the doughnuts, and they became AMAZING! I cannot tell a lie. I ate many bumble bees off the leftover cupcakes!

Grandma Kathy and baby Amara.

Chloe really liked squeeking the balloons!

All day, every time she saw the cupcakes, Chloe threw a fit. She cried and screamed and yelled "PUP TAKE!!!" a lot that day. Here she is when she was finally given her very own (giant) "pup take."

YUM!

Opening presents was a blur. To keep Chloe's attention, Grandma Kathy helped her open them lightning speed. I had to ask later who gave her what. All the presents were really great. So great that Chloe has been playing by herself most of the day for the last 2 days!! Niiiiice.

Grandpa Bob and Auntie Karie came. It was really good to see them.

Grandpa Bob gave Chloe this pink piano. She LOVES it. all day she comes up to me and says "help momma" and shoves it im my face because she can turn it off but not on. I turn it on, and am rewarded with an hour of uninturrupted "demo" music. So far, Chloe really only wants to hear the demo music and dance dance dance. This toy was a winner.

Chloe and mommy on the hammock.

Chloe alone on the hammock.

We had a great time a couple days later at the Franklin county fair. We went down there in hopes of a few carnival rides, but were not too displeased to find that the rides would not be ready for a few days. We had a great time walking around and seeing all the 4H animals. There was a pig show that was quite entertaining. There were fancy show chickens, roosters, ducks, bunnies, and cows as well! Chloe as always was MOST impressed by the dirt and rocks. We had fun!

The pig show.

After the fair, we went out to eat at the worst mom and pop mexican restaurant ever. It was pretty funny. All in all, it was a GREAT weekend with the family. Really! Highly enjoyable 4th of July/Chloe's birthday weekend.

Nana Came To Visit

We went to the Zoo!

Chloe had to nap on my lap.

We visited the down town exhibit of bronze pioneer sculptures. It took up a whole city block! Mom was in heaven.

We went swimming!

After we went swimming, we went to the farm in Minden NE to celebrate Chloe's birthday (as seen in the post above). We had so much fun with my mom and Maddy. It was a treat to have them in our home!! Chloe is still talking about them. She calls Maddy "Auntie Bee Bee."

Orman Family Reunion (Zach's Mother's Side)

Chloe crying and smiling, she had a long day.

A tiny cemetery half filled with Zach's ancestors. We were so excited to buy a genealogy book about the people buried here and their ancestors. It was a huge genealogical score!

Aunt Ruth Orman Wagner, Aunt Jeannie Paterson Olenicoff, and Uncle Morris Turner.

Aunt Ruth Orman Wagner, and Aunt Lillian Orman.

When we got to the reunion there was a very old church, a cemetery, and a lot of people. The church was very interesting because it was the church the original settlers in the area attended. It was previously a sod building, and was re-made in 1926. Zach's ancestors helped to build this place of worship. They came to America to escape religious persecution. In Germany, they could get into trouble for owning a bible.

This is the church as it stands today (Lutheran), in the middle of nowhere.

The house Zach's grandmother Ione Orman was raised, located on the original homestead.

In the middle of nowhere, Nebraska. Quite beautiful. I always marvel when I come upon such beauty out here. Living in Omaha, I start to think Nebraska is nothing special. But it gets pretty gorgeous... as soon as you get to the middle of nowhere.

Milk For Sale

The grocery store near our house recently had a sale on all dairy products. To advertise they got a giant cow statue and put it in the parking lot. Here it is. Eat your heart out Krista!

Somehow, as I contemplate the nude colored vein that goes all the way across the cow's belly (wouldn't it be covered in fur?) I suddenly have no desire to consume dairy. What an awful statue!

I had been looking foreward to this milk sale all month- and as silly as it is- because of this statue I have been avoiding HyVee for a while and totally missed the sale. Cow statues with veiney teets are just so weird. I mean the rest of the statue is smoothed over without even a lot of muscle definition. Maybe the weird sculptor thought the veins would make everyone think of milk. But milk does not come from veins.

So gross.

Big Girl Bed!!

Chloe absolutely loves her new bed! It was only $55 at Wal*Mart, and that was pretty comparable to what people were selling their used ones online for. It is really sturdy, and pretty.

Chloe talks to her new bed, saying "Hi bed! Hullo bed!" She climbs up and down, stands up and sits down, all the while narrating her actions. She kisses the mattress and calls the bed "happy bed" when she talks about it. It makes our hearts melt to see her enjoy it so much. Getting in and out by herself makes her really happy.

She had been having horrible sleep problems, waking up every night at midnight to scream incessantly, and getting her legs stuck in the crib slats on purpose... bruising her little thighs and knees. It was just awful. Now, with her new bed, she is just back to normal. She smiles and goes straight to bed. It's so refreshing and cute!!

Tonight we knelt around her little bed for family prayers. She prayed and said thank you for the zoo, and the mi mi's (monkeys), momma, dadda, nee nee (nursery), bear/bear/frog (her lovies), and her happy bed. Our little baby is now officially a little tot.