Texas Roadhouse A Rowdy Time

The Y-Ds gravitate toward “kids eat free” nights at Omaha restaurants. One eatery we hadn’t tried yet, but had heard a lot about, was the Texas Roadhouse at 156th & West Dodge Road.

So with several extra adults tagging along – to celebrate Mom’s birthday, in fact – we packed up the van and headed west. On the way there, we took one of our last trips along the lower part of the West Dodge expressway. (The elevated portion opens Thursday.)

We were told it would be about a half-hour wait, so we took advantage of the huge barrel of peanuts in the waiting area – tossing the shells at each other. There was even a mashed potato eating contest. (Sorry, no Y-Ds participated, in order to save their appetite.)

Our good friends Stacy and her husband, Michael (Jordan) sat with Mom and Dad, while Aunt Dee-Dee and Uncle Jon manned the “kids table.”

The food was delicious and the the woman who made balloon sculptures went to town making a tall birthday hat for Mom and parrots that sat on the girls’ shoulders.
Lauren with her parrott balloon.

Julia was cold, so she wore her UNO hoodie.

Mom and her birthday hat.

We Love Lincoln (And Hotels)

It may be only 50 miles down the road, but Lincoln is one of the Y-D family’s favorite vacation destinations.

In the case of this weekend, Dad had a bicycle race to officiate, so the girls took advantage of the opportunity and tagged along.

We checked into the motel on Saturday afternoon, then hit church (because Dad had his bike race early Sunday morning). The church was completely packed (for a 4 p.m. mass) and we ended up sitting in a stuffy, hot and crowded cry room that overlooked the pews below.

Editor’s Note: It’s very flattering when people in the cry room are embarrassed that their children are acting up – and actually take them out of the cry room. (Where do they go?)

Back at the motel, we enjoyed the outdoor pool (which had a “closed due to mechanical difficulties” sign on it less than 24 hours earlier). The enjoyment didn’t last long, though, as Julia and Olivia both started showing their fatigue and completely broke down, crying for Mom.

Eventually, we made it to downtown Lincoln for a nice meal at Buffalo Wild Wings. Unfortunately, the “nice” meal was spoiled by poor (very poor) service. So the highlight of the night was playing on the sculptures at the nearby Children’s Museum and a stop for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery (our new favorite dessert place).

Dad had to hit the road for his bike race the next morning before anyone else was even awake. Though we don’t have any pictures, Uncle Neil said the room resembled “a battlefield” with bodies strewn everywhere (two on one bed, two on the floor, Veronica in her pack-and-play).

The morning was spent swimming, with an afternoon visit to the Children’s Museum.

Ouch!

No, this is not a case of child abuse.

It is a case of Lauren hurting herself - again. She was running in the Children's Museum when Julia tripped her. She hit her head so hard on the floor that Mom immediately expected to see blood. There wasn't any blood, but there was a heck of a bump, as you can see.

Take A Seat

You'll never guess where Veronica is sitting...(see next picture)

No Photoshop work on this picture. It really is where you see it.

T-Plus 10 Months and Counting

It would be easy to write, "It's hard to believe Veronica is already 10 months old." So we won't.

Instead, it's better said that she has grown up very fast in the past 10 months. As you can see from the picture, she's toddling around (when we coax her to walk). She has been ascending and descending stairs for a couple weeks and she has preferred "people food" over baby food the past month.

What else does she do? She can recognize her sisters by name. She waves "bye-bye" and she loves to watch the Tour de France with her dad. (Not really.)

You might recall Olivia's referral to her younger sister as "Vergonicka." That nickname still comes up now and then. But there's a new one, now, that is quickly gaining acceptance. Lauren came up with "Verone" pronounced "Ver'-OWN." It's French-sounding, really.

'Monster House' Not Well Received

The YD movie critics were out earlier this week to sample the newest kid fare, "Monster House" from the folks at Pixar ("Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc.").

Emily and Lauren both gave it lukewarm reviews. Emily said parts of it were scary. Lauren said it was "loud" at times. Olivia fell asleep. And Julia had no comment.

As for Mom, she said the first half was good, but the second half was not.

So there you go.

Breaking News: Veronica Takes First Steps

Omaha, Neb. - Veronica took her first steps today, coaxed by a roll of duct tape.

The monumental accomplishment was captured on videotape as Mom encouraged Veronica to make the eight-step journey to Lauren, who was waiting with open arms.

Veronica's achievement comes at the age of nine months and 27 days. She is by far the earliest walker in the YD family.

Celebrating Roberts Dairy's 100th Birthday

Roberts Dairy celebrated its 100th anniversary in Omaha Saturday with a huge "birthday bash" in front of The Rose Theatre. Although it was uncomfortably hot, the girls had a great time at the free event.

Roberta the Roberts Dairy cow was on hand.

Lauren had a great time going down the slide.

Emily said the ice cream was much better than the cake.

Mom, Veronica and Emily watch Olivia play in the bounce house.

The girls didn't seem to mind the heat in the bounce house.

Olivia, Emily and Julia in front of a horse-drawn milk wagon.

Lauren (left) and Emily enjoyed writing on this chalkboard truck.

Mom's Birthday Pool Party

Finally a great night for swimming for Mom's party.

We had a great turnout for Mom's birthday party Saturday at Robin Hill Pool. It was quite a turnaround from last year, when it rained nearly all day and the temperature hovered around 70 degrees. This time, the temperature was above the century mark, which made the water feel great.

Danielle and her longtime friend, Jules.

Aunt Dee-Dee, Uncle Jon and Julia.

Veronica helped entertain her two grandpas.

Aunt Annabelle with our friend, Karen, in the background.

Danielle's longtime friend, Dana, and her son Leo (hidden).

Olivia spent time with her Godmother, Stacy.

Aunt Dee-Dee with two Y-D girls and a Lauren look-a-like.

Ready to Swim

Julia (left) and Olivia with a very different swimsuit.

With temperatures expected to reach triple digits this weekend, we're hoping to hit the pool at least a few times (including Saturday night for Mom's birthday party). Julia and Olivia had a little fun getting ready for it by trying on Dad's suit.

Trip to Sam's Club

Olivia was looking forward to the trip to Sam's.

Jon and Bridget followed us in their car.

Emily got Veronica out as Julia cracked a smile.

Bridget let some carts cut her off.

This is only half of what we bought at the store.

Like Something Out of 'Independence Day'

A shelf cloud makes its way over the YD house Thursday night.

For the first time in a long time, the girls didn't take cover when severe weather came calling today. Instead, they stood at the front door or on the back porch to watch the ominuous clouds move in.

In the case of the second wave of the storm that hit us tonight, it looked like something out of the movie "Independence Day." A fast-moving shelf cloud preceeded the gust front (pictured above). The sky darkened considerably (see photo at right) and soon rain poured down in sheets.

The 'Original' Superman

As he frequently does, Dad dug out an old movie for the girls to watch the other night. It was the original "Superman" movie from 1978.

First, a little background. The YD Girls will most certainly be "Children of the 80s." They have seen the "Indiana Jones" and "Back to the Future" trilogies and they know many of the lyrics to 80s songs (particularly ones by Journey).

The original Superman movie was quite groundbreaking in its day. But compared to today's high-tech special effects, it appears badly dated. Nonetheless, it held the girl's attention - for at least the first half-hour.

What did they like the most? Well, you would think it would be the flying scenes, or when a young Clark Kent races a train. Or the destruction of the planet Krypton. Nope. Not even close.

The scene they best remember is when Superman first arrives on earth in his glass spaceship. As a young boy (probably four or five years old), he exits the spacecraft wearing nothing. That was quite a sight for the girls and they laughed... and laughed... and laughed.

I guess that goes along with one of their favorite scenes in the original "Indiana Jones" movie. It's the one where a bunch of scantily-clad (and very restless) natives chase Indiana out of the jungle. The girls had me rewind that scene and show it to them in slow motion, just so they could see some of the bare butts on the natives. Great, huh?

Julia Goes the Distance

Julia proved her mettle as a future star of cycling, pedaling nearly five miles with Dad today.

The two of them rode from the trailhead at 65th & Grover south to Fun Plex, where they watched the go-carts and people going down the water slide. The return trip was a breeze, literally, as they enjoyed a 10 mph tailwind.

Julia said it was "awesome," but she did complain that her hands were a little sore and her legs a little tired. Dad said she could have probably ridden 10 miles if she was on a bigger bike, noting that she spent a lot of time pedaling fast, then coasting.

Fun with Fireworks

Here are a few leftover shots from our tame (not lame) Fourth of July fireworks display. Olivia was not hurt by the smoke (see the last picture).


Emily coaxes smoke from her smoke bomb.


Olivia (left) and Julia enjoy their smoke bombs.


Lauren (left) and Veronica took a dip in the smoke, too.


Olivia got a little too close to one smoke bomb.

Try Sleeping With This On

No, this isn't an Anthony Hopkins publicity photo from the sequel to "Silence of the Lambs." It's Dad at his sleep study Wednesday night.

This is actually the third time he has had to undergo a sleep study - that's a rarity, according to the staff. The first two times were to evaluate his level of sleep apnea. The skinny on sleep apnea is that you stop breathing while you sleep. How often? In his case, an average of 12 times an hour - sometimes for as long as 35 seconds.

All those electrodes and the breathing apparatus made it more difficult to sleep than the previous two times (when it was just the electrodes). The idea behind the tube to the nose is to regulate your breathing so you do not stop for periods of time. Thus, a better night's sleep.

Did it work? According to Dad's preliminary assessment, no. He hardly got any sleep at all. Between trying to sleep on his back (which he never does) and having to breathe through his nose (another rarity), sleeping was an exercise in futility.

Auntie Mo at work weighed in with advice for the Sleep Study, Part IV (if there is one): "Next time ask them to pipe a little nitrous oxide in the tube," she wrote.

Quest for Fireworks

This was the first of four stands we visited.

It's not easy to find parachute-type fireworks on the Fourth of July. Maybe on July 3rd, or even July 2nd, and for sure on July 1st. But on the afternoon of July 4, it's slim pickings at just about every fireworks stand, as we discovered.

We were looking for roman candles, a fountain and a parachute or two. With a $15 limit, you have to be pretty conservative. Unfortunately, you also have to start buying the cheap stuff at least a day or two before Independence Day. We did get the roman candle, some sparklers, some party poppers and snakes and a few smoke bombs. We did not score a fountain (do they even make them any more?), nor did we find any parachutes. Oh well.

Ralston Water Fights

Enjoying our July 4 tradition: the Ralston water fights.

Another one of our Fourth of July traditions is to watch the Ralston Fire Department's water fights. This year, we arrived in time to catch the end of the parade, which meant the girls got some candy and plenty of political advertising.

The water fights themselves (see picture below) were pretty exciting for Dad, not so exciting for Mom and exciting, at times, for the girls. They did enjoy the sprinkler-type setup the fire department set up behind one of its rigs.

Family Bike Ride

It was 10 years ago today that Mom and Dad went on a 50-mile bike ride in Kearney (on a 94-degree day), only to find out Mom was pregnant (with Emily). Ten years - and five girls - later, we packed up the van and went bike riding. As you can see from the photo above, Emily was the designated "domestique" who was charged with carrying extra water.

Julia donned the United States championship jersey.

The girls looked good warming up in the parking lot.

We rode about a mile on the trail before turning around.