Odyssey

Thursday evening.

Note about arriving in Omaha. Last night when we arrived Shae had been asleep about the last 45 minutes of the trip. When David took her out of the car and said, "We're here." She opened her eyes and said "Uncle Bob's rock." David put the rock in her hand and we trooped up the stairs to the front door. Shae handed Bob the rock she had picked up in Wyoming. When she picked it up she said "Uncle Bob needs this rock. Who is Uncle Bob?" (We had been talking about Uncle Bob and Aunt Shirley and had a rock for Shirley from the Great Salt Lake.

What a day. There are seven people sleeping in the Nebels house. Skyler slept with me, Shae with Daddy and Paulette got the couch in the living room and the TV. That also meant she would be awakened when Alex, Shirley's grandson arrived to spend the day. Then there were eight. By eight there were people, big and little, milling about everywhere. Paulette had been out for a run, Adam was awakened by three children looking for the cat. It was OK because he had to go to work. Skyler and Alex connected the way young children do--over toys and a cartoon on TV. Shae kept looking for Milo. Milo stayed hidden. Showers, dressing, tooth brushing moving car seats to another van--the one that would carry eight people, sun screen, water bottles, shoes, and whatever and we were off to the zoo. Rosenblatt stadium is across from the zoo. It was opening celebration for the College World Series and half the cars in Omaha were driving or parking in the area. The zoo parking is for zoo people only and everyone had to pay zoo entrance fee before parking meaning a long line to get there. Three, Four and five year olds can make a lot of noise in a confined place. After about twenty minutes we were on our way to get our hands stamped THURSDAY and in the aquarium. What excitement. Sharks, turtles, fish of all kinds. Skyler and Alex held hands and ran from place to place with one or two adults following and sometimes saying stop or wait. Shae walked into the tunel and said "Oh, my gosh." two or three times. Jack Carson joined us about this time. Next we went to the bears, then tigers, primates of various kinds.

The hungry group arrived at the Rainforest Restaurant and soon a table for nine held, hotdogs, hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, wraps, a bbq sandwich and assorted drinks. Jack began to talk about seeing the insects and spiders and soon Alex and Skyler were as quiet as they had been since their first meeting earlier in the day. The feast complete the group split, Shirley, Shae, Myrna and Jack rode the tram around the zoo to look at some birds while the rest went to the College World Series free events. When the tram stopped at the end of the route, Shae put her head on my shoulder ready to sleep. OH no I said and stood her up. Forty two pounds of sleeping three-year-old is not a weight I feel capable of carrying more than two feet. So she walked back to the car. Strapped into her carseat she slept before we backed out of the parking spot.