Memorial Day in Kearney, NE?---BFF

Yep! That's right! We spent a great Memorial Day Weekend in Kearney, NE---the middle of nowhere! :) But, this was a halfway point for our friends from Colorado, the Davis and Lewis families, and us to meet up for some fun. And fun we had! The kids had a great time swimming in the hotel swimming pool, of course, and the dads were great sports to get in with them and have some fun throwing them around. I think we over-powered the pool with our 10 kids! :) We then found an amazing fun park that had two playgrounds with a water feature area in between, paddle boats, look out tower (over 100 steps!), maze, and garden area. We laughed pretty hard while on the boats because there was a real swan that kept trying to bite at our boats or us. They also had a stage, and so the girls did a little "American Idol"--and the judges were--Sam--Randy, Hailey--Paula, and Zac--Simon. I sure wish we had a great park like that here. We also found the local Fun Center. The kids chose the fun play area with foam balls to shoot and the go-carts. I'm sure glad they picked the go-carts! We had a blast driving those. Everyone got a ride and then the moms and Dave all got to go together and we got a little extra long ride because the attendant decided to get on the track and race us too! Some pretty good laughs! The other fun thing we did at the Fun Center was play the video game, "DEAL OR NO DEAL"! What a hoot! Tom started it off and got a ton of tickets, so that attracted the rest of us. We all had to try it. I think Sam was the big winner, then Wendy and I followed second. Some had great luck and some didn't. But, we all had a great time cheering each other on. While we were all playing the "Deal or No Deal", Matt was spending his tokens on a sure thing---Candy! He found a game that he played quite well and it spit out candy instead of tickets. He kept coming over to me to hold his loot. So cute! We also got to go to an original Cabela's and to see the animals and fish. At the hotel we had a good time chatting in the halls and the kids had a good time arm wrestling and eating treats! Everyone seemed to have a great time. It was so cute watching little Lilly and little Brett interact. They held hands and hugged, I don't know how many times. :) It was a little strange for Tom and I because when we lived in Colorado, we were the ones with the baby. Now it's reversed. Our three families did a lot together when we lived in Colorado and it is always so fun to get together and hang out. It is perfect that all the spouses get along. It doesn't really matter where we go together---we know we'll have some good times and some good laughs!

I have to say that I think Shelby and Kelsey might have had the most fun! They are so cute together! When we moved to Colorado, they became instant friends. We met them within the first day or so as we were walking home from the park, and they were on their corner selling hot chocolate. :) I remember how comforting it was right away to have another mormon family with kids just around the corner!(little did I know, there were about 6!)Shelby and Kelsey probably saw each other every day. I think Kelsey is one of those girls that fills the void of sisterhood for Shelby. Shelby even has Kelsey as part of her login to "Webkinz"! On the trip they just couldn't get enough of each other. They had to sit by each other at meals, ride next to each other in the car, hold hands, sleep by each other, etc. Precious! They are BFF! (I just couldn't resist putting together a little slide show of them--pictures from the trip and a few from the past.)

We made some good memories and had a great time, so thanks Davis' and Lewis' for making the drive! And thanks to Wendy for having the great idea and organizing it!! :) Until next time....