Our Date Day

Matt and Sarah's Day away

Matt and I went away for a day a couple weekends ago. This was the first time we had been able to get away for 2 years so it was much needed. We took Caleb and David to Toby and Courtney Nelsons house, and Lily and Timmy were dropped off at Grandpa and Grandma Van Essen's for the day. Our day started at 8 after all the kids were dropped off. First we went to eat Breakfast at the "Cracker Barrel". We like it there manly because they have a real wood fire and it gives a cozy effect on a cold winter day.

After a filling breakfast we took off in the old beater 15 passenger van with only Linia in tow. That was one of those times when we wished we could have had a smaller car to drive- a bit more romantic... but the van worked :)

We headed up to Omaha and went to the Botanical gardens. They had an indoor garden that had a spring display, a fountain and a little cafe. Too bad we had already had a heavy breakfast- we could have had a tea and donut by the fireside there. We will have to remember this for next time :).

Well we hung out there for a while- fed Linia by the fire.

Matt then had a good cuddle time with her while he wound down finally. It was good to see him relax !

There was also a fish pond there with some rather aggressive fish in it. As soon as I would lean over to look at them they would all crowd around with mouths open wide begging for food. There was a sign saying " do not feed the fish" but I have a feeling many people must have ignored it. I tried to get a good picture of them begging but they didn't turn out very well.

After the gardens we headed over to the zoo to see an Imax film. We can't watch these with the kids since they get scared of every thing in a movie. SO we decide now was our chance. We ended up seeing 2 :) . I wanted to see a 3D one , so Matt paid for a double showing so we could see the "Sharks 3D" and " the mystery of the Nile." The 3D was cool but I must admit I enjoyed the mystery of the Nile most of all- maybe because it is about Africa.

We then stopped to feed Linia again then headed over to the Tree top cafe to eat our lunch. We ate our lunch while watching the animals in the jungle hooting and hollering. It made for a fun time.

From there we went to old town Omaha and went to the Durham Western Heritage Museum. It is in an old train station. It was fun to walk around and read all the historical info about Omaha. They also had a special exhibit called " fashion in film". We were not allowed to take photo's in there but it was displays of a lot of different dresses and outfits from some of the popular movies. - like- Ever after, Pride and Prejudice, Emma etc. - My sister would have loved it.! You can go here for more info : http://www.dwhm.org/ it was quite impressive.

They also had some old trains there. Some of the train cars were very elegant. There was even a conference room with wine glasses etc. I am sure if we had been traveling by train in their time we would not have been able to afford those cars -but we enjoyed walking through them seeing the luxuries of yest er year.

By the time we had walked through the museum our legs were rather tired, so we decided to go for a drive- what is day out with Matthew Van Essen if you don't get a Drive in. We gallivanted around for a bit then headed back towards home.

All in all it was a wonderful day and we were very grateful to those who watched our kids and encouraged us to take some "time out. " After such a busy last 6 months with a move, baby, visitors, Christmas trip and sickness for 6 weeks, it did me a lot of good to get away. I think that is most desperate I have been for break.

Thank you Mom and Dad V.E., and Toby and Courtney Nelson for makig our day away possible and offering to watch the kids for us.