NEBRASKA TRIP SUMMARY
(IT'S A LONG ONE...)

We just returned from Nebraska and it was super fun! That might surprise since you may ask what there is to do in Nebraska, but with over 40 family members, most of which are kids, a parade, fireworks, swimming, and yummy food there wasn't time for a dull moment. We already told you what we did on Friday, but Saturday was the big day since everyone was there. The morning started off with all the kids taking part in the Waverly parade. Dan had a bright green jeep that we put the 4 Brothers sign on, and then he pulled all the kids in a trailer with hay as they threw tons of candy at the audience.

A few of us got to be in the crowd and watch as they slowly drove by. What a fun time! It's always fun taking pictures of the "twins." Jared always seems to have a concerned/pained look on his face, and Carter is usually hamming it right up for the camera. It will be interesting to see how similar and different they are as they grow up.


What a good looking group!

COOL STUFF

After the parade we loaded up and headed to Dan & Liz's house for some yummy food. They have tons of open land and a 4 wheeler and dirt bike that everyone, especially the kids loved.

The brave kids went with Nathan since he is the daredevil of the family.

Habel boys are very good at making the most with the cars they have. Dan had a blue Mustang that of course was perfect for doing donuts in the grass field next door. It was a crazy exciting feeling getting whipped around, but we loved it!

Unfortunately, fun things can't last forever. The Mustang had one too many 360 degree turns.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

The beginning of July is a busy month for birthdays. Little Jared turned 1 on June 28th; Nathan turned 31 on July 2nd, Taylor (who wasn't there) turned 6? or so on the same day; Big Jared turned the big 40 on July 3rd; and then Carter turns 1 on July 11th. So we went to Sam's and got a special cake for the birthdays and the reunion. It might not have looked the best, but it sure tasted great. Especially the non-dairy whipped frosting. :-)
PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN

We truly are lucky to live in this country, and it was fun to celebrate this day with family. The weather had its ups and down pours, but our spirits were high and we truly enjoyed the time together.

Smile! :-)

We had front row seats to the fireworks show. The Waverly fireworks were lit just a few hundred yards in front of us. Carter enjoys the fireworks from a distance, but not when they are in the driveway.

PROFILE PICSWhen we weren't tearing apart Dan & Liz's home, we were at the hotel swimming and relaxing. Even though it was pretty cold out, the kids (and Mike) didn't care. As you can tell, Grandpa did a good job watching the kids. ;-)

Carter got pretty good at jumping off the side of the pool to Mike. He's our little fish.

NEW NEPHEWS

So there were 3 new baby boy nephews that were born after Carter that we got to see for the first time during our visit. Dan just had a little boy in June, Phynix Luke and Aaron had a "little" baby back in November, Zachary Aaron. Ha & Hoa also had a boy in September named Andrew Hoa. Phynix is the youngest of the clan, and he sure is cute! Unfortunately, he didn't get to sleep well with all the noise, but he was a trooper. We were also lucky enough to be there for his blessing on Sunday.

Even though Zach is over 4 months younger than Zachary, he totally trumps our little Carter in size! He was big from the beginning at 10 pounds, but he sure is cute! He's got to have the largest Habel cheeks ever, and they are even cuter when he smiles! He also has the bright blue eyes, which is unfair since his parents both are bronw-eyed. Somehow they cheated the gene pool. It was fun to see Aaron with his little boy. Christina loves sharing the experience of raising little boys with her siblings.
Ha & Hoa's girls were able to come and play, but Ha couldn't get away from work so we went to go visit her and Andrew on Sunday. Andrew is another cute, cute boy, and it was fun to see the two interact. Carter loved playing with his toys, and Andrew was pretty good about letting him and just watching.
They were funny as they tried to imitate each other. Andrew's got this army crawl down where he just lets his legs relax, so Carter would try to do the same thing. Although, if Andrew got to close then Carter would take off on with his legs.

The absolutely funniest thing though was when they got into a paci fight. Andrew thought Carter's paci was pretty cool so he'd take it. Finally Carter had enough so we got Andrew the exact same one. Well, that wasn't good enough for Carter. He had to have BOTH pacis. Such a stinker! You can tell which one is currently an only child. :-)

How we wish we could be closer to everyone! It would be awesome for all 5 boys to grow up close together...we'll just have to do our best.

Of course our trip was too short. We were able to go to church and see some familiar friendly faces, as well as visit some of Christina's best friends. Krissy, who is a sister from another mother and also pictured on the left, is getting married at the end of September. We're so happy for her and Mike (good name, huh?). Then we got to see Ariel and her new husband, and Alissa's growing belly. We left Monday morning and drove the whole day back to our other home. We're so glad that we took the trip to good ol' Lincoln Nebraska. We hope it won't be too long before we return.