Camping, Family Visit & Baseball

Okay, so I guess it's pretty obvious from the title that I've fallen a little behind. The last few weeks have been full with plenty of fun stuff. A week and a half ago, we were able to go camping once again with our friends from Sioux City. This time, we met halfway in Fremont, NE. It was a hot, hot weekend, but we were fortunate enough to have plenty of shade on our site to keep us as cool as possible. We also enjoyed a wonderful afternoon swim in the lake. It was good to see our friends again, and it's always good to sleep out in the tent. On the second night we were treated to a lightning display from the storms that passed both north and south of us. We also got crazy wind (we got to watch our tent contort in all sorts of ways; but it withstood all the wind!), but no actual storm. The wind coming through the tent was seriously a heavenly relief from the hot day before--perfect way to sleep while camping!

Nathan & Laura enjoying brunch with their friend at the campground:

A few days later, we enjoyed a 4-day visit from my parents, my sister and her two kids. This was our first chance to meet our newest niece, just adopted about a month ago. My sister and her husband just returned from China a few weeks ago, and this little one is a cutie!! Our house was hopping with five adults hanging out and four little kids running around, but it was great to visit and watch the cousins play together. During the visit, we went to the neighborhood park, visited the Tractor Museum & the UNL Dairy Store (ice cream!), went to the Friday night concert at South Pointe outdoor mall, went to the Lincoln Farmers' Market, visited the Nature Center, attended the Lincoln Municipal Band concert, hung out and played in our yard, and cooked out at our place. As I said, it was hopping, but we had fun. I enjoyed getting to stay up late each night and hang out with my sister. I was soooooo tired on Monday, but there were no regrets. :)

Cousins hanging out in front of the bald eagle at the Nature Center:

The lollipop gang:

My sister and her newly adopted little pumpkin:

The four cousins right before bedtime:

This evening, we enjoyed a free night at the ballpark. Cliff was chosen by the Lincoln chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to be the local "honored hero" (Google them, and you can see his bio on their website), and it was the LLS' night at the Lincoln Saltdogs game. Cliff spoke at the LLS pregame meeting, and he got to throw out the first pitch. We also met the team's GM, who happens to be from Ft. Jennings, Ohio! It turns out that his dad was a classmate of my mom's! What a small world, and a crazy coincidence to encounter out here in Lincoln. He also worked and lived in Sioux City before coming to Lincoln to run the Saltdogs-how crazy! The ballpark (Haymarket Park) is so nice, with a great view of downtown. It was built as a joint effort of the team, the city and the university, so it is quite nice for a minor league venue. There's a playground in the outfield, and there are bounce houses near left field for the kids. We had a wonderful night and were so grateful to LLS for having us!

Cliff throwing out the first pitch:

Getting ready to do the bounce house:
Great seats, a beautiful night and a lovely ballpark:

Gina