Words of wisdom from Evan

The summer heat is intense in Omaha!  Shawn was recently in Anchorage, Alaska for work and the temperature there was half of what it was in Omaha; 55 degrees compared to the heat index of 110.  Of course, the fan on the air conditioner unit outside went out on one of the hottest days, but Thermal Services was to the rescue in a matter of minutes, litterally.  Grandma Sandy made the trek from Colorado to spend time with Evan while dad traveled and to give mom a break!

Evan's progress is amazing some dates and it is hard to believe he is already 17 months old.  Crazy how time flies.  He is doing great and loving the summer, despite not being able to be outside a whole lot since it is so hot.  We picked him up from school today and one the teachers said when we left, "has he been playing outside?"  We had to explain that, no, he just runs around a lot and is a "sweater".

Here is a video we shot tonight to highlight some of his words of wisdom (and a dance move).

Independence Day(s)-Continued and Summer Misc.

As promised, here are more photos from our trip to Colorado.

Times are busy in the Cook household with new students coming to Creighton, the banking world going through major overhauls and Evan growing like a weed.  He is quickly learning vocabulary that is fun to interpret; up, please, thank you, da-da, ma-ma, more.  I am dreading the day that "no" comes.  He already knows the gesture by swinging his head and back forth so time will only tell.

Evan enjoys going to school every day, running around the house with his Tonka truck and mower, reading books in his chair and getting all of the bowls out of the cupboard.   He is growing up so quickly and already at the 16th month mark. 

Right now the weather is hot and humid so we are not spending a ton of time outside.  This is our normal summer after having a very comfortable one last year.  It did finally stop raining for consecutive days so things can dry out and the crops can actually grow.   Happy Summer!

Independence Day(s) 2010

Well, we made it back safely from Colorado after spending the holiday with family in Colorado.  It was great to see everyone again with most of Shawn's family not seeing Evan since Christmas.  The drive was great and Evan was such a trooper going to and coming back from Colorado.  Dad and Evan put the DVD player in the Pilot to work watching our new favorite movie, Hangover.

The Cook Independence Day party was a huge hit again this year with the normal crowd in attendance.  The night was was early again this year as generally everyone made their way home at a reasonable time.  We were lucky this year to have Mark and Ally join us in Brush to celebrate and experience what the Cook's can put together for a party.

We enjoy visiting Brush because it gives us a time to relax and kick back which we do not get to do a lot at home.  Evan was more than thrilled to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Cook.  He learned that Grandpa can be a sucker for "up", meaning read one page of my book and then put me down so I can keep playing.

Here are some photos from the visit and a few from before and after the trip.  We are awaiting photos from Grandpa and Grandpa Cook which seemed to be the camera we used more.  They have some great shots including our annual apple pie photo.  More to come.

Happy Father's Day....a week late

Happy Father's Day about a week late.  The photos below are from over the last few months with us with our dad's.  We enjoyed Father's Day this year all over the place.  Liz went to lunch with her dad at Noodle's and Company, his favorite, with Evan.  Evan decided that he needed to show his grandpa his eating ability so he ate an entire bowl of macaroni and cheese.  Shawn took his dad and mom to the College World Series which was rained out.  We tried waiting out the rain but we ran out of beer so we came home.  The first game lasted well into the evening and the second game didn't take place until Monday morning.

It has finally stopped raining here after about 10 inches of rain over the last 10 days.  Rivers and creeks have been running full and fast.  Our neighbors in northeast Nebraska (Norfolk area) got hit the hardest so we are lucky around here.  The heat and humidity are here for the summer! We tried braving the last TCU game yesterday at the College World Series but only made it to the 3rd inning and 2 hours later.  Yes, the game was that slow.  It was exciting to see TCU make their way through the bracket even though they were one game short of the championship.  We enjoyed the visit to Omaha from the Horned Frogs and hope we see them back here in the future.

We are ready to celebrate Independence Day in style and be away from work for a while.  We hope to see all of our family and friends very soon.  Happy 4th of July!

TCU and Recent Photos

TCU to Omaha! Very exciting news that Liz's Horned Frogs are coming to Omaha and the College World Series for the first time ever. A few friends are coming into town and we are excited to cheer them on all they way to the tournament finals (we hope).

I know, we have been horrible about recent photos.  The sad thing is, we really haven't taken any since Mother's Day.  We have been to the lake and on a bunch of outings, but the camera never makes it out of the bag.

Stay cool out there.  The heat and humidity has returned to Omaha after one of the best summers last year.

Happy Anniversary!

Liz and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary today.  WOW!  Has it really been that long?  There have been a lot of ups and downs over the last few years.  But the ups definitely are more plentiful and bring us joy every day.   (Side note, I was not at home when I wrote this and didn't have access to our wedding photos, so I took a fun one off what I have at work.)


We celebrated by going out for a drink(s) at Old Chicago (132nd and Maple in Omaha) which was the location of our first date and driving past our old apartments and house in West Omaha.  We had dinner at Pasta Amore, one of our favorites, and ended the night at the Hilton Omaha which was the location of our wedding reception.  It was a fun evening and good to go back to the old memories.  Back in February, we treated ourselves to a cruise for our anniversary so we celebrated earlier with that big trip but nothing beats being in Omaha.


The summer weeks are flying by and we are getting ready for the biggest event of the year in Omaha, the College World Series.  This will be the last year at Rosenblatt Stadium so we are going to try to soak it in as much as possible.  It is also Father's Day weekend and we are excited that Grandma and Grandpa Cook will be joining us to celebrate.

Memorial Day Weekend-The "Unofficial" start of summer

Memorial Day for the Cook's was an eventful and relaxing one.  We had the most beautiful weather we have had in quite some time, and we were able to enjoy most of it outside at different events.  The only thing is that we did not take one picture over the weekend.  We took the camera everywhere we went, but it never made it out of the bag.

We sat on the deck at home and enjoyed Friday night.  Saturday was spent at the lake house celebrating Ally's birthday with friends and family.  Ally's mother-in-law, Joan, came through with the most amazing pulled pork and cheesy potatoes.  Mark made sure the boat went around the lake plenty of times for everyone to enjoy the water as well.  Sunday was our lazy day but we did get our plants potted so our outdoor landsapce is complete for the summer.  Monday we spent part of the day at the lake again and back to Omaha so Liz and Ally could go shopping.

We are ready for the summer and the very nice weather after a long and cold winter.  We will both be traveling this summer for volunteer work and spending the 4th of July holiday in Colorado.  We also will accept any guests that are interested in coming to Omaha for the College World Series starting the weekend of June 19.  We are hopeful this year that TCU actually makes it to Omaha (they are heavily favored to make it here) so we can have our Texas friends visit.

Give us a call or shoot us an email if your travels come through Omaha or you will be in Colorado over the 4th.  We would really enjoy visitors.