Maybe we should pay attention to the sirens!

Okay here is the story!! The day started really nice. I was updating our 72 hour kits and then wanted to go run some errands. Just as I finished and asked Justin if he was ready to go, he said "Do you hear the tornado sirens going off"? I thought "well if they are then they're doing a practice drill, because it is so nice outside". I turned on the news to check it out. They said there was a severe storm heading our way and to head for cover. I really didn't take them seriously because this happens all the time. So, I turned Curious George on for Ava and then heard something upstairs and asked Justin to go check it out. A minute later I went up to see the storm. We were watching out our front door when we both looked at each other and said we need to go to the basement NOW! So, we ran downstairs and shut the door, I was trying to find Ava in the dark because our power had gone out. Little did we know that Ava had gone upstairs, Justin grabbed her and we sat in the middle of our basement as we heard the marble size hail and wind tear apart the outside. It lasted about 10 minutes and then it was gone. We went upstairs to find this outside...



This was taken right outside our front door. These trees were totally up rooted and laying on there side when we came out after the storm.

Ava and I right in front of our town house. The small window is our kitchen.


These pictures are at the play ground of Village Green (where we live). I was really sad to see this big pine tree gone, it was our only shade to sit under as Ava played.
We just barely got our power back on after almost 24hours. It was a wake up call to take the warnings a little more seriously!!

Grandma and Grandpa Butikofer came and visited us this weekend. They are on their way to visit Aunt Julie in Nashville and stopped half way to spend a couple of nights with us. They got here on Friday night and Saturday morning we were off visiting historical sites and museums until 8:00 that evening. I must say, Grandma and I were pretty worn out by the end of the day, but Grandpa wished we had more time to explore. We visited the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, Winter Quarters visitor center, Kansville Tabernacle, and the Garner Cemetery. Justin and I have lived in Omaha a year and hadn't been to any of these places so it was great to finally go! Sunday we went to church together and then they were off. It was so nice to have them here, we were definitely sad to see them go. My eyes started to water as they drove off, I blame it on being pregnant, but everyone knows how easily I cry. We loved having family stay with us. Everyone is always welcome to stay here anytime, we love visitors. Justin's family is coming up the first part of August and we are excited to have them!

First love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the baby carriage (baby # 2)!

Justin suggested I put a baby counter up, so I decided to give in. I thought it would be depressing looking at how many weeks/days I have left. So, I guess we will see how long I leave it up for. Who knows, maybe I'll like it.:)

Another Tornado!

This is another storm that hit last night. I was coming home from a doctors appointment, close to were the tornados hit a couple days ago, and heard the tornado sirens go off. We had a tornado/flood warning until 10:30pm. I just thought some pictures would be fun to see. When we took these, it was pretty cool, because we could see the rotation in the clouds.

What the Weather!

Okay, in Omaha it always seems like there is always a severe storm warning for tornado's, thunderstorms, flash floods, golf ball size hale and so on... it seems all that is on TV is the weather man talking us through second by second of the storm. After a while it gets really boring. However, a couple of nights ago Justin and I were asleep in bed and were woken up by tornado sirens. We turned on the news and sure enough they said to "get to the basement and head for cover". Half asleep, we ran and got Ava and headed for the basement. We turned on the news for updates, this time being grateful for the second by second visual of the storm. Soon, the storms past our part of the city and we were able to go back to our sweet cozy beds! This is only the second time we have heard sirens since we moved her last August. The weather is crazy and unpredictable. We've enjoyed a nice, sunny, not to humid day today and there is once again another severe thunderstorm/flood warning tonight.

Go Omaha Royals

For Justin's Jr. class party we went to the Omaha Royals Baseball game. It was our first baseball game as a family and we all had a lot of fun. Ava stayed awake until 10:30pm but was very happy and enjoyed the whole game. I was mostly excited for the fireworks at the end of the game. We knew they did this because there first home game we could hear them from our house and thought there was a shooting outside. We were happily surprised to find out they were just fireworks!:)
Ava didn't enjoy the fireworks as much as we did. She was covering her ears and holding onto Justin so tight and almost crying. At least she knows what fireworks are and we can prepare her for the 4th of July.

Sis Lant in Primary!

Today we had the opportunity of having the Primary General President, Sis Lant, come to our Council Bluffs Primary. It was such a wonderful opportunity to have her there. She was so very kind and gave a wonderful thought to the primary kids. They were all mesmerized by every word she said, as was I. She talked a lot about President Monson and how she got to meet with him often and testified of what a wonderful prophet he is. She encouraged us to listen to his words and the storys he tells because there is so much we can learn from him. She definitly brought a special spirit into the room. What a wonderful lady!