We recently had the opportunity to get away for a few short days & take Emersyn with us to Omaha. I felt so guilty for taking our Babymoon & going to the beach without her earlier this summer! We wanted to make sure we did a little trip with her somewhere before the baby came.
We usually make it to Tablerock Lake every summer but the rest of our summer turned out to be limited on weekend travel so we never got to go for the first time in years probably. Last summer we went camping with my parents so we had high hopes to do that again. If you live in KC you know how HOT this summer has been & camping & 95 degree weather just isn’t much fun so we kept waiting & the ONLY weekend we had left it turned out to be wonderful weather. We got really lucky!
If you are into camping you should definitely checkout Eugene Mahoney State Park in Ashland Nebraska. Located between Lincoln & Omaha, there are a TON of activities you can do there on the campground including a water park, playgrounds, horseback riding, paddle boats & zip lining to name a few. I’m not real big on camping but this is a place I like because there IS so much to do. Otherwise the thought of sitting around staring at each other over a fire while the bugs bite me while I could be comfy indoors instead doesn’t thrill me….lol. So, give me all the activities!
Emersyn couldn’t wait to go feed the ducks & fish so we were out on the paddle boats within 30 mins of getting there I think! She got a big kick out of feeding them “sandwiches” (bread) & I gotta say I really enjoyed it as well! After dinner we headed to the playground where she almost gave me a heart attack going down the biggest open twisty slide ever before I could catch her. We were all yelling to stop her & next thing you know we hear a “Weeeeeeeeee” as she’s flying down the slide with excitement! The girl is getting braver & braver.
The next day we spent at the Omaha Zoo. Emmy LOVES the zoo & we have a season membership to the KC Zoo. But Omaha’s Zoo is quite different & definitively worth the trip there! One of the neatest parts is the water splash park there, so be sure to bring a swimsuit for your little one with a change of clothes!
Besides the splash park area, I think Emmy’s fave part (as well as mine) was the opportunity to feed the giraffes. She got a big kick out of feeding them “grass” (branches with leaves). SO much neater than just looking at them from afar. She couldn’t stop giggling. Again we got so lucky with the weather!
Emersyn loves being outdoors so she really enjoyed camping with my parents in their camper! We kept her busy with bike rides, bubbles, painting, walks, etc. And of course we can’t forget about s’mores around the fire! I was pleasantly surprised that she slept really well at night. We are very routine at home so sometimes it makes it challenging when we break routine & familiar surroundings.
The last day we went to the Omaha Children’s Museum. This was a first for us & although it wasn’t what I was expecting (why do they call it a “museum”??) it was really neat & Emmy had a BLAST. It’s like a kid’s mega play paradise with different themed rooms such as a grocery store, a bank, a farm etc for them to pretend & play their little hearts out. One of our favorites was the “makeup” or face painting station where you sit down in front of the mirror & I made whiskers for Emmy for a cat so she thought that was fun. She enjoyed the playland with slides upstairs & especially the carousel. She LOVES riding the carousel & I must say they have a really beautiful one. You do have to pay extra for it though just an FYI. All in all the Children’s Museum wasn’t what I was expecting but it was a great place! I think she will get more out of it when she’s a bit older too.
After the Children’s Museum we ended up at Omaha Tap House for lunch. Since they are known for their burgers I decided to go out of my comfort zone & try something new. A burger with peanut butter & jelly? Yes please! I’m so glad I did because it was delicious! I highly recommend this place to eat if you are downtown for a visit!
Being so pregnant I got worn out pretty easily! Camping is a lot of work in itself let alone with a 2 yr old! I also haven’t mentioned that we started potty training the week before we went camping. Looking back that probably wasn’t the best decision as it made things a little stressful. (ok a lot stressful) We faired ok overall but it didn’t come without accidents & I was SO worried I’d ruined progress BUT she picked right back up when we got home which surprised me & we haven’t skipped a beat since! I am planning on dedicating a whole blog post to potty training & our struggles & successes with all that. Needless to say I needed a little vacation from our vacation so luckily we had a day of resting up before Jake had to get back to work.
I’m so glad we were able to take a few days to get away with Emmy. The time is slowly clicking away where it is just us 3! I still can’t imagine what it’s going to be like to add another one in the mix but soon enough I’m sure it will seem weird if it wasn’t the 4 of us. We will soon find out!
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