Husker/ISU game

 I never knew how obsessed people can be about their college football teams until I moved to Nebraska! These people are absolutely crazy about the Huskers! We quickly discovered the BEST time to go grocery shopping on a Saturday here in Omaha is during a Husker game...EVERYTHING IS DEAD because everyone is at home watching the game! And EVERYONE sports their red on game day.
When we found out that Nebraska was playing Idaho State we HAD to go! A friend who works for ISU was able to get us tickets. We thought we would be somewhere way up top, but no. We were actually on the sidelines standing with the team! It was so fun. I am not crazy about football on TV, but watching it in real life up close, was awesome! Do you see the "sea of red" behind us? Yeah, that's what the entire stadium looked like. They did all kinds of cheers, chants, and a mad rendition of "the wave".
We were a little outnumbered as far as ISU fans go. There were 6 other people standing with us, not affiliated with the team. Both Chase and I are ISU alum, so we HAD to sport our orange and black :) and I'm so glad we did. ISU got creamed but it was so fun to be a part of it. We decided we definitely have to go to at least one more game while we are here... and sport our RED next time!

The Rubbles from Bedrock

This year we decided to be the Rubbles from Bedrock (Bam Bam, Barney, and Betty) for Halloween! I made Nixon's costume out of one of my old dance costumes, Chases I made out of a blanket I found at Goodwill, and my costume I found at Goodwill. I was so happy with how they turned out! 

At our friends party...

 Isn't he the cutest little Bam Bam you have ever seen? He was so adorable. He would even say "Bam" and hit the walls with his bat. 

 I had to post this picture even if it isn't a very good one so you could see a full body shot of him :) 

 Nixon with his little girlfriends. Unfortunately he is the only boy :) but he still has a pretty good time with all of them! 

Happy Birthday Chase!

Happy birthday to Chase! He turned 28 this year and we had a fun time celebrating. Chase and I went to dinner one night, and I also planned a surprise birthday party for him! He had absolutely no idea, and I'm pretty sure that this is the only time I have been successful at any surprise (he even usually finds out what gift I get him). Anyway, it worked out perfectly because he was asleep on the couch, and when our friends got to our place, they just snuck in and hid in the front room until everyone got there. Then Chase suddenly woke up and started walking in the front room and everyone said "Surprise!"

 We had cafe rio salads for dinner and I actually ran out of time so we ended up having no bake cookies and ice cream :) But we had a blast! Happy Birthday to my sweet hubby! I hope it was a good one! 

               PJ, Chase, Tara, Dan, Jenny, Tyler, and Lara 

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

There is an awesome pumpkin patch in Omaha that has tons to do and we finally checked it out this year. They have tons of fun animals to see, pig races, haunted houses, and a bunch of other fun things for kids. In fact, we spent a few hours there and didn't even see everything.

 Nixon loved these little bike things! He could have stayed there all day...

 Hay ride out to the pumpkin patch..

 All smiles on the way home!

I had to included these two pictures that I forgot to add on the last post. One of Nixon's favorite things to do (well before they froze), is to pick the little cherry tomatoes off our plant in the front and eat them. When we go outside, this is the first place he goes! It is absolutely hilarious! 

He just pops them in his mouth like candy! So cute..

Summer

 This picture pretty much sums up what Nixon would have liked to do all summer! He absolutely loves the hose, being outside, playing in the sandbox, and anything where he can roam free. In an attempt to not totally overwhelm myself, I decided to basically do one post about our summer... 

We were able to go to my sister Kristina's Miss Idaho Pageant where she received 1st Runner Up! It was pretty exciting and we were all gripping each others hands through the whole thing.

                                  Grandpa George                                                  Grandma Ellie

 Nixon had his first boat ride this summer at Grandma Funks and loved it!

 Grandma Funk has an AWESOME sandbox where Nixon seriously would have been happy the entire trip. He loves playing with his cousins Boston and Max!

 Funk reunion

 Grandma Funk and Nixon

 We were able to come for Zack's mission farewell and I am so grateful we were able to come and say goodbye! It's crazy to think Nixon will be THREE when Zack gets home. We will miss you Uncle Zack! 

 Aunt Kristy, Aunt Heidi and Nixon

 The Nye family had a reunion in Sun Valley for 5 days and it was so fun to enjoy nature! I forgot how gorgeous Sun Valley is and how close it is to where our parents live! We rode up the ski lift and had lunch at the top of the mountain. So gorgeous! 

 We also took bikes and went for some rides around town and at night when it cooled down. One morning Chase, Nixon and I got up early and rode down to a little restaurant and had breakfast. It was a fun way to start the day! 

 And Nixon loved riding in his little cart! 

 One day we rode our bikes to a candy shop and got carmel apples and chocolate that was amazing! We also got some delicious ice cream at an ice cream shop. I think that is all we had for dinner that night :)  Here is aunt Ash feeding Nixon his ice cream..

 My brother Hollister was in heaven :) 

My mom and I got asked to teach at a music camp that same week in Sun Valley, so we taught in the mornings while we were there. We chose a monster theme and did one craft each day to go along with it. We made monster masks (that they wore for their performance where they did a rhythm instrument/dance), we made monster pillows, monster rocks, monster finger paint art, and playdough monsters. We also practiced note reading, rhythm, and sight reading with them. They worked on a group piano piece that they also did in the performance where all seven of our students played on a total of two pianos. It was so so fun!

Here is our "Pin the eye on the monster" guy that we used for a few games throughout the week. 

 Here are their pillow monsters! They turned out absolutely adorable, and the kids were a little obsessive about them :)

 Chase, Nixon and I went to Boise for a few days and stayed at my aunts house who actually lives in China right now. So we had her big gorgeous house all to ourselves! Chase's classmate from Creighton was getting married there so we got to attend their wedding, relax. and also got to visit some of MY cousins below... Houston, Hannah, Hayden, and Hunter.

 Nixon sporting his BSU gear in Boise

 Nixon had a few four wheeler rides while we were in Idaho

 Petting the Kelsey's dog, Copper 

 Great Grandma Whittaker (still weird that she is a "great" grandma" 

 Kelsey boys and Nye boys with Nixon