Newlywed Neighbors

Last night, our new neighbors, M+K, tied the knot. They had their reception at the Firefighter's Hall for about 200 people. The boys didn't go, but should have; there were a ton of cute girls looking for dance partners.

Summer of Sun

Every weekend, we've been able to hit the G's pool and relax in the sun.

Had we known how nice the weather is here in Nebraska when we arrived nine years ago, we would have installed a pool when we bought the house. 

Rocketboy

The girls next door babysat their niece's son for a month this summer. He really enjoyed hanging out with the boys. We took him out to shoot rockets one breezy morning. All we had were C engines, which lofted his rocket up 1,000 feet. Despite a large hole in the parachute, the rocket drifted half a mile on its way down. Luckily we were able to recover it from a bean field.

Wheels

CP finally passed the written learner's permit test and is now on the road. He hasn't been that excited to drive until he actually got behind the wheel. Now he's a little more engaged. We stopped by some of the local car lots and that added to his excitement. Now he just needs to cut the grass a few more times to raise some money. 

Let's see... If the car costs $6,000, and you make $10 each time you cut the grass, how many times will you have to cut the grass?

Dogs' Lives

M pants incessantly, so we dunk her in the pool and then she calms down, relaxes, and is able to bask in the sun without cooking herself. She says she doesn't like it, but I think it has to feel good to cool down a bit.

The G's dog, P, loves the water!

Make Lincoln!

I drug the boys out to the Make Lincoln event at Turbine Flats yesterday afternoon. The event didn't officially start until 5:30, but we had to leave then for another event back at home. Most of the exhibitors were setup by the time we left, and the boys got to experience some fun maker gadgets.

Turbine Flats is a community of artists and techies that are in the process of renovating an old manufacturing building. They have a monthly "First Friday" gathering that we've been meaning to hit, but have not yet. One entire side of the building is covered by a Tesla mural. He's one of CP's favorite historical characters. 

The boys wanted nothing to do with going until I mentioned that there would be an Occulus Rift there. The Occulus Rift (http://www.oculusvr.com/dk2/) is virtual reality headset / game controller that not only has 3D vision, but also incorporates sensors that track your head movement. While playing a game, you move your head to look around rather than using a joystick. What you see in the game is calibrated to match your head's movement, so that it feels natural. Since we were there a little early, both boys got to play with it for ten minutes a piece. 

A highschool science club had a Van de Graff generator set up. Despite the humidity, it was able to produce some big zaps that made the boys jump.

As we were leaving, the band started to play. They were all kids! Turns out we have an Academy of Rock right here in Lincoln!! (http://academyofrock.org/). I need to see if the boys would be interested.

Full Rainbow

The other night we had a hellacious storm cruise over. As it passed to the east, the setting sun popped out and gave us a magnificent full rainbow and bits of a second one.

Fast Dog

M likes nothing more than hanging her head out the window and feeling the wind in her face.

Weekend in the Sun

This year the 4th fell on a Friday, so we had a perfect three-day weekend with sleep-in days. We started Thursday afternoon at the G's pool. It was hot, sunny, and fun. Later that night, SD talked me into cruising the golf course cart paths - he on his scooter, and me on G's bike. It was fun cruising thru the dark, watching fireworks pop up here and there.

We also spent all day Friday at the pool and then back to the hood for fireworks. This year everyone was on a budget, so it went pretty quick. 

Saturday we hit the pool again for more sunshine.

By Sunday, we were sunned-out, but we sat in the sun one more day. With the days growing shorter already, we have to take advantage of all the warmth and sun we can.