Billy Wardle Happenings

 I went to Jimmy JOhn's for the first time.  I was really hungry after a day at the temple.  Sheri and I both went.  We also got a sandwhich for Tony.  Tony and Sheri both had Country Club--ham and turkey with Provolone cheese.  I had the Caesar chicken wrap.  Both cases were nothing to write home ab out and Sheri and I have both decided that we will not go back.  The seemed to have only one choice of bread.  I was looking for Philly cheese steak which they don't have.  I guess it is Jersey Mikes that has Philly cheesesteak.  I will remember next time.

 Charity turned us on to this restaurant downtown off of Jackson at about 12th street as a place to go for good French onion soup.  Sheri really likes French onion.  I go for the salmon--but the salmon dinner is too expensive so I have a salad with salmon.  The dinner salad and the salmon are both excellent.  I will also have soup there.  Sheri really likes their French diponion soup and I think that is all she has ever tried.  Tony when he went had the Salmon dinner.  I would not give this restaurant the highest of marks but pretty close.  

 This is an urban sculpture park dedicated to the pioneer spirit of those departing from Omaha for parts west.  It is affiliated with the Nebraska's Wilderness park a couple blocks away.  Together they make the largest bronze and steel sculpture park in the United States and one of the three largest in the world.  The pieces are meant for interaction as you imagine what the pioneers may have been going through or thinking.  You can also interact with the animals.  They are mostly buffalo and geese. Pioneer Heritage Nebraska's Wilderness

Traveling through to Elkart I was able to spend considerable time with Charity in Nebraska.  These trips of course included the zoo.  We also visited the Winter Quarter Visitor Center and the Kanesville Visitor Center.  It is always fun to spend time with the Halls.   Baby elephant

Two really unique things about this River Edge park in Iowa, the big tall alien.  It is actually called a humanoid.  It is 33 feet tall.  Sculpted by Tom Friedman.  It is title "Looking Up."  The other thing is the pelican themed playground.  Charity's kids like this, especially Owen.  

 We went to Omaha for Thanksgiving ho0ing to be qable to meet Charity's new baby.  Riley did not cooperate and was not born until the Monday after Thanksgiving.  We had to go home so Tony could go to school.  Sheri stayed to meet the baby. During the weekend we saw Wicked at the theater, went to a park down by the river; it was very cold, walked through Fontenelle Forest which was also cold but had a neat place for watching the birds, and to the zoo.  At the zoo we mostly went to indoor areas as it again was cold, aquarium, the jungle and gorilla house.  We also went ice skating. Thanksgiving Grandkids Outside the theater where we saw Wicked Park down by the river where there was a crazy swing The zoo Mama rhino Toltec statue Baby rhino under the water leaving

 A couple pictures of Riley as I passed through Omaha coming home from Indiana.  She is two months in the pictures.

 After Christmas we spent some time in Omaha.  We visited the SACS Museum, which was were the air nuclear defense for the United States was coordinated.  The museum also documented space exploration and different rockets.  It is about a half hour outside of Omaha to the west. A nuclear bomb