The Strategic Air & Space Museum

I can't believe that it has taken me so many posts just to tell you about the first 3 days of our trip to Nebraska... Unfortunately, I am not planning on speeding up the process any time soon... Sorry! ;)

On day 4, our first full day in Lincoln, we took a little trip, a bit further east on I-80, to Ashland, Nebraska, to visit the Strategic Air and Space Museum.

The Strategic Air & Space Museum is a museum focusing on United States Air Force military aircraft and nuclear missiles. It was formerly the Strategic Air Command (SAC) Museum at Offutt Air Force Base before it was moved to this 300,000 square foot building in 1998 and renamed in 2001. This museum is regarded as having one of the top collections of strategic aircraft!

I was so busy worrying about where we would be staying come Friday, that I forgot my camera back at the hotel. Luckily, Rascal had his camera (a little disposable -- that we gave him right before we left, and which he had been carrying around everywhere!) with him, so we did get a couple photos...

This is a picture of us (taken by Rascal) in front of the SR-71 Blackbird:

The boys had a blast exploring everything,

and Hubby and Captain even flew in the Flight Simulator!

Not to be left out, Rascal and Snuggles flew in a child size "flight simulator" as well.


We saw B-29's, F-16's, and one of the only two XF-85 Goblins ever made - a 14' long plane meant to be carried by a bomber and used for missions that exceeded the distance of land based fighter planes.

The boys were disappointed that they didn't have their bomber jackets with them, but before we left, they each got to turn a penny into a souvenir, which they totally loved!

No Room at the Inn

We arrived into Lincoln, Nebraska at about 4pm on May 26th. We had reservations at the Embassy Suites downtown. However, when we arrived a number of things went wrong.

Prior to the trip, I called many hotels looking for a place to stay that would work well for a family our size, and yet still be affordable. My hubby works for the Government, and so often times hotels will offer us a government employee rate. Initially we had booked a room at the Comfort Suites (since my hubby's relatives would be staying their as well), but we decided to see if we could find a bigger room. When we called Embassy, we told them we were vacationing, but asked if they would still offer a discount for government employees. They said sure, and so we changed our reservation to them since we could get a 2 room suite for the same cost as over at Comfort Suites. We then canceled our reservation at the Comfort Suites.

Well, apparently, the woman that gave us this rate was not suppose to, and when we arrived they said the best they could do was reduce their rate to $139 per night! This was DOUBLE what we had been quoted. Not to mention, there was NO parking downtown, and we were going to have to pay parking fees or valet fees in addition to the room rate.

We went back out to the car to figure out what to do. I had the number to Comfort Suites in my binder, so we called them up to see if we could still stay there instead. The man on the phone said he had a room available until Thursday night. We decided to take it for that night at least, and then call around for another hotel for the rest of the week that was more in our price range.

We headed over to the Comfort Suites and they actually gave us their largest room, which would work out great. Unfortunately they were still saying we would have to check out Friday morning. Friday morning was the Ordination!

So, I got on the phone and started calling hotels. I soon found out that practically EVERY ROOM IN LINCOLN was booked. All I was able to find was a couple hotels that had a "smoking" room with a king size bed. That wasn't going to work. It turns out that ALL the Public High Schools in town were having their Graduations, in addition to a number of other big sporting events, that particular weekend. I seriously called over THIRTY hotels Monday night, and then again Thursday morning! How could every hotel be booked like that in a town the size of Lincoln? We even tried getting the room at Embassy back, but it had already been taken.

Anyhow, I guess God was trying to teach me that I really am not in control, and remind me that I need to trust in Him. Unfortunately, I failed miserably, and was totally stressed out. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?!?!? I had put so much work into making sure everything would "run smoothly!"

I was pretty upset, especially since I had verified beforehand that it was alright since hubby wasn't "on the job!" There was no way we were going to be able to afford the difference in the rate, especially since we planned to be in town for a week.

It was hubby's turn to be the calm one and told me not to worry, it would all work out...

That night I thought about getting online and asking for prayers... But instead said a few of my own, asking for the intersession of St. Joseph. I did get online to check my emails, and briefly mentioned our dilemma briefly to Tracy while responding to a question she had emailed.

Wednesday morning, I got back online to find an email from a brave soul, a friend of Tracy's that happens to live in the Lincoln area! She was willing to take all 7 of us in for the weekend!!! Plus, it just so happens that this friend also went to school with my hubby's sister. I can't believe what a small world it truly is! (So, there you have yet another benefit to blogging! Thank you Tracy and Anne Marie!)

In addition, as soon as I got off the computer, I received a call in our room from the front desk saying they had just had a cancellation, and we would be able to stay. Thank you St. Joseph!

Hubby was right, there was no need to worry after all!

Next Stop: Cabela's

Monday morning, May 26th, we ate breakfast at the hotel and got back on the road. Hubby & I were ready to arrive in Lincoln by this time, but the boys really wanted to stop at Cabela's and see the "North American Big Game Display." (This had been one of our stops on our last trip to Nebraska, and the boys loved it!)

Here are a few more random pictures:

Back on the road, we only had another 5 hours or so, till we arrived in Lincoln. So far, everything was going just as planned... Little did I know, that was about to change! ;)

**I can't believe it has taken me 3 posts to tell you just about the drive out! I hope I am not boring you to death with the details! Hope you all have a great weekend!

The Natural History Museum

On the second day of our drive to Nebraska we were able to get on the road bright and early! We started in Nevada, had breakfast in the car, and spent the morning driving through the Great Salt Lake Desert of Utah.

However, I misread the map assuming there was one last town before that vast area of nothing. Convincing hubby that the town was near, we darn near ran out of gas. During this surreal moment along the salt flats, we noticed a neatly dressed man on the shoulder of the freeway determinedly hauling his luggage behind him. Fortunately, we made it, all 70 miles, to the next gas station. After hubby finally exhaled, we stopped to pick up coffee and lunch (for later) at Starbucks/Safeway just before crossing over the border into Wyoming.

We planned to stop for a lunch break at the Natural History Museum of Western Wyoming College. My children's pediatrician use to live in Omaha, Nebraska, so he told me the couple worthwhile places to stop along the drive: The Museum and Cabela's!

The Natural History Museum of Western Wyoming College specializes in prehistoric specimens like life-size dinosaur replicas, fossils and artifacts, all gathered from various sites in Southwestern Wyoming. To prepare for all the dinosaur excitement we spent the morning listening to tons of dinosaur songs!

The boys had been excited ever since hearing their doctor tell me about the museum!

It was actually really cool and since it was a Sunday afternoon, we were pretty much the only people at the museum.

It was really dark inside, so my pictures didn't turn out very well at all... This was a consistent problem on our trip, but here are a few photos anyways:

The College also had an exhibit of exotic animals:

Chiquita wasn't sure what to think of it all, especially the lion:

We then ate our lunch in the Tyrannosaurus Cafe:

And then got back on the road heading to Laramie, Wyoming for the night.


The weather in Laramie wasn't that great, but, thankfully, it was much better than a couple nights prior!

On the Road

Since we got back, I have been dying to start telling you about our trip, but at the same time, the thought of it has been completely overwhelming me! There is just SO MUCH to share! So, I am just going to start at the beginning and work my way through. You'll just have to be patient for the exciting stuff!

We began our drive to Nebraska on May 24th, at approx 8 am. We had hoped to get out by 6am, but we were lucky to get out by 8! Thankfully, my mom and my twin sisters, Mary and JoAnn, came over the day before to help us pack. Without them, we probably would have never gotten out here! The girls helped me and played with the kids, Mom picked us up lunch AND dinner so I wouldn't have to worry about meals, and Mary, Mom & I ran to town to pick up a few last things for the trip and have the kids "Trip Journals" spiral bound, while JoAnn continued to load our iPod with tons of books and music! (It was so nice not to have to pack a ton of Cd's along for the trip into our already over full minivan!)

Speaking of the Trip Journals, the kids LOVED them! They spent countless hours working on them during our trip, and enjoyed every minute of it! They will make such nice keepsakes of the trip for them.

Another thing my children LOVED, was the bag of treats Mrs. K (Captain's tutor) surprised us with the day before our trip! She brought me a bag containing a ton of manila envelopes, four bags labeled with the kids names, and four stop watches. Each manila envelope was filled with four treats, one for each child. Their was a huge variety of treats including: lots of little toys, snacks, stickers, and much more! The idea was that I would give the children a time, and if they were all good, they would get another treat to put in their bag! Sometimes bribery works SO WELL! I am going to have to remember this for future trips! Thank you Mrs. K!

This was our 3rd road trip to Nebraska. We were there in 2004 and 2006 for a couple other ordinations as well. This time, we made a few changes... For one, we actually booked hotels along the way. (At least for the first 2 legs of the trip.) This was such a huge help, actually knowing where we would be stopping for the night! In 2006 we ended up driving a straight 36 hours on the way home, and we wanted to make sure we didn't do anything crazy like that this trip! :)

While I am thinking about it, if any of you have a road trip planned, don't miss Tracy's post: On the Road with Little People. I found it very helpful, and used quite a few of her suggestions.

Here are a few last glimpses of our home state:

The boys were very eager to get inside this decommissioned lookout Tower, but unfortunately it was locked.

It was a very cloudy day, but beautiful just the same!

It didn't take long to realize that when traveling with 5 children, there is no such thing as a "quick" bathroom stop! Each time we easily lost 30 minutes, or more, especially if there was a playground near by:

Due to our late start, and our multiple bathroom stops, we were not going to make it to our first destination in time for the evening Mass in town, and so once again, my sister came to our aid, and looked up a few other options for us online. We ended up stopping in Winnemucca, Nevada for Mass at St. Paul's Catholic Church.

Though I didn't care at all for Winnemucca, the church was so beautiful! I especially loved the stained glass windows and altar:



They even had a beautiful statue of St. Therese.

We arrived an hour early, so the children visited the outdoor grotto, and I was even able to make it to Confession.

(In order to recieve a plenary indulgence for assisting at the Mass of a newly Ordained Priest, one must fulfill a number of conditions including going to confession within 8 days of the Mass and Blessing.)

We didn't arrive to our hotel until about 8pm, but overall,
it was a great start to our trip.