Day # 8- Friday July 4, Omaha, Nebraska

We woke up feeling adventurous and decided that on our way to Omaha, Nebraska we would drive through Minnesota and Iowa! Just because... 

Both were beautiful and so green. I particularly remember loving the farms in Iowa. They were picture perfect.

And so were so many little towns that we drove through, because it was the 4th of July, they were especially patriotic-

Since it was the 4th of July, we needed to do something cool for lunch. When we saw the sign along the highway that said LeMars, Iowa was the Ice Cream Capitol of the World, we knew we had to go...

But would anything even be open, since it was the 4th of July?

We were ecstatic to find the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor in the center of town!

 It was a big place, with a grand staircase and a second story. The gift shop was giant and you could pose for a photo even-

We let the kids order whatever they wanted and we all gorged ourselves on ice cream. It was the perfect unexpected lunch stop for us!

Next up- Nebraska!

We were headed to Omaha, Nebraska to see my friend Lauren. While Lauren is now married and her husband is in the Air Force, our connection goes back 10 years to when she was in college and worked for me one summer in a little boutique I was managing. She's turned into a little sister and Brian and I both adore her. 

And two weeks prior to our visit, she became a mama for the second time to son, Tyler- 

 We got into town a little later than expected, so I wasn't able to make it to their house unfortunately. She and Jason came downtown to pick us up for dinner. Brian was eager to try some Omaha steaks! We went to a great restaurant, Brother Sebastian's Steak House.

We left our kids back in the hotel with my mom... BTW- it was a VERY nice hotel again!

Lauren and her sweet family-

Lauren and Jason had to get home to tuck the kiddos into bed, so they encouraged us to take the hotel shuttle to the Old Market district of downtown. It was awesome. This picture doesn't do it justice- 

We had a glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe and headed back to the hotel. We got there just in time for a fantastic fireworks show right out our window!