Celebrations and New Years Eve 2017 in Omaha and Chicago

Even though Matt's Grandpa Charlie passed away last May, the family reunion/celebration of life didn't take place till December. We joined over 60 people in Omaha, NE right after Christmas for a few days. Savvy fell asleep during the actual service, but Cass was riveted and engaged the whole time. We were pretty surprised at her ability to not just pay attention, but really take it all in. Hearing the stories about her great grandpa and seeing the pieces of his life in random remnants along the tables brought him to life for her in a way that was very different from her actual real life interactions with him! Something about seeing him through everyone's eyes maybe? I'm not sure, but I am sure both girls had a great time seeing everyone and meeting family they hadn't yet met in person before.

We got in to Omaha on Christmas day. Not many folks were in town yet. We went out to a buffet for dinner and it was amazing!

The first day at the pool was frigid! I still can't believe they got in the water.

My face when they asked me to come into the pool....no thank you!

Aunt Sue has told us about the Omaha Zoo for years! We finally made it and she was not wrong, it was fantastic! We only saw three of the habitats. It was so cold outside that we ran from building to building and then after lunch we had to leave.

Matt's mom said this was her first selfie! She did a good job :-)

Our friend Tammy was in town visiting her daughter who goes to school in Omaha. How wild is that? Tammy still lives and works for NDE in Carson City.

Aren't they glowing? What a beautiful couple! Matt's Grandma Mary passed away years ago. In fact, the very first large Smith family gathering I attended was her memorial service.

The restaurant we went to after the service had a pay phone on the wall. This relic from my own past! was such a novelty for the girls. They were just delighted to pretend to talk on the phone. It was not in working order.

What should have been a 7.5 hour drive was more like 9 hours through the wildest snow storm! I swear, there is a barn in this photo...

We had a blast in Chicago seeing the Wilmarth Tynas! And they surprised us with a cool outing to see the lights of the arboretum.

Super thankful to their friends who let us borrow ski wear- Chicago was freezing!

Twinning!

A whirlwind of a week it was! And we got to bring in the new year with the bestest of friends <3 nbsp="" p="">

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