First Family Camping Trip

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Childhood memories

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Today was the last day of summer school for my five and six year old. They have been attending a half-day summer school for the last three weeks. I’m not sure they really learned anything of substance, but at least there were three more weeks of their summer that was in a structured environment in which they were expected to listen, learn, and play nicely with their classmates.

My wife has driven them to school every day up to this point, but today, their last day, I did it.

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Another Morning

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Yesterday I woke up to bright sunshine pouring through my bedroom window and onto the wall. This morning I woke up to the sounds of rain being blown up against that same bedroom window as if someone were throwing small pebbles trying to get my attention, but no one else’s.

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Morning Musings

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I’m not sure why I wake up in a better mood some days and others I don’t. I assume it has something to do with the amount of warm morning light I see, and probably the amount of restful sleep I get, too.

But some days I wake up and I feel like I’m ready to take on the world and its issues.

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Thirty-Two

Reflections and Ramblings: Volume Twenty-Five

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Eight ways of #adultingharder

#adulting is hard. Here are some ways to adult harder.

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A Lazy Winter Day at Home

Over the last couple days it has been hovering between -5 and 15 degrees outside. That kind of weather doesn’t really make you want to go anywhere for a while. So the kids, the dog, and I have been hanging out at home finding things to do.

This morning and afternoon I decided to get out my camera and take some pictures. Every time I do this I wonder why I don’t do it more. I love taking pictures of my kids and now the dog, too.

Here are some of the pictures. There’s a lot of them. The pictures I took in our basement were all in black and white. But for the most part, I included the color photos of when we were playing on the couch in the living room.

Finding Beauty in a Tragedy

On Saturday January 9th, 2016 a fire broke out after a small explosion in M’s Pub located in Omaha’s historic and iconic Old Market neighborhood. The fire ravaged the building and broke the hearts of all those who had ever stepped foot in the Old Market, especially M’s Pub. The fire would rage on for around 12 hours before it was considered under control. The Omaha Fire Department not only had to battle the three alarm fire in front of them, but also the frigid below freezing temperatures with wind chills hovering around -15 degrees.

Because of a major warehouse fire in Chicago a couple of years ago in similar conditions, I knew that whatever was left of M’s Pub and the apartments above it would look oddly beautiful once the fire was out. Subzero temperatures and thousands of gallons of water makes for an impressive sight. Here are a few of the pictures I took this morning.

Catching Up

Whew! Life has really been flying on by. I need to post some pictures! Here’s some from the last couple months or so. Many of them are from my iPhone because I just haven’t been carting my camera around with me very often. I have been staying busy with the kids, as usual. I’ve also been working on a website/project which is built around storytelling. If that interests you, please check Library of Impressions out.

Ok. I’ll start from oldest to most recent. There’s a lot of pictures…

Untitled — Ezra and Micah playing in the backyard.

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Neighbor’s house with some vines growing.

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Daddy and Micah — This is me and Micah just minutes after waking up. He wanted to take a picture.

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In...and out — One of my favorite pictures ever. What goes in…must come out…

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Swimming with Grammaw and Papaw — Micah swimming.

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Well look, it's two people I love! — Love those smiles.

Naked potty training day one and molar number four coming in. This is the real deal, folks. // #💦💩🚽😬 — Naked potty training was quite the experience.

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Two parks. Two kids. Two tired parents = One successful Saturday. — Ezra soaring high at our neighborhood park.

Visual proof that local coffee shops are like little glimpses of heaven on earth. — At a coffee shop in Omaha.

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There’s nothing in this world that Micah seems to love more than dogs and puppies. He picked out “buddy” and LOVES him.

What shoe-d we do today? // #ezrayuuto #aksarbenliving #childhoodunplugged — Ezra hanging out on the couch.

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Go, set a watchman // #ezrayuuto #aksarbenliving — Ezra looking out the window.

Ezra seems happy to be outside today. It's about 300% humidity, though. // #ezrayuuto #omaha #childhoodunplugged #makemoments — Ezra smiles on a walk near the Missouri river.

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Walking along the Missouri River this morning. // #igersomaha #omaha #missouririver #bridge #omaha #bnwomaha #makemoments #momentswide #xmarksthespot — A bridge to Council Bluffs, Iowa from Omaha, NE.

Bean bag. — Micah chilling in the bean bag.

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Bedtime? But there's still plenty of daytime left! // #MicahMasato #aksarben #childhoodunplugged #windowwatching #windowwatcher — Looking out the window before bedtime.

Took a brief walk over to the park today to cool off on this hot summer day. // #igersomaha #OmahaParks #omaha #micahandezra #aksarbenliving #stinsonpark #summerfun — Enjoying the fountains at our local park in the hot summer heat.

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April, Come and Gone

Yikes! April flew by this year. It’s hard to believe, really. But I guess that must mean that life has been busy. Sarah transitioned to working night shift this month, and that has changed up our routines and daily lives a bit. I got a few good representative pictures this month of what life is like around here. I am going to be taking more in May because I’m going to try and participate in Pentax Forums’ a picture a day again. It’s been a while since I’ve done a pic a day, life just got too hectic. But I may try and start it up again this next month.

Anyway, here’s a roundup of some of this past month’s photos (and one video).