Happy Father's Day...Omaha Style

So at the last minute (since the Hogs won) Stella and I decided to surprise Tom and take a fun road trip to Omaha, Nebraska for the College World Series. It was a whirlwind to get this together, but I got Tom Friday off and I also took a vacation day---we loaded up the car and off we went. Stella did great (of course) and we really had a fun family weekend even though the Hogs lost.Here we are waiting in line to get our seats (we bought general admission...which were a lot cheaper.), but as you can tell Miss Thang is relaxing and taking her morning nap while we wait in line. Little did we know a storm was going to delay the game 2 and a half hours!

Right before I took this picture her feet were propped up...like she was laying out. Stella can be a Diva when she wants to.
Here are Stella and her daddy in our seats BEFORE the delay.
Getting ready to cheer on those hogs...we were surrounded by LSU fans.
I didn't think she would take another nap in her stroller, but she conked out again as we were making our way back to the stadium after the rain delay. Notice she is bundled up...the weather was very tricky throughout the day.
Game on...Daddy is very serious about them Hogs.
Proof that we were there and the sun did FINALLY show up.

Stella and I left the game early since it started a little later than expected we needed to get dinner for the munchkin and she'd been such a trooper I didn't want to press my luck. Dad stayed behind, but still had a blast. When we picked him up...he had an idea...before heading home Saturday he wanted to take Stella to the Omaha Zoo (it's supposedly the 2nd best in the nation, just behind San Diego).
Stella and her daddy looking at the desert animals. It was a very neat zoo and Stella really seemed to take it all in. She waved at ALL the animals.
In awe of the animals moving around.
Butterflies...if you know Stella at all, then you KNOW she LOVES bugs. This zoo had an insect area and there was an entire walk-thru area of butterflies. She was so wide-eyed during all this it was hilarious.
Trying to get the bees.
Look how close we were. The zoo was a great end to the trip before hitting the road back to Fayetteville.

And of course we topped Father's Day (weekend) off with a little church and...you guessed it...RED ROBIN (Daddy's favorite).
Sticking her tongue out...very much like her dad likes to do.
Stella was cracking up at Tom here. He was asking her to feed him her treats and she just thought that was hysterical. It is so fun for me to see Tom with Stella. He is an incredible dad and she is definately a daddy's girl! And I love that because I was a daddy's girl and there's nothing better. Love you Dad!
And in the end...Stella didn't share (I guess we'll have to work on that), but you can't blame the girl---those peach puffs are pretty tasty. :)

One more story...

I'll admit, I don't know if it possible at this age, but both Tom and I swear she actually said it.
Ok, here's the story...
Thursday night when we were getting Stella ready for bed in the hotel I was changing her into her pjs. She was just smiling and me and doing her own thing and then all of a sudden she turns her head to Tom says "Hi Dada." smiles and then turns back to me so I can finish getting her ready. It was amazing and Tom and I kept asking each other if it really sounded like that or if we made it up. But we BOTH heard it. Anyway, that still makes Tom smile and probably will for a long time.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TOM...STELLA IS ONE LUCKY GIRL!