Life in the Allenzotti House: Turkey Day Trip to Omaha

It's that time of year again when I head to Omaha to celebrate Thanksgiving! It was a busy trip this year. Scott and I decided to leave on Tuesday afternoon and spend the night in Kansas City. It was a smart idea. We barely had any traffic and the drive didn't seem so bad. We woke up early on Wednesday and hit the road and headed to Topeka! We were off to check another state capital off our list.

[caption id="attachment_836" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunset in Missouri "]

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[caption id="attachment_837" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Yes, Kansas is that flat"]

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I was pretty impressed with the capital in Topeka. The state has done a lot to restore it and show all the painted over artwork and remove smoke from the days when you were allowed to smoke in the state senate. It amazed me with what they discovered during the renovations.

[caption id="attachment_843" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Outside the Kansa capital"]

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[caption id="attachment_845" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Top of the dome"]

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After our tour we were on our way to Omaha. On Wednesday night we headed over to my Aunt Pam's house to our traditional pizza night gathering. We used to go to Sortino's but it was easier with all the little kids to just hang out at someone's house. Of course an informal shuffle board tournament happened. It was nice to catch up with everyone the first night.

On Thanksgiving Scott and I went to Prairie Life with Chris and Debbie for a morning work out, instead of the body freezing 5K that Scott wanted to do. After the work out and since we were in the car, my uncle took us on a driving tour of Omaha. It had been a while since I'd seen downtown so it was nice to see all the changes, even the new home to the College World Series. Once we were home and ready to go we headed to Old Navy to do a little shopping. I was surprised with how empty it was. I really thought there would have been more crazy shoppers out trying to get deals on Thanksgiving. I took Scott by my Grandpa's old house and where my parents got married. Lots of trips down memory lane for me in Omaha. It was finally time for Thanksgiving and we headed over to my Aunt Denise's house in Elkhorn. Everyone had a great time watching football, eating and catching up. The only family members not present were my parents and brother. Thankfully we all were just together in May at Jeff and Annie's wedding. My parents went to Lubbock to visit Andrew.

On Friday, Scott and I did some more shopping. This time it was for Husker apparel. Scott desperately needed a Husker shirt of any kind I was looking for a new hoodie. We found both at Husker Hounds. But we still had to check out Sheels just to see if they happened to have anything else that we had to get and of course you can't beat $5 shirts! So I think we are good for now. I went to lunch with my aunts and cousin Jennifer while Scott stayed with my uncles to watch the beginning of the Huskers/CU game. NU managed to win the Big 12 North with that game. It was also fun to get some Nebraska football gossip from my cousin. Later that night Scott and I went to see Due Date, which was very funny!

[caption id="attachment_838" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Venue for lunch with the Aunts"]

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Saturday we packed it up and headed home...this time we drove through Iowa. We were stopping in Des Moines to tour the capital building. The building itself was beautiful, gold dome and 137 step to get to the top (which we climbed). It was great! The tour wasn't as fun as Kansas but still very interesting to learn about the building and how it was rebuilt after a fire in 1904.

[caption id="attachment_846" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Iowa Capital Building"]