{"id":428,"date":"2010-04-28T02:53:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T02:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2010\/04\/nebraska-discoveries-3-lauritzen-gardens-omahas-botanical-center.html"},"modified":"2012-05-20T19:31:16","modified_gmt":"2012-05-21T00:31:16","slug":"nebraska-discoveries-3-lauritzen-gardens-omahas-botanical-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2010\/04\/nebraska-discoveries-3-lauritzen-gardens-omahas-botanical-center.html","title":{"rendered":"Nebraska Discoveries 12: Lauritzen Gardens…Omaha’s Botanical Center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since I won’t be in the Omaha area forever, I realized recently that my time is running out for visiting the many attractions in the area. \u00a0Thanks to my boys’ field trips, Cub Scouting and birthday party invitations, they’ve already been to several area attractions. \u00a0But I’ve set a new goal for myself and the family: to visit every attraction on the Omaha Convention and Visitors Bureau’s\u00a0“Pin Map”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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You probably can’t see it that well, but just click on the “Pin Map” link above and you can see the original PDF. \u00a0 It’s called the “Pin Map” because in front of each of these attractions is an enormous mock up of a blue-tipped pin. \u00a0I’ll get a picture of one as soon as I can…<\/div>\n
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So…my goal is to visit each of the 15 attractions on the “Pin Map” before I leave the area. \u00a0So far, I’ve covered 7 of the 15 attractions (numbers 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13)…and we have this summer to make our way through the rest. \u00a0Maybe I’ll blog about these “pins” as we visit them…I hope to, but I won’t make any guarantees.<\/div>\n
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Today I’ll share with you my first visit to #8 on the list: Lauritzen Gardens<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Timmy’s preschool class took a trip here on Monday. \u00a0I can’t believe I’ve lived here nearly 2 years and hadn’t been here till this week! \u00a0I guess it goes with living in a house full of boys, right?<\/div>\n
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This is a beautiful place, full of pretty flowers (of course) but I also really enjoyed the gardens “repurposing” sconces, corbels and other ornamentals from throughout Omaha<\/a>…the pieces were rescued and help decorate the gardens. \u00a0The kids really enjoyed the flowers but the weather wasn’t very good and the walking was pretty tough on that group of 4 and 5 year olds.<\/div>\n
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So here are some pictures of the lovely visit. \u00a0I won’t include everything, just some of the more summary-type pics. \u00a0I STILL can’t believe I left our camera sitting on the counter as we headed out the door…so these pictures are with my iPhone camera.<\/div>\n
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This piece was repurposed from a downtown Omaha building:<\/p>\n

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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
This bunny sculpture is called “Baby Jack”…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
If you look closely, there’s a sculpture of a boy on the left of the stream:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Probably my favorite picture — the white redbuds in focus, with the kids behind…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Another repurposed decoration rescued from an old Omaha building:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
For some reason, looking at this flower reminds me of Salt Water Taffy<\/a>. \u00a0Great. \u00a0Now I want some:\u00a0Taffy Town ~ Assorted Salt Water Taffy ~ 1lb<\/a>\"\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
One of my favorite flowers: Bleeding Hearts….<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Pink AND White bleeding hearts everywhere!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
A Sandhill Crane exhibit…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Pretty redbud tree…<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
While we were on the walks, we came across a wonderful surprise! \u00a0A Garden Railroad<\/a>! \u00a0Trains weren’t running when we were there, but this weekend they’ll be starting to run them! \u00a0How exciting! \u00a0Timmy thought this was GREAT and can’t wait to return to see the trains running!<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Those trestles are made of lashed-together twigs. \u00a0Everything on this layout, except for the track, is natural:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Wood carvings of downtown Omaha: The Mutual of Omaha HQ, Union Pacific HQ, and Woodmen’s Insurance HQ:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Omaha Central High School<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Omaha Union Station<\/a>, now the Durham Museum<\/a>(Pin Map #3!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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From 2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
Feel free to view the rest of the pictures, complete with captions, here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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2010 04 26 Lauritzen Gardens Timmy Preschool Field Trip<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since I won’t be in the Omaha area forever, I realized recently that my time is running out for visiting the many attractions in the area. \u00a0Thanks to my boys’ field trips, Cub Scouting and birthday party invitations, they’ve already been to several area attractions. \u00a0But I’ve set a new goal for myself and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[51,620,68,249,37],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ycQ0-6U","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":440,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2010\/06\/nebraska-discoveries-7-the-mormon-trail-center.html","url_meta":{"origin":428,"position":0},"title":"Nebraska Discoveries 16: The Mormon Trail Center","date":"27 June 10","format":false,"excerpt":"Yeah, it's been a while... We're in the middle of a crazy summer here -- with the family currently scattered to the 4 winds! Well, the 3 winds anyway. Jacob's in NY enjoying a visit with Grammy and Grampy Vollmer, I'm currently on my 2-week AF Reserve tour, and Dave\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"family\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2789,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2013\/12\/nebraska-discoveries-22-last-trip-to-nebraska.html","url_meta":{"origin":428,"position":1},"title":"Nebraska Discoveries 22: My last trip to Nebraska…for now.","date":"05 December 13","format":false,"excerpt":"Just before Thanksgiving I took one last trip to Offutt AFB in Nebraska. This time I was signing out of my unit at STRATCOM. The folks in my office took me out for a nice lunch at Sinful Burger, and I even caught one last Omaha-Offutt AMS chapter meeting to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"air force reserves\"","img":{"alt_text":"The Historic Fort Crook Suites are on \"General's Row\" on Offutt AFB.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_8067.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":449,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2010\/08\/fontenelle-splashground.html","url_meta":{"origin":428,"position":2},"title":"Nebraska Discoveries 18: Fontenelle Splashground","date":"14 August 10","format":false,"excerpt":"Today Shannon and I took our boys to this new \"splashpark\" that opened 2 weeks ago in North Omaha. \u00a0What a fun, FREE, way to spend a hot summer afternoon! School starts Monday! Since the original post this afternoon I've had a chance to add more commentary about this place.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"friends\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":432,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2010\/05\/nebraska-discoveries-4-historic-fort-crook-sac-chapel-offutt-afb.html","url_meta":{"origin":428,"position":3},"title":"Nebraska Discoveries 13: Historic Fort Crook & SAC Chapel, Offutt AFB","date":"05 May 10","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I'm sharing some of the history on Offutt AFB. \u00a0Unfortunately, everyone can't just get onto Offutt. \u00a0You need to have a military ID card to get onto the base freely, or make a friend with a military member who can sign you in as a guest. As mentioned before,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"nebraska\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/z.about.com\/d\/usmilitary\/1\/0\/W\/I\/4\/housing.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":419,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2010\/03\/nebraska-discoveries-snow-geese.html","url_meta":{"origin":428,"position":4},"title":"Nebraska Discoveries 10: Snow Geese","date":"14 March 10","format":false,"excerpt":"For the past 2-3 weeks, it's been slowly warming here. I wish I had blogged a little more about the extreme bitter cold we experienced here, and the record-after-record-after-record snowfall we had here in the Omaha area since December. I'll be updating our \"Vollmer Weather Curse\" post soon with this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"bird watching\"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":448,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2010\/08\/nebraska-discoveries-8-ashfall-fossil-beds-fossil-vacations.html","url_meta":{"origin":428,"position":5},"title":"Nebraska Discoveries 17: Ashfall Fossil Beds & "Fossil Vacations"","date":"12 August 10","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple weeks ago, Jacob and I (Timmy was in NY visiting Grammy and Grampy) headed out with our friends and neighbors, Shannon, Brandon, Connor and Dean to the Ashfall Fossil Beds\u00a0State Historic Park, which is near the small town of Royal, Nebraska. 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