Grandpa Lohrberg turns 80!

My grandpa just turned 80 and the family planned a big party for him. It had been so long since I had been to Nebraska and Aaron had never been, so we of course went for the weekend. Thursday was pretty much just a travel day, but we got to Lincoln in time for dinner with my grandparents, Aunt Rhonda, and cousin Sophie who were in town from San Diego. Friday after lunch out at a local spot my Aunt Amy and grandpa took us on a tour of the city where we got to see a nice mix of family historical spots (schools and homes from growing up) and University of Nebraska highlights. We were pretty stoked to get a personal tour of the training facilities and football stadium - thanks to Aunt Amy who has special access!

Friday evening we drove up to Omaha to my Uncle John and Aunt Amy's place to celebrate their children's birthdays. We greeted my Aunt Sue who drove in from Colorado that evening and my mom and Dave who just got to town from Oregon. We then left in time to make the drive back to Lincoln in time to catch the second half of my Uncle Bill's band playing at a local spot. They were really good and Aaron was immediately impressed when the first song we heard was a cover that is also on Rock Band (so Aaron of course knows it well) and he said that it sounded *exactly* like the original. Grandpa came out to hear his son play and even got a few birthday wishes from folks in the crowd after Uncle Bill announced to the crowd his milestone. There is a great story here about how Grandpa may or may not have snuck out of the house to get to the bar!

Saturday was the big party... we think about 110-120 people came! It was an open house at the Knolls Country Club. Aaron and I spent the time being introduced to friends, neighbors, and extended family who had all come out to wish him well. We had put together an ambiance slide show showcasing photos of my grandpa throughout the years (right click and select 'save as' to get to the powerpoint. And don't worry, Aaron is working on putting the photos online separately for those of you who don't have powerpoint). We received a lot of compliments for doing the technical labor. :) The after party was over at my Aunt Amy & Uncle Jim's place where about 40 or 50 of the family members (yes, my mom's family is that huge!) went for pizza and games.

Sunday we overslept so we missed church and once we found our keys to the rental car (doh!) we grabbed lunch and then visited two of my Uncle's homes for tours and final visits. For lunch it's worth mentioning that I officially broke my veto on Panera Bread, which I suppose I have to admit that I enjoyed the sandwich. I still wont go back to the one in Santa Monica, but the next time we are in Lincoln we can keep it in mind as a food option.

All in all it was a great weekend! We were so glad to be there to celebrate with everyone and also really treasured the quieter moments just catching up. Here are all of the photos from the weekend.