Come and enjoy this year’s Midwest Pirate Festival!

This festival for all ages is filled with fun adventures for the whole family! Have a swashbuckling good time as you experience five stages of continuous live entertainment, the Pirate’s Cave Adventure, friendly and fiendish scavenger games – mermaids from afar, members of the British Navy, and dozens of costumed pirates!

Finally, The Lee G. Simmons Aviary is now open!

The Lee G. Simmons Aviary at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium announced its reopening after being closed for almost 4 months.

The Aviary was closed last March 3, 2022, due to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus (HPAI). The “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus” occurs mainly in birds, which is highly contagious, and can be deadly among birds. This virus affected birds across the country of Nebraska and Iowa. It was extremely important to Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium to protect the birds from getting infected by the said virus; they decided to release the birds to their outside habitats. Dr. Sarah Woodhouse, the Director of Animal Health for Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, happily announced that 100 percent of the birds stayed healthy and were not affected by the HPAI Virus. They were able to test samples and the results were negative. They felt confident releasing the birds back to their outdoor exhibits. They started putting out the birds in batches of 20 to 30 in late April and managed to move out 215 birds in over 4 days. They also expressed gratitude to their zookeepers and staff who showed effort and support in protecting the birds during the process.

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is excited to welcome visitors back starting June 24, 2022. Aside from the reopening of the Aviary, other Zoo facilities like the Dick and Mary Holland Meadowlark Theater and Budgie Encounter have also been reopened to the public. You’ll once again see the peacocks wandering around the Zoo grounds.

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is open daily between 9am – 5pm.

If you want to know more about the ticket price, you may visit: www.omahazoo.com

Scotts Bluff National Monument is one of the wonders in Nebraska that you don’t want to miss. Aside from its breathtaking view, this place has a historical background as well. If you are into history and adventure then this is the place that you need to visit. This national park has a huge acreage of spectacular rock and land transformation which will surely amaze you. As you travel through this scenic place, be stunned by the dark and light horizontal lines traveling through the rocks, unveiling its geological history. It also gives you that dramatic feeling knowing its history that this was the landmark for the emigrant trails. 

Scotts Bluff Park was named after Hiram Scott who died alone and abandoned by his troops at the base of Bluffs along North Platte River back in 1828. Despite it’s sad namesake, it has a ton of areas to explore. 

Aside from its marvelous rock formation scenery, here are the list of things you can do inside the National Park

1. Visit the the monument visitor center to know more about the Native Americans who traveled past Scotts Bluff
2. Go hiking on the Monument trails, feel the fresh air and enjoy the panoramic sunset

3. Explore the William Henry Jackson collection. Scotts Bluff stores the largest collection of William Henry Jackson in the whole world. You will see his sketches, paintings and photography. 

4. Make a stop at the souvenir shop as this offers a variety of items about Scotts Bluff history. Also all the sales made from the store goes to the  interpretive programming at Scotts Bluff National Monument.

5. Get your passport stamped at the stamping station found in the Park Store
6. If you want to see the picturesque view of Scotts Bluff, and discover more of its  unique geological features, Go on hiking.
7. If you want to relax and just enjoy the view with your friends and family, this National park has designated covered picnic areas with a garbage can which is open from sunrise to sunset.
8. Learn more about the history, animals, and the geological history of Scotts Bluff by joining their Ranger Program. 
9. You may also want to join their Junior Ranger program where you can earn a special badge by completing the activities in the booklet.
10. Are you planning to bring your furry friend during your visit? Please make sure that you adhere to the guidelines  in order to ensure a safe and fun experience.  Also note that pets are not allowed to enter the Visitor’s Center. You also need to clean up your pets’ waste and make sure to not leave any trash behind.

Visiting Scotts Bluff National Monument has no entrance fee and while the park is open daily from sunrise till sunset, you may also need to check the weather condition prior to visiting to have a safe and fun filled experience.

Welcome to Family Fun in Omaha!  We have changed our name from The Spirit of Saving to better reflect what we are all about – your local resource for family-friendly activities and events in Omaha!  We will still highlight those that are free or inexpensive, but now will include ALL family-friendly events!

Here you will find:

• An Omaha Event Calendar detailing many family-friendly events in and around Omaha.

• Many Upcoming Events, with weekend events in Omaha posted every Thursday! 

• Free Family Activities in Omaha, Free Kids Programs in Omaha, and Restaurants where Kids Eat FREE or Cheap in Omaha.

• Seasonal posts detailing fun family events to enjoy each season and celebrate Holidays 

• Giveaways for tickets to local attractions and events, and other fun prizes!

• Freebies and Deals on restaurants, retail, and family events.

• Plus so much more!

Please join Family Fun in Omaha on Facebook and spread the word!  (Unfortunately, Facebook does not allow us to change our name, and so head on over to our new page and ‘like us’!)

Thank you for your patience as we work through this transition.  We are so excited for our new focus and have many fun plans ahead to help you enjoy all of the wonderful resources we have in this amazing city of ours!

It is very hard to believe it has been 1 year since The Spirit of Saving began.  We have exciting plans in February to celebrate, plus more fun ideas ahead, and so I hope you will continue to join us as we move forward.  I truly appreciate everyone who visits.  Thank you very much!  

Now, I would like to hear from you: How can The Spirit of Saving be more helpful to you?  What would you like to see in the future?  I appreciate all feedback and ideas I receive to help improve the site and make it more effective as a wonderful resource for you and your family.

Thank you for your help!

Note:  If you are reading this through email, you will have to visit the site to see the survey.

Thank you again for visiting!  Your responses are greatly appreciated!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning I will receive a commission if you purchase through these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

UPDATE: Nicole recently released her new book, The Extraordinary Art of Meal Planning, with helpful tips!

Imagine this… it has been a typically busy day full of school, homework, meetings, work, and suddenly, you realize it is 5:30pm, and the kids are hungry.  You open the fridge, hoping there are leftovers from a recent night out at a restaurant.  No luck.  Pasta … pancakes … pizza …  Does this sound familiar?

As a child, I remember sitting around the dinner table and enjoying a home-cooked meal almost every night.  Even to this day, my Mom makes a huge effort to cook our favorite meal when we are there for dinner, including the best mashed potatoes and gravy I have ever had.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to be a better cook for my family so that they can enjoy these same memories.  I want to use the crock pot more, eat healthier meals, and have a better plan so that we are not deciding at 5:30pm what we are having for dinner that night.

Meal Planning Success

To help with this process, I recently took a Free Meal Planning Class offered by Nicole McDonald at the Millard Public Library.  She suggested starting with a dinner theme for each day of the week by type of food (Mexican, Italian, etc.), main ingredient, or cooking method (crock pot, oven, grill, etc.), and then filling out a week’s meal plan based on meals we already cook.  It was amazing how many meals in different ‘categories’ I could fill up (especially since it feels like all we eat is chicken and pasta!).

I loved how Nicole made it personal, encouraging us to do what works with our families, schedules, and tastes.  She recommended adding a new recipe a couple times a month, and doubling or tripling recipes, freezing the leftover portions for quick meals at a later date.  Favorite recipes, websites and tips were also shared by others in the class.

Since taking this class, I am proud to say we have prepared several tasty home-cooked meals, created a meal plan for the week ahead, and have collected some fun and easy recipes on Pinterest.  [Right now, you can get the Slow Cooker 101 E-Book with 101 Great Recipes for Free on Amazon!]  I also plan to laminate a meal planning chart (such as the one from Nicole’s class, or a printable one here or here), add magnets to the back or post it on our bulletin board in our pantry, and then reuse it weekly to plan our meals.

You can discover many more helpful tips in Nicole’s meal planning class, or in one of her other popular coupon and freebies classes.  They are offered at local libraries (for free!), and at Community Colleges and local Moms groups.  See her upcoming schedule of classes here.  She also blogs at Mom Saves Money, sharing coupons, freebies, and deals.  Thank you, Nicole, for offering this class and giving me the encouragement and tips to successfully plan our meals.  I hope this is one resolution I can keep!

What are your best meal planning tips?  Please share in the comments below!

CC image courtesy of Janine