Bluejay Basketball Game

The girls enjoyed their first Creighton men's basketball game.
Thanks to some incredible generosity of our friends, the Lightharts, the girls and I enjoyed our first Creighton men's basketball game together. The Qwest Center was about 2,000 short of capacity, which means there were still 15,000 people on hand. The seats were terrific – fifth row just behind the Bluejays' basket (in the second half) and there were plenty of nice people seated around us. In fact, one of the girls sitting behind us distributes communion and takes up the collection at our church.

Creighton won – and we found out later that viewers at home on KMTV even got a glimpse of us. Here's my attempt to get a photo of the night:

Trip to the Omaha Press Club

The remodeled main bar at the Omaha Press Club
still features a TV - only now it's a flatscreen.
I've been to the Omaha Press Club dozens of times: for meetings, lunch and even Bridget and Jon's wedding reception. Heck, I was a member for years (both from a corporate and journalist standpoint).

But yesterday was the first time I had been to the club since it underwent extensive remodeling. It sits on the top floor of the old First National Bank building, 22 stories above Downtown Omaha.

For those of you who have not been there, it offers beautiful views of the riverfront and points farther into Council Bluffs and beyond. Here's a few photos from my guest lunch with the OPC communications committee.

Looking east toward Council Bluffs. The large building
in the foreground is the Omaha World-Herald's Freedom Center
printing building. Behind it is the Qwest Center.

The main fireplace looks the same. But you can no longer smoke by it.

Bridget looks over a magazine in one of the side rooms.
Note the "Faces on the Barroom Floors" on the walls.

The view of the Woodman Tower is to the south.

Looking north, you can see the Civic Auditorium.

Getting Ready For The Girls

It's Wednesday morning and that means the girls are coming to see me this afternoon. After posting that I would be seeing them off for their first day of school, there has been a change of plans.

Instead of sleeping over at my apartment and then going to school Thursday morning, they will actually be returning home tonight after spending part of the afternoon with me. This means the traditional pictures and video will take place at the house on Mom and the girls' first day of school.

My dad spent several hours at the apartment yesterday getting the bunk bends assembled and ready for the girls' overnight visit (which is now this weekend). He also earned the dubious distinction of being my first true lunch guest. (Thus the "No. 1" sign in the picture.) We enjoyed a nice meal, but he opted out of the root beer floats they were serving at the leasing office.

Here is a picture I neglected to include in my post yesterday about returning home. The Qwest Center arena took a major hit during a thunderstorm that happened during the Olympic Swim Trials in July. At the time, the arena management company said it would be fixed "in a couple days." Here it is, more than six weeks later, and there's no sign that the scaffolding is going away any time soon.