WIth all the Mother's Day things happening, it would be easy to forget some of these great happenings, so I just wanted to post this one again as a reminder!

This Saturday and Sunday, Create in ElkHorn, NE will be holding a mother's Day Special. This is what it sayd on their Facebook Event page: "We're giving all mom's a present- a weekend to use our space to create your next masterpieces for FREE! So gather your photos, fabric, bits & pieces & come to CREATE for a great weekend of inspiration! Call today to reserve your spot!"

Please see their Facebook Page here and their event page here.

Thanks Merrilyn for letting me know about this!

I intend for this series of posts to give suggestions of good day trips you can make in and around Omaha with your family. Hopefully it will give some good ideas of things to do close to home for local readers (and for those of you visiting Omaha, it might give you some ideas of what to do while you are here).

I cannot possibly do a series of posts about daycations/staycations without starting with probably the most popular Omaha destination: The Henry Doorly Zoo. I am not really a zoo person, or an animal person at all, but even I can appreciate that this is a must see in Omaha. It is an incredible zoo-one of the best in the world as far as I am concerned. And it is huge!! You can EASILY spend all day there and still not see it all.

There are a number of outdoor exhibits, but many of the exhibits are indoor-so you can go and enjoy the zoo anytime, snow or shine! In fact in the middle of the HUGE snow storms this winter, when the kids were out of school for days and days on end of snow days, I braved the roads and we went to the zoo and had a great time in the heat of the Desert Dome and the Rainforest.

Speaking of the Desert Dome, here are just a few of the attractions you will find at our great zoo:

• Desert Dome
• Rainforest
• Aquarium
• Nursery
• Cat Complex
• Gorilla Valley
• (Opened Today!!) Madagascar exhibit!

See the complete list here.

Now lets talk a bit about cost. It can get pretty costly at the zoo here which is why I recommend making a full day of it.  There is a ton to see and I believe it is worth the cost, but only if you are going to make a "daycation" out of it.  Pack up a cooler and plan to picnic there. There are plenty of places to stop and eat. 

If you are a local, or plan to come to the zoo with your family more than one day in a year, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a year pass. They always go from May through April, so buy yours in May so you get the WHOLE year in. Usually some time in April the zoo will send members a form with which you can renew your pass at a discounted rate for the following year. After a certain date it is more. I did not renew mine yet this year and got a letter yesterday saying if I renew by May 18, I can still get the family pass for $78, after that it will be $88.

That being said, lets do some math.  Admission for adults and children 12 and older is $11.50, Seniors (over 62) are $10, Children 3-11 are $7.75, and Children 2 and under are free.  I have a family of 6: 2 adults ($11.50), 3 children ($7.75), and one FREE child. So, for us to go one day would be $46.25.   If I go to the zoo only 2 times with my family this year without a pass, that is  $92.50. So, you can see that the annual family pass for us is a no brainer. Even if we were just visiting Omaha and thought we might return to the zoo once more that year, I would get the pass. Just my advice for families like ours.  Do the math with your family and figure out if the pass is worth your while to purchase!

If you live out of Omaha, and happen to have a zoo pass to a "reciprocal zoo", you can get in for a discounted price. With your reciprocal zoo pass, children 2 and under are still FREE, Children (ages 3 - 11)  are $3.75, Adults (ages 12 and over)  are $5.75, and Seniors (ages 62 and over) $5.00.  That's a pretty good discount! The zoo also offers discounts for big groups (over 40). You can see the details for those discounts here.

The Henry Doorly Zoo is a great way to spend a day in Omaha and I highly recommend it! Plan ahead, pack up for the day, bring a cooler of food, and go enjoy this beautiful Omaha site!

**The picture above is one I took at the zoo last summer. Beautiful, right?!

If you are looking for some great Mother's Day Restaurant Deals, Please see this list compiled by Mojo Savings.  And moght I just remind you that Mother's day is one of the busiest restaurant days of the year, so a lot of places that don't normally take reservations, will for the day. Wherever you are going to take mom, call ahead and see if you can get a reserved time so you don't have to wait all day! Just a thought!

The Freebie Blogger has posted a GREAT list of free happenings this weekend and freebies for moms. One of the things on that list that I think is pretty sweet is that National Train Day is tomorrow! There are fun free events all over the country. You can check for one near you here.

Remember Train Day is just one of the freebies on The Freebie Blogger's list. So, click here to see all the fun and free events!

I know I have a lot of Utah readers, so when I read about this just now I thought I better check it out. Goldsmith Co. Jewelers in Provo, Utah gives out a free strand of Freshwater Pearls for Mother's Day every year (one per household. Just take this coupon in to their store adn you can get your free pearl necklace-while supplies last so I would go soon!

Thanks One CHeap Chick.

Today's download is "One Jump Ahead" from Aladdin. I just downloaded mine from the link in their Facebook status!

If you have not done so yet you can either become a friend on Facebook, a follower on Twitter or text Disney Music at 66937 so you can get your free downloads.

Today's Salt Lake City Groupon is $49 for One Cooking Class of Your Choice at Viking Cooking School (Up to $135 value). Even though we do not live in Utah, my husband will want to get this one for me, but only if they teach a class on how to cook hibachi style like at Benihana! (I just looked and they DO have one on September 22. I might have to go visit Utah then. Check it out here.

As with all the deals, make sure you check out the fine print before purchasing. To sign up for Groupons, click on my referral link here (this does NOT commit you to buying any deal-you choose what you buy) and to see the Salt Lake City page, including today's deal, click here.

Not sure what Groupons is? Then click here to read all about it!

PLEASE Note that because this is an ONLINE groupon, ANYONE can use it even if you do not live in Omaha!!

Today's Omaha Groupon is $25 for $75 Worth of Wine from Wine Insiders' Online Store.

As with all the deals, make sure you check out the fine print before purchasing. To sign up for Groupons, click on my referral link here (this does NOT commit you to buying any deal-you choose what you buy) and to see the Omaha page, including today's deal, click here.

Not sure what Groupons is? Then click here to read all about it!

Tomorrow, Fontenelle is having their Free Day in May and Native Plant Sale. Included is free admission to Fontenelle Nature Center, children's activities, critter encounters, family hikes and access to 19 mile of trails. Plus there is a Native Plant Sale hosted by Nebraska Arboretum and the Fontenelle Nature Association. Please go here to read all the details!

For some reason, all week long I have been thinking that the free admission at Lauritzen was Saturday May 7th, but as it turns out, I had my days mixed up, and TODAY, FRIDAY is May 7th. I posted correctly yesterday that the FREE Lauritzen admission day is today, ut I wanted to make sure to clarify. The FREE admission at Lauritzen is TODAY from 9 am-6 pm.
Another thing I learned in today's Omaha World Herald in the Living section was that there is an upcoming FREE admission Day at Lauritzen Gardens. It will be on May 7 in Celebration of National Public Gardens Day. Wes (my husband) has still never been there in the 6 years we have lived here, so I hope he has that day off and I can finally show him this beautiful, uniquely Omaha garden!!