Shaun & Anna

This weekend, Andy and I spent 2 nights away from home and the girls--he was in a wedding for our friend Shaun.  It was a great time.  Of course, whenever we are away from the girls, it's hard.  We enjoy our time to just hang out and not have to watch and worry over them as much.  But we're still parents.  We still wonder what they are doing, how things are going, call to wish them goodnight, feel guilty about enjoying our time away from them...We know we have to get away every so often, but it's still hard. 

Anyway, back to the wedding.  Andy and Shaun have been friends since toddlerhood, maybe even sooner.   Shaun was in our wedding and we try to get together whenever we can, but it's hard with kids and families.  His wife, Anna, is such a fun, great person.  I can't wish them anything less than all the happiness in the world!

Happy Anniversary to me...oh, and Andy too!

Today is our anniversary. We've been together forever, but it was on this date that we made it official and became man and wife. There are lots of obvious ways that Andy lets me know he loves me--he provides for our family, he doesn't cheat and lie, he simply tells me that he loves me. But there are other ways he tells me, too, without using words.



So, happy anniversary to the man who:





*gets my toothbrush ready, sets out a vitamin, and fills a cup of water for me every so often when he goes to bed before me. They are all lined up on the counter, one little way to make my night run smoother.



*sometimes brings me home an extra treat if he stops at the store.



*kills spiders that are climbing on the ceiling since I can't reach them.



*has just as crazy and stupid a sense of humor as I do.



*will watch football, baseball, Grey's Anatomy or The Bachelor with me in bed.



*lets me snuggle up to him and warm my cold feet on his legs.



*always makes sure my fun mower is running in tip-top shape so I don't have to worry about breakdowns while camping.



*usually makes sure to shut off his alarm clock right away and moves about the house like a little mouse in the mornings, since he's awake 2.5 hrs before me.



*will try anything I make, but isn't scared to tell me if it's bad, or needs more salt, or is too spicy. And when he loves it, he makes sure to let me know, too!



*shares my random taste in music and appreciates that you can skip around from classic country to 90s hip-hop to hard rock and back again.

*thinks just like me and will finish my sentences.

*calls me during the day just to talk while he's on break from work.

*is honest if something I'm wearing doesn't look right, but when it does look right, he tells me I'm hot.



*is an amazing husband and father!

I love you, Andy!

A Not So Happy Birthday

Andy ended up having a not-so-happy Birthday weekend. It all started with a light stomachache on Friday, more of a blah feeling than anything. By Friday night he was up all night with a fever, sweats, horrible headache and stomachache. But on Saturday morning, his birthday, he was feeling better. We had a breakfast of eggs and bacon, his request, and then sat around the house for a bit. That's when he started to feel nasty again. He slept off and on most of the day, his main problem being a headache. He pumped the water and Gatorade into his body, and felt much better by late afternoon.

We went to the rodeo and had a lot of fun. He felt fine the whole time and when we left, he even commented that he felt the best he had since Friday morning. We were both so relieved that he was feeling better. He slept great on Saturday night, woke up feeling fine on Sunday but with a slight headache and back ache, which he always gets if he lays around too much. He headed to his parents to help hay before it rained, and I went to church. We no more than got home from church and settled for a nap when the phone rang.

Andy was miserable, not even able to get up from the couch comfortably. He said he needed to go to the doctor, which for him means he's BAD. So my mom came and watched the girls, I picked him up at his parents' house and down we went to Urgent Care. His entire head was beat red, he was sweating like crazy and covered head-to-toe in a blanket because he felt like he was freezing.

At Urgent Care, the first thing they asked was when we pulled the tick off of him. When we informed the nurse--and later the doctor--that we'd never found a tick or rash, they were both surprised but said he's showing classic symptoms for either Lyme's Disease or Ehrlichiosis. His blood pressure was super high, his temp was over 102, and his head was pounding. They sent him home with 2 wks of antibiotics and strict instructions to come back if he wasn't feeling better in 2 days or if new symptoms showed up.

Poor guy is absolutely miserable. He can't eat anything without upsetting his stomach, he goes from feverish to fine and back in minutes, his head pounds to the point that I can see his pulse at his temple...he's not good. And everyone says that's exactly how they were, or their brother, or their aunt. So let's hope these meds work and he's feeling better soon. We all need that.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Andy's birthday. There aren't many days that are all about him. He's the type of guy who is always working, always doing something to help someone else. He seldom sits still or rests his brain. He's always on the go doing things for others.

But today is his day. We got him a present, we made him some breakfast, the girls made him cards and tonight, he and I are going to the rodeo while the girls go to Camp Gramma. Should be a good day and a good way to show Daddy that we're glad he's ours.

Mountains of Pics

Or should that be pics of mountains? Either way, it's applicable. I have a mountain of pictures to share in this post, so sit back and enjoy. I also have a legitimate excuse for not blogging for almost 2 wks. First we went camping Memorial Weekend. I forgot my camera, but it was a great time. We came home late Monday afternoon, scrambled to do laundry and mow the lawn and put things away. Tuesday was a regular day. Wednesday Andy and I...

...went on vacation! We bought a truck down in Phoenix, AZ, so we flew out and drove it home. It was Andy's first time on a plane, his first time seeing the mountains, first time seeing a lot of things. It was only my second time with most everything on the trip, with a few firsts for me as well. We had a great time.

We started in Phoenix, landing early Wednesday morning. We got checked into our hotel, which was right by the University of Phoenix Stadium where the Arizona Cardinals play. We walked to a local outdoor mall, did some shopping and ate some fabulous scones. Then we hung out at the hotel, took a nap and went back to the shopping center for a late lunch/early dinner. That night we met with some friends of mine for drinks and some wonderful garlic french fries!

Thursday morning we hung out at the hotel's outdoor pool, and basically marvelled at the 87 degree temp at 9 am. The truck was delivered to us shortly before noon, so we headed to Sam's Club to buy some groceries and a cooler for the drive home. Then we were on the road. We went northeast out of Phoenix, towards Holbrook AZ, where we hooked up with I-40. We took I-40 to Gallup, NM, then headed north to Durango, CO. We saw so many beautiful sites, with some pretty funny ones sprinkled in (like the people who were pulling a U-Haul with a Ford Ranger and looked completely perplexed that they jack-knifed on the winding roads!) We decided to stay in Durango for Thursday night.

Friday morning we were up with the sun, so we headed out early. We drove through the mountains, which were amazing. At times we were on very steep grades or super sharp corners, there was still snow in the higher elevations, and the traffic was very limited. We loved it all! We met up with I-25 in Colorado Springs, then took that north through Denver and exited onto Hwy 85 just north of Cheyenne, WY. Hwy 85 was quite the road, with very limited gas stations and towns, almost costing us an empty fuel tank! Thankfully we made it to a station and eventually to Custer State Park in South Dakota, where we had a campsite for Friday night.

Saturday morning we were again up quite early, so we packed things up and headed off on the wildlife loop through the southern part of the park. We saw buffalo, pronghorns, "wild" burros (they were once domesticated, then released into the park) and lots of turkeys. Both Andy and I were hoping for an elk or mountain sheep sighting throughout the entire trip, but between Custer and the mountains, all we saw were signs warning to be cautious for each. After the wildlife loop, we did Needles Highway and continued on to Mount Rushmore. We got to Mount Rushmore shortly before 8 am, so we had the entire place to just Andy and I and another couple in their mid-50s. By the time we left 20 mins later, there were probably 100 people milling around! In Rapid City we got onto I-90 until Wall, SD. Of course, we had to stop at Wall Drug, then drove through the Badlands before again getting on I-90 to head east into Minnesota. We made it as far as Andy's cousin's house in the southern Metro, where we stayed the night. We debated heading home, but from that point on we would have been in different vehicles (Andy's car stayed there when we came down for the flight) and not able to keep one another awake.

Sunday morning we were up about 8 and left to meet my mom and the girls after church. It was so nice to be with the girls and see how excited they were to see us! They loved the truck and immediately began asking when they could ride in it. So we loaded them up and headed home. When we got home, the dogs didn't know what to do! They saw Andy's car, with me driving, following that unfamiliar truck into the driveway, so they kept looking back and forth, not knowing it they should bark or not. They decided not to bark, until Andy opened the truck door. Then both started barking wildly, until they realized it was Andy. They tucked their tails, dropped their heads and looked incredibly sheepish for barking at their dad! It was too cute. As soon as we said hello to them, they started jumping up and down, and Marley did 3 hot-laps around the house. I think they were excited to see us, too.

All in all, we had a great trip. It was our first vacation away from the girls, so it was different and nice, but we were very glad to be home, too. We're already planning when we can do it again...this time with 3 girls in the backseat.

View from the plane

Heading north out of Phoenix

Cactus-we've never seen them before!

Sunset in New Mexico

Mountains outside of Durango, CO

Somewhere near Silverton, CO

Awww, this was so amazing

The view and the road

The view, with a sign saying how steep it was

Storms over Eastern WY

Burros in Custer State Park

Momma & Baby Pronghorn

Oh give me a home, where the Buffalo roam!

Tatanka

Andy and the truck on Needles Highway

One of the tunnels on Needles, 8'4" wide

Suck it in!!

Mount Rushmore, in case you didn't know

Badlands

The Badlands were near the top of the trip for Andy

The Orange Beast

A long time ago, back before Andy and I were married or had kids, he traded his dad a horse for a truck. His sister really wanted the horse, Andy had out-grown her, my father-in-law had a truck Andy wanted, and it wasn't needed by my FIL. It was win-win.

Except the truck wasn't quite ready for the road. It was a '78 Ford that had seen better days. We spent countless hours together, sanding paint off the body until we had it down to the steel. Then we brought it to a neighbor, who did some minor body work and prepped it for paint. Andy and I, in the meantime, poured over paint samples and colors, finally deciding on a color called "General Lee Orange." Yes, like from Dukes of Hazzards. The neighbor and Andy primed the truck, then painted several layers in order to have the orange be bright and shiny.

After the paint job, it was time for all the other stuff. Andy went through the motor and all the other mechanical stuff, while I cleaned and detailed inside the cab. I scrubbed and cleaned and vaccuumed. We bought a seat cover and floor mats. Andy made a custom tailgate and running boards. He installed a cd player, speakers and amp. We looked at tons of tires before he bought the ones he has on there. He brought it to a garage and had dual-exhaust installed. This truck was our project and it took a long time to get it right.

Once it was all done, we drove it everywhere. We drove it for our wedding, our friends' weddings, date nights, whenever. It wasn't our primary vehicle, but it was one we loved to drive. We didn't drive it in the winter because of the road salt, but it was ready and waiting in case the roads were snowy and icy when I went into labor with Alayna (January in WI is never predictable) I always laughed when I would drive it by myself, because guys would do double-takes when they realized it was a woman driving that big, loud, flashy truck. Eventually, Alayna told us that when she got her license this would be her truck.

Then something happened. We had another baby and no longer fit in the truck as a family. We also bought a house. The truck was driven less and less, and before we knew it we hadn't driven it in almost five years. Until this past weekend.

Our friends were getting married and the girls were all going to be staying with other people, so just Andy and I were going to the wedding. We decided just last week that we'd take the truck. So while I registered and insured it for the first time in years, Andy went through and made sure all the fluids were good, the tires inflated, the lights working. He brought it home from storage at his parents' and we scrubbed all the dirt and mud and bird crap off. He replaced a U-joint and I again cleaned and detailed the cab. The girls loved it, especially Lilly and Mikayla, who'd never really seen or known "Daddy's Monster truck." Alayna immediately reminded us that it was her truck for when she got her license. We couldn't believe she remembered that comment from when she was 3!

It was finally in good condition again and we drove it to the wedding. We both agreed it felt great to be driving the truck again, cruising down the road. It still needs a little work, as some of the wires were apparently a snack from some wayward mice, but it works, looks great and we were driving it again. I think we'll drive it more often now, when we don't have the kids and it's just Andy and I.

*In this pic, Andy's driven it up on a stump. But the truck is very tall, as you can see from Alayna's height (and she's on the down-side). To put it into perspective, my MIL is 5'2" and she rode with us for part of the day on Saturday. She had to use a 5-gallon pail, turned upside down, as a stool to get to the running board. It was quite comical!

**I posted earlier today, too, so check it out!

Just in Case

The other day, a friend and I were catching up and talking about our families.  I remembered that her SIL was due to have a baby any day, so I asked about them.  My friend told me all about her new niece and then told me something that has stuck with me ever since, like a record with a scratch, skipping over and over and over.  "She says they aren't going to have any more kids, she just can't do it.  But she won't have him have a vasectomy because she doesn't want to ruin his future chances for more children with someone else, just in case."  Silence.  I caught my breath and asked, "In case something happened to her, like she were to die?"  And she replied, "I asked the same thing and she said no, in case they don't stay together."

Wow.  I cannot imagine planning for the future and having that just in case looming in the back of my mind.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive.  I know that things happen and sometimes, people just can't stay together.  Something happens that the other person simply cannot forgive.  But I also know that too often, people simply won't forgive or take the time and effort needed to work through things.  Divorce or separation is the easier, sometimes less painful option.  But I couldn't imagine planning for that, or even kinda sorta planning for that, to happen in my own marriage.  I can't imagine being so bleak about my future with my husband and children.  I can't imagine living without him someday.

My marriage is not perfect.  We argue about the laundry and bills and garbage like everyone else.  We have days where the last thing we have time for is eachother.  We sometimes say things that we don't necessarily mean or feel.  But never have I (nor my husband, I asked him) felt like I needed to plan for that just in case.  We have our arguments, and we talk them over or just forget about them, as they aren't important sometimes.  We do our best to have 3 mins before we fall asleep at night to at least say, "How was your day?" and "I love you" on those crazy days.  We do our best to strengthen our relationship each chance we get, sometimes in grand ways and other times in only a split second hug or peck on the cheek.  We are honest and open with one another, sometimes almost painfully so.  But we work toward a common goal--our family, our marriage, our happiness.  And that's a gift that I continue to unwrap every day.

Emily is asking us to unwrap a gift of something special, unexpected or beautiful each Tuesday.  What are you unwrapping today?

It's our Anniversary!

Today, Andy and I celebrate 7 years of marriage.  The day we got married was just gorgeous.  We had a light rain in the morning, but by afternoon it was a nice, sunny 75.  Seriously, can you ask for a better wedding day?  We had so many family and friends show us their support that day, and that has carried on throughout the years.

Andy and I have been talking about getting tattoos in honor of our girls for quite some time.  We decided on Saturday, when we were in the cities and had some time, to finally get them.  We got the same tat--Andy got his on his right bicep, while I got mine on my right shoulder blade.  Happy Anniversary to us!

You Know You're a Redneck When...

If any of you know us or have followed our blog for some time, you know that we like lawn-mowers. However, the mowers we like most are our "fun mowers" that we take camping. We have 7 or 8 fun mowers that run great but only 2 mowers that stay at home and are actually for mowing. And these mowers run mediocre, at best.

This summer has been incredibly dry (up until a few weeks ago, that is) and we haven't had to mow our lawn since Memorial Weekend. We finally got around to mowing it this weekend and we decided to mow with both riders to save time. Well remember how I said they run mediocre at best? First of all, neither one has a battery because all the batteries are in the fun mowers. So Lilly had to drive the PowerWheels Gator (which has a car battery instead of the PW battery...a whole other story) to each mower while Andy used her battery to jump-start the mowers. Then, we got about halfway through the yard when the drive belt on Andy's mower broke. It still ran, the blades engaged, but it wouldn't move. So what does my husband do? He calls me over to give him a tow. I thought he meant a tow to the garage. Oh no, he meant a tow around the yard. While still running. In neutral. With the blades engaged...

Yep, we red-neck lawn-mowed. I pulled him behind my mower while we each mowed the lawn. And wanna know what made it really red-neck? The tow-strap was baling twine. Oh yes he did. The only plus side to it? It usually takes about 3.5-4 hours to mow the entire yard--minus all the push mowing--and it took about 2 hrs with both mowers. But next time? I'll make sure he has a belt so we can still mow, but under individual power sources and farther apart than a 6' baling twine. I am just so grateful that the part we finished before the break-down was the front yard. No one saw us mowing the back and side-yard...I think.

My Husband is Hot

I think that Andy is a very good-looking man. He's not a pretty-boy, but has what some people would call "rugged good looks." He's also fit, lean, tall and mine. Since he is mine, I'm inclined to think that about him. Does it make me feel good when other women notice him? Sure. But when teen-aged girls think he's hot? I laugh and laugh and laugh.

Andy and his sister coached their cousin's girls' softball team for a tournament earlier in the summer. The team was girls from 14-17 years old and varying levels of experience playing ball. Well, after the first game it became obvious that some of the girls had a crush on Andy. It was (and still is) so funny. "Coach, can you help with my batting?" "Coach, what did I do wrong out there when I missed the ball?" They hung on his every word like he was an inductee in the softball hall of fame. Since the tournament, we've run into some of the girls and the ones with the crush are still so painfully obvious. They talk, they flirt, they ask Andy's cousin or sister how he's doing, they even called him "hot for an older guy." And I just laugh.

Even funnier yet is that Andy had no clue. We had to point it out to him and even then he was skeptical. Well trust me, as a woman, I know when someone has a crush on my husband and especially with teen-age girls, they haven't quite learned yet to be inconspicuous. They follow him around, flirt, laugh at anything he says, shoot me dirty looks while still being nice to my face. It's quite funny. Quite funny indeed.

We Love This Man

You see the man in that picture up there? He's ours.

He's funny. He's strong. He's tough. He's gentle. He loves my cooking. He's sweet. He's hot. He works really hard. He's loyal. He's a great dad. He's handy. He loves us. We love him. A lot, probably more than he knows.

Happy Birthday, Andy! We love you!

It's starting...

Softball season starts tonight! Andy plays in a weekly league with severals friends, plus they play tournaments on random weekends here and there. It's a big part of our summer, but it wouldn't feel like summer without it. We spend lots of time warming the bleachers while cheering on Daddy, snacking on popcorn and catching up with the families of the other team members. It's all a good time...well, mostly.

Details Emerging

I love when I'm gone overnight to a scrapping retreat or a mini-vacation like this past weekend. I'm not talking about the relaxation and rejuvenation that I feel, though I do. I'm talking about hearing the details of the girls' weekend with Dad. I love hearing what they do that they thought was just great or fun or funny.

**Alayna: Mom, Daddy took us to church but he got a little confused with our hair.

Me: What did you do, just leave your hair down?

A: No, we brought the brush and a few pony-holders to church and Gramma helped us before it started.

**Mikayla came into our room yesterday morning around 6:30 like she does most mornings. Since I had arrived home near midnight, she didn't know I was there. She climbs into bed, gives me a hug and says "Hi Daddy!" When she realized it was me, she got super excited. Anyway, I was telling Andy about it and he starts laughing..."Each morning this weekend she came in and told me "Hi Mommy!" Now she's used to it being me and gets it wrong again." Of course, he's gone most mornings by the time she gets up, but poor girl just couldn't get it right!

**Lilly was excited to tell me that they stayed up until 11:00 on Saturday night, watching tv in MY bed in MY spot with Daddy.

**Mikayla then had to tell me that they watched the "funny ephant" movie (Horton Hears a Who--Horton is an elephant)

**Alayna was showing me her painted finger-nails and then told me that Daddy had painted her right hand (you all know how hard it is to paint with your "dumb hand" as Andy calls it) "He kinda out-lined it and then just filled in the middle, but it worked!" she said.

**Lilly: Mommy, if you're looking for the cookies we ate them ALL when you were in the airplane.

Me: I'm not looking for the cookies, I'm looking for the craisins.

L: Oh, they are here somewhere.

**Alayna made sure to tell me how nice it had been and how I'd missed the first 50 degree day of the year. When I told her it was in the 60s in Colorado she goes, "Yeah, but 50 here is better!" Oh, how we get acclimated to where we live!

Puppy Love

Marley is the biggest snuggler I know of in the canine family. It's so cute and adorable now, when she's only 20 lbs. Won't necessarily be so great when she's 120 lbs. But for now, we're enjoying the cuddles and hoping that we aren't creating a monster. Wait, scratch that. I am trying not to encourage her to be on my lap or the furniture. Andy, on the other hand, loves to snuggle with her. And of course, Marley is more than happy to oblige and nap with Daddy.

Look! Sunny is getting used to the little whipper-snapper and doing more to help train her than just tolerate her. I got this cute moment on Sunday afternoon. Two weeks ago, Marley wasn't even allowed to be near Sunny's spot at the top of the stairs. (isn't that horrendous carpet?!)

And while we were baking cookies on Saturday, Alicia brought over Ellie May, Marley's sister. After fighting and wrestling around, the girls were put into confinement so we could bake our cookies without having to watch them, too. Apparently, they wore themselves out.

The Eve of Holy Week

All Christians know that Holy Week is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, right? Well, here in Wisconsin there is a second 'Holy Week'. It's the week of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving? you say. Yep, Thanksgiving. Why?

Because that's Rifle Deer Hunting! Up nort' here in Wisconsin, almost everyone hunts. If you don't hunt, you can almost guarantee that your husband or wife, child, sibling or parent does. It's a big part of life. Everyone wears their blaze orange, you see bright spots in the woods and fields, you hear the echo of gunfire from sun up to sun down. It's BIG.

I'll keep you all posted on the harvest from our household...I know, I know, you can barely stand the anticipation!

Andy is the coolest husband EVER!

It's not often that my husband can surprise me with a gift--I handle the checkbook and am super anal about checking it every day. Because of that, I see all transactions and know, to some degree, what's going on.

Well, yesterday he came home with a Great Dane puppy for me! I was SOOOO excited! I have wanted a Dane for years, probably since I was in my very early teens. I have done research on them and planned and plotted when would be the best time for one. Andy, of course, has known about this all along.

A few weeks ago Lynn and Alicia (my MIL & SIL) took the girls to "Wal-Mart" with them, but they really went to pick out 2 puppies, one for me and one for Alicia! I can't believe the girls kept it a secret for almost 3 weeks! Andy picked her up last night on his way home from work. Meet Marley:


I chose that name for her because I originally wanted to name Mikayla 'Marley.' I loved the name and thought it would be just adorable on a little girl. Andy liked the name, but said it sounded more like a pet to him than a daughter. Of course, I jumped on that and compromised with the promise that our next female pet could be Marley. And so she is.


Marley is 7 weeks old today. She's still a little timid, considering that she left behind her parents and several siblings less than 24 hrs ago. But just this morning she's come along and been a little more playful and interactive. Of course, the rest of us are a bit tired due to some whining all night long, but we survived.

One thing the girls keep commenting on is how tiny she is, and how big she'll get. They can't believe that in a matter of months, she'll be as big as they are and outweigh them by 50+lbs. While the girls took a puppy break (enforced by Mom and Dad) Andy got the idea that we should take her picture with her food bowl at various stages to show how much she's really grown. She's got a long way to go and eventually, this bowl will be tiny compared to her. Right now....not so much.

We are so mean

But we love our Sunny dog dearly!

And he did go outside and play real fetch with her for about 15 minutes after we shot the video. We aren't THAT mean.

It must be fall...

Fall, autumn--whatever you want to call it--is my favorite time of year. I love everything about it. I love the decorations and the colors of the season. I love the smells when people start up their wood-burning stoves for the first time, the leaves that start to fall and give that faint musty smell. The air is cool and crisp, just begging for time spent outside. I would seriously petition for fall to be here 6 months of the year, with each of the other seasons only 2 months long. I like winter, but 2 months of the snow and super cold temps is enough. Spring is just wet and soggy, but it brings Easter and flowers. So I'll take 2 months of that, too. Same with summer. I like summer, but I hate the heat. Two months of 80+ would be enough for me. Then 6 months of fall. Sounds perfect, right?

Well, I've decided that Fall is indeed here. Why? Oh, there are lots of reasons. We have been in the 30s at night and 60s during the day, some of our leaves are starting to change colors, the kids are back in school, soup is on sale at the grocery store. I could go on and on. But one thing that really made me realize that fall is here? Our deep freezer is pretty close to empty. Fall is when we get all our meat for the coming year. We have a steer and a hog butchered. Andy goes hunting and gets venison from his deer. We go into winter with a freezer full of steaks, chops, roasts and burger. Well, the other day I went out to the deep freeze and it was remarkably empty. I'm talking 2 or 3 roasts, a couple packages of steak and a few packages of things we give to our friend--the livers. No hamburger, no pork or venison at all, the chicken that I buy in bulk is gone. It was depressing. Even more depressing? The price I paid at the grocery store for hamburger yesterday. Yikes. I haven't bought hamburger in YEARS and let me tell you, I don't want to buy it again for years.

So I had a little talk with my hubby, seeing how and when things were going to start arriving in our freezer. He takes care of that part of it, I take care of organizing and eventually cooking it. It's an even trade, I figure. And he assured me that it won't be too much longer. I hope he's right. I don't think we can afford to buy all our meat!

East...to Milwaukee

This past weekend Andy and I went to Milwaukee for an early anniversary celebration. It was supposed to be a surprise, but a benefit for a friend was scheduled for this past weekend. Andy was all gung-ho to help out at the benefit (which was planned after I made our reservations and got our tickets) so I had to tell him we were going and that he couldn't help out. That's what I get for planning a surprise, I guess.

We set off Friday afternoon from Andy's work. It is a long drive, considering we were going from the NW corner of the state to the SE corner--350 miles. We saw some beautiful scenery in southern WI...

And got excited when we were only 100 miles from Milwaukee...

Notice anything different with my hair? I got it cut and highlighted on Friday and didn't tell Andy. Once it was all said and done, I took off about 7". It took him about 50 miles to notice it.

Once we got into Milwaukee, we checked into our motel and got settled in. We were on the top floor of our building, floor 12. It's an old, historic building that was cool, but the elevator rides were a little scary. We survived. Here's the view out of our window, looking south. There was a Native American Festival in town, so there's a pic of the fireworks from our window, too.

Saturday morning we headed to Lake Michigan. We passed by this building that was being restored and Andy, being my carpenter husband, had to have a picture of all the scaffolding covering the building. It was cool in a scary kind of way.


At the end of the road, we literally couldn't drive any further without running into Lake Michigan. This is the entrance to the Milwaukee Art Museum (or something like that) It sits right on the lake. We walked around it and next to the lake for awhile. We were a little disappointed that we never found a place where we could actually get to the lake. All we had was a cement pier to walk along with the lake about 10' below us. See the lighthouse in the second picture? We tried everything to get to the thing and we still don't know if it's even possible to get there or not. We think you had to drive through a park to get there, but said park was closed for above mentioned Native American Festival and was paid admission only. Thanks, but no thanks.

Eyes up, Andy. After the Lake and driving around Milwaukee trying to find a way to the lighthouse, we parked back at the motel and walked to the RiverWalk a few blocks away. The buildings of downtown are built right up to the river and there is a nice walkway with cafes, restaurants and shops that goes on for blocks. There is also....The Bronze Fonze. It's actually kind of chintzy looking but hey, it's the Fonze. Everyone say it with me...."Ayyyyyy."

After a fabulous lunch on the patio at the Rock Bottom Brewery (totally recommend both the club sandwich and the Sonoma Chicken Wrap) we did some shopping at the Grand Ave mall and found souvenirs for the girls. Then we walked back to the motel, changed our clothes and it was...Miller Time. We went on a tour of the original Miller Brewery. I don't remember all of the numbers, but the amount of beer that they bottle and can in a day is insane. Their warehouse is over 220,000 square feet and that's all turned over and replenished in 36 hrs. Yikes. The history of it all was pretty cool, too. Frederic Miller came over from Germany after having served as the Royal Brew-master. He started up the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee over 150 yrs ago and it still stands in the same place today (just a heck of a lot bigger) We toured the production and shipping areas, saw the huge 5 story tall fermentation vats and went into the caves that originally were the cool storage for the beer. Then we were treated to free samples in the Miller Inn.

After the brewery tour, we headed to Miller Park...the home of the Milwaukee Brewers. It was a beautiful night for baseball and the roof was wide open. It's really quite the stadium from both the inside and the outside.

Here's Prince Fielder getting ready to bat. I believe this was right before he hit his triple that brought in the only score of the night.

Brewers WIN! Ben Sheets pitched the entire game for the Brewers and earned himself a win. The team files onto the field to congratulate themselves. It was the fastest game in history, I swear it (okay, this was, but still). Total game time was only 2 hours and 7 minutes. Yeah, I know. I kind of feel jipped.

Sunday morning we hung out a bit and then headed home. It was supposed to rain in Milwaukee in the afternoon, so as we headed past Miller Park, the roof was already closed for the afternoon game. Goodbye Milwaukee...we'll be back next year with the kids, so get the zoo ready!