Moments 08 26 :: Week 02

After Cole moved out of his place last, he took a week off to come visit Wisconsin. It's been a weird summer without him around, and we were so excited to get to see him. On Friday, his friend came over and we made paella. 

Saturday we went to the Farmers Market. Some friends of ours has a crepe stand, and they put Cole to work. So cute. 

Later in the day, we went to the Third Ward to meet up with Leif + Mel. It was fun seeing the mural project in development. Mel worked hard fundraising for this, and it's going to be amazing. 

We enjoyed a little dinner at their place. 

The Moon Festival was going on just down the street.

We walked down to check it out. 

We didn't stay too long, but it was fun to see. It's been a few years since the moon has been in Milwaukee. 

Cole was supposed to leave on Sunday to meet up in Asheville with Zoe and her family. Unfortunately, the flight situation did not work, and he ended up staying home with us. I was bummed for him, but also so excited for the extra time. Unfortunately, Brian had a work trip in NYC, so he missed some of the days I got to spend with him. I sure did enjoy it though. Anyhow, it meant he also got to join us for ramen in West Bend with our friends. 

That night, we tried to go to Zocalo, but all the food stands closed really early. We ended up grabbing sushi to go. While we waited, we walked through Black Cat Alley. 

I can't remember the last time we were there, but it was really fun to see. 

On Monday. Cole and I walked Skoob, who is officially a favorite. He was a benchwarmer, but was adopted the next day. Skoob was under 30# and kind of perfect. We ran into a friend with his dog and Skoob did great with him. Lucky he was adopted so quickly because he's one I would have taken in a heart beat. 

A brave turkey who decided to hang out in our yard for awhile. 

Cole has never met the twins yet, so we made a trip to Racine so he could do so. Maeve is the first baby he's every held!

Evie wondering who this guy is!

It's been a few months since I've seen them. They are so adorable. 

Just trying to get through summer. My shoulder is sore, my movement is slower. Need to keep this reminder in mind. Fortunately, I ended the week on a high note too. A PR for my 3 rep sumo deadlift and RXing a workout that had toes-to-bar in it.

Wednesday we met Nina and Papa at Chenequa. We had lunch, then Cole & Papa went golfing while Nina and I had a beach day. Can't believe this is the first one of the year! It was such a great day. Brian couldn't join us unfortunately. He had a travel day from hell the day before. Ended up needing to fly into O'Hare instead of Milwaukee and didn't get in until 1:30am. Couldn't find transportation back, so rented a car and got home at 5:00am in the morning. Poor guy. It was the worst. 

He rallied and got to spend Cole's last night with him. We started at Vanguard for dinner. 

And ended at Tin Widow. They sure do make a mean drink here. 

Finished another book. This might be a record. I was really into the beginning and end of this one but the middle was kind of snoozy. Overall it was good though. 

Moments 08 26 :: Week 01

Last weekend was so fun hanging out with friends. So fun that I didn't even take any photos. Friday night was dinner with my college roommate, Irma, and her husband Greg. We went to Wonderland and it was so good. Emma introduced me to one of my favorite cocktails last summer, a New York Sour. I tend to forget about them, but whenever I see them on a menu, it's what I'm having. 

Afterwards, we went to Art Bar, where I may have had another. Sunday we had some friends over for an early dinner. It was a perfect end to the weekend.

Meanwhile, Hudson and Natalie were in Croatia. Their friend and her family have apartments there. They had the best time. 

Oh Gretel. We basically let her do whatever she wants at this point. She's the sweetest.

Brian traveled to Nashville for work and ran into the twins. I guess it's a thing because he saw them last time too. 

Took Hank out on a field trip on Monday. Unfortunately, he can be listed for adoption for a few days. He's only 1-year-old and has lots of puppy energy in a big boy body. After 45 field trips, he's the first to have chewed through my car harness. He had a blast getting out and splashing in the water. Such a handsome guy.

We got a call last Friday from a panicked Cole. Long story short, he had asked for an extension on his lease and thought it went through, but it hadn't. He was supposed to be out of his apartment in 1.5 hours. The lucky guy got an extension of a few days, but had to hustle to pack and move. He already had a planned trip to Wisconsin and got home today. Now he'll need to figure out where he's going to live for a few weeks. Soccer season starts soon. Crazy. It was a lot to do, but he did it! This place was amazing for him and worked out so well for his first year. He'll be moving in with 7 other soccer players soon. Definitely will be a change of pace, but thankful for all of the great memories this year.

If I had to pick one word to describe this guy, it would be joyful. He just wants to have fun and please his people. Such a goof.

Brian and I went to South Shore Park for Art Blaze. John Kowalczyk is the artist of this installation. 

We also saw "The Moving City" which is an art car that was commissioned by the city and created by Sarah Davitt. We also saw it recently at the Night Market. It's supposed to raise awareness about reckless driving. 

Moments 07 26 :: Week 05

What a fun week! Last Friday night, Hudson + Natalie came for a visit. It was her first time in Milwaukee, and we couldn't wait to show her around. After dinner, we went to Riverwest for Riverwest 24. I don't even know how to explain it. It's a bike race, but also, just a huge, incredible community event. It's known as "The People's Holiday" and it's just an absolute blast. We missed the aerial acrobats, but saw a fun band.

We walked around a little bit to take some of it in. Checkpoint 2 is always fun. Afterwards, we ran into some friends and hung out for a bit. So fun. 

The next morning we woke up bright and early to go to Oshkosh for the day for the EAA Airventure. Here's the type of plane Hudson + Natalie fly and instruct with.

It was pretty fun watching Hudson sign in on the airline crew sign-in. After all of these years of going to the EAA, training and now working as a commercial pilot, it was cool looking back on the journey. Way to go Hud.

It is an exhausting day, so felt good to sit down and watch the afternoon airshow. 

On our way out, we saw a bit of the Royal Airforce exhibition. Wish we could have seen it, but the show is 4 hours long after all. We decided to leave a little early and beat the traffic. Thank goodness we did, because we were able to get dinner and then Hudson + Natalie went out with friends. 

The visit was way too short, but we loved it. 

But first, we met up with Mel + Leif at their place and went to the Milwaukee Public Market for Bloody Marys, per Natalie's request. Such a great idea. Just look at these!

Before they headed out, we were able to walk around downtown a little bit, including a little river walk.

Absolutely loved seeing them. 

On Monday I took NikNik out for a field trip. It ended up thunderstorming as soon as I picked him up, but the weather didn't bother him. It just put a damper in our plans. We started at a pet store while we waited for the rain to taper a little bit. Finally, we were able to take a little walk along the lakefront which made him very happy. The best news is, he was a benchwarmer so at the shelter for awhile, and he was adopted the next day! Way to go NikNik!

Thursday night, Brian and I ventured over to the Ozaukee County Fair. How have I never been there before? I'm shocked I didn't at least take the boys when they were younger. 

Fair food kiosks are the best. 

I mean....

You won't catch me on the rides, but again, I love the scene. 

My favorite part, of course, is the animals. 

The best part about these smaller fairs is that you get to interact with the people showing the animals. We learned so much from a woman who's daughter is showing some of the larger cows. These are babies who get to start their fair journey this year. So cute. 

There were so many beautiful birds!

Pigs are so cute though, and always remind me of Cole. He was obsessed with them when he was younger.

The Budwiser Clydesdale Horses were there this year. They are absolute magnificent. They paraded downtown Cedarburg earlier in the day, which we missed, but was impressive from the videos I've seen. Even the dalmatian was there for the ride -- and yes, it had it's own stall too. It was busy digging holes when we were there. Adorable.