Moments 09 19 :: Week 04

C's high school team was in a tournament last weekend. Here are some of the action shots I got. Ha!


They ended up winning 2 games and losing 1. And eating a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches. I must have dragged C with me when H's team played this tournament, because all he was talking about the amazing grilled cheese sandwiches here. Funny he even remembered that! It clearly was the highlight of the tournament for him several years ago. Most of the team got on board with his grilled cheese kick, so I'm glad he remembered it correctly.


It rained most of the day on Sunday. When you rather not be frolicking in the rain, this is the next best thing.


Our friends Leif & Melissa were going to come up on Sunday. You see, Mel's brother was participating in the Pumpkin Regatta. Say what? Cedarburg has a big Harvest Festival, and it's an event that takes place during it. With threats of thunderstorms pretty much all day, they decided to stay back in Oak Park, but we had to check it out ourselves nonetheless. The weather definitely kept the crowds away. Good for us. Terrible for the vendors. Here's Jamie during the best decoration contest. He won that part, by the way.


Unfortunately, his pumpkin didn't do so well as a water vessel. In fact, he came in dead last, only after pushing it most of the way. Here's the super impressive thing though. He grew his own pumpkin. In fact, I think he may have been the only one. I love that.


Brian & me at the Harvest Festival.


Also in Cedarburg. We really like that town by the way.


And, back to soccer. C played three games this week. He was even invited to play with JV which was super fun for him (he's on the JV2 team -- with every single freshman player and several sophomores -- that's just how they do it). He had a really good week.

Moments 09 19 :: Week 03

Pretty much everything exciting this week was food! Brian and I had been hearing about Il Ritrovo for YEARS. Every time we thought about going, it was closed (Sundays and weekdays after 2pm). Last Saturday was beautiful, so we hopped on the motorcycle and headed to Sheboygan.


Um, yeah. This was the Prosciutto Crudo e Ruchetta. It’s a certified Vera Pizza Napoletana pizzeria, which is a movement to promote and protect the style and tradition of pizza making found in Naples. It was amazing. Just saying.


We had to keep the pizza intake at a minimum, because that night, we finally got out to celebrate our 20th anniversary. Decided to treat ourselves to special dinner at Sanford, which has been around since 1989 but we've never ever been too. It was fantastic. We haven't had a dinner like it in awhile, that's for sure.


I wish I took a photo of the menu! First up, was smoked elk with plums and pine nuts and birch sorbet. Mind blown. (The next photo is actually from dessert. Cute.)


I had an heirloom tomato salad, and Brian had a watercress gazpacho, which was out of this world.


Our entrees were seared scallops with beets and greens for me, and rabbit, which was a rabbit sausage wrapped in rabbit, for Brian.


The finale. I had the Italian plum tart with malt ice cream, and Brian had a strawberry rhubarb phyllo with pistachio ice cream. We also had a brandy that was infused with blackberry. Needless to say, we were both very, very happy. Here's to us!

Moments 09 19 :: Week 02

This, is fifty. . . And this is what I wrote on my Instagram post. "Such a big number, it sounds strange to even say. Honestly, it doesn’t upset me at all though. I’m happy. I’m proud. I’m surrounded by amazing people. The 30s brought so many changes and responsibilities. Mortgages, careers, babies. All good, but I remember feeling somewhat unsettled and nervous. The 40s have been absolutely amazing, and my favorite decade yet. Our family of family of four got in our groove and were all around during these years. (We did introduce a crazy dog to the mix though). My gosh, we’ve made amazing memories together, and I love simply being in their presence every single day. The 50s are bound to be a little odd. At least for a bit. The boys will be leaving the nest, for one. When it comes down to it, I’m excited to see what impact they have on this world. And I’m excited to see what I, personally, will end up accomplishing. I’m also ready to get to spend more time with my partner in crime, Brian — because right now, our lives are crazy busy and utter chaos most of the time. There’s just not a lot of time for us. In many ways, I feel like this is just the beginning. Here’s to many more happy, healthy, exciting years."


What a beautiful night to celebrate with our parents.


Brian put together an amazing, rather impromptu, birthday party for me at Hubbard Park Beer Garden. Seriously, it was perfect, and I loved being surround by so many of these special people.


Such a perfect night.


The next day the celebration continued, and we went to the Brewers vs. Cubs game.


A few days later, we celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. (Yes, it's been a lot of celebrating lately). Here's one from the early days.


And our wedding in Chicago.


Celebrating (early) in Door County this summer. Cannot imagine anyone else I’d rather be on this adventure with. We’ve had an amazing journey so far, and I’m so excited to for the years ahead. We've really created quite a wonderful life together.

First Day of School

It's that time of year again! The first day of school. This year is a little different, as the boys are back together. Can't believe we have a freshman and a SENIOR in high school. Honestly, I felt melancholy the entire day because of it. But, I just keep reminding myself that this is their journey, and how exciting it is for them. Still, I'm here to tell you, as exciting it is, watching your kids grow up is heartbreaking. It was absolutely pouring out when they left, so for the first year ever, we had to move first day of school photos to the porch area. Then, the boys drove off together and that was that! (Although, H has a study hall 1st period this semester so doesn't have to go in right away -- C is going to be taking the bus usually after all....) C came home after soccer practice around 5:45pm and H stopped for a second before heading out for the girl's swim meet (he's managing the team this year instead of soccer), and he got home at 10pm. It was a long one. Yesterday was Back to School night for the parents. Brian and I divided and conquered it (he walked H's schedule, and I walked C's). Both of us were very impressed by their classes and teachers. I think it's going to be an incredible year.

Klassy Kamping 19 :: The Krew

Unfortunately, one of our regular families had to bail due to a knee issue this year (this is the bad thing about getting older), but the beautiful thing about Klassy Kamping is that it's always evolving. Aaron brought his entire tribe with, plus we added John & Pat to the mix. The other strange this is, this is it for H! At least for awhile while he goes away to college. It's fun looking back over the years, but so unbelievable how fast they fly by. Thank goodness for such amazing memories.

(Past Years: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013)

Klassy Kamping 19 :: Day 4

When C was asked this week how his weekend went, one of the moms in one of the carpools said he said "Good." Then, paused for a second and said, "Actually, you know what? It actually went by way too fast." He's so right. This may have been the quickest camping trip yet. The weather was nearly perfect and we've got everything pretty much down to a science, so it's relatively stress-free (Camping is still a lot of works, don't get me wrong. In fact, I'm still doing laundry and sorting out things.) There were extra breakfast burrito fixings, so once again, we met up at Aaron's site. We had a couple dogs along this time. River (the Boston Terrier) and Sequoia (a mutt). They both were such a blast to have around. After packing up, it was time for us all to head our separate ways. We decided to drive through Spring Green and take a little bit different of a route. We stopped at a scenic overpass which we dubbed the scenic overgrow. You couldn't see a thing, which was kind of funny. But the bridge was cool, and we could see the Infinity Room of the House on the Rock so it wasn't a total bust. Next we drove by Peck's Farm Market so decided to stop. I don't know the story of the animals, but I do always get a little sad when I see places like this. Nevertheless, we did get to feed a deer and pet some goats. And that was that! We drove him, unpacked, got the dogs, and prepared ourselves for the coming week. It was the absolutely perfect finale to the end of summer.

Klassy Kamping 19 :: Day 3

Woke up to clear skies and warmer weather which meant, BEACH DAY! But first, breakfast. Aaron brought his paella pan, which is magic camping and cooking for 20 people. We gathered at his site for breakfast burritos and later in the evening for paella. In between, a carload went to New Glarus, while the rest of us opted for time on the water. It was still too chilly for me to jump in, but we between all of us, we had six paddle boards or kayaks, so all spent some amazing time on the water. Even saw a bunch of turtles, and H swam across the lake. So perfect.