Moments 04 25 :: Week 04

Hudson was home! Only a couple of days, but we'll take it. This has definitely been the longest we've gone without seeing him. Busy guy. 

We joined him for his haircut and walked around Milwaukee for a little bit. 

We were all sad to see him go. We have another date on the calendar, so know we'll be seeing him soon.

My sister hosted Easter. Cole was camping and Hudson left the day before, so this was our first holiday without anyone around. My cousin was traveling for work, so his family was apart too. It was a fun afternoon.

Bluey loved finding the plastic eggs. 

Maia was watching Jacob's dog. We had a houseful. I loved it. 

Impressive turkeys.

Love it when these two snuggle. 

Our friend Sophie is graduating from Tulane soon. During her time at undergrad, she's been part of Tu Tones, one of the school a capella groups. Loved being able to stream it love and watch her final performance.

Great way to end the week. Working out with friends. Such a fun Friday class.

Moments 04 25 :: Week 03

Last Friday was the Senior Exhibits at MIAD. It's always so fun meeting Brian's students and listening to the projects they created. Very inspiring. They definitely have talent.

Not Brian's student's but some cool artwork by the Fine Art students.

Not sure why I love this, but I do. 

It was also Gallery Night, so we went to see a 30 x 30 show. 

Really liked this book. 

We had Leif + Mel, Scott + Ali, Andrew + Shelly over for dinner. Brian and I made hanger steak tacos. So delicious. 

The gang. It's been so fun getting together with them more often again. The boys spun records all night, and we didn't move much from this spot. Such a good time. 

On Sunday, Cole's soccer team had a scrimmage. He played almost the entire game in center midfield and did great. They won 5-1.

Afterwards, we took him out for sushi. Going to miss this place. Cole officially entered the transfer portal this week, so is looking for a new home for the next couple of years. He's had some good leads and still needs to do some reach outs. I'm proud of him for sticking up for himself and taking the leap. Let's just say, it's been an incredible couple of years and he's made some great friends, but it's time for him to move on.

Don't mind the goofy photo, but I'm just so excited -- and so is my buddy, Daisy. I've been meaning to volunteer with the Wisconsin Humane Society for years. When I found out you could sign up as a foster parents and take dogs out on Field Trips on the day the shelter is closed, I was all about it. 

I picked Daisy up and drove her to the lakefront. We spent a couple of hours together, and I cannot stop thinking about her. I purposely chose I dog I know I cannot have. Thank goodness, because I'm in love. Just look at her! She was so great in the car. Didn't bark once. She's strong and will require some training. I'm not totally sure how she'll be with other dogs either. She wasn't at all aggressive, but she was interested. After a long walk, we had a few minutes so I sat down. She immediately jumped in my lap and started smothering me with kisses. Someone is going to be so lucky to have her. 

Moments 04 25 :: Week 02

Maliqk is a member of the gym, as well as the band Mizzy, who were playing at Anodyne. Sarah, Kim and I went to check it out. Brian came too. Fun way to kick off the week. 

My guy has been showing up on NCC's soccer IG page a lot this week. Love it. 

This baby bird was hanging out by the gym. It was so sweet. Here it is nestled into it's wings. I wanted to take it home.

Hudson is still flying all over. This week he was in the Bahamas, Charleston, SC, St. Simons Island, GA, a few days in Hudson, NY, and Richmond, VA, where he got to meet up with his old roommate from SLU who is getting his MBA. He had a blast. After Richmond, he flew to the Masters in GA where parking was impossible so they ended up at another airport, then Louisiana. Only a few more days of his first shift before a little break. 

One of Brian's old co-workers opened a dog bakery and grooming store, Woof Gang. Brian stopped in to check it out and came home with a bunch of treats for the puppies. They loved it. 

Emily has been hosting artist talks and preview events at Tory Folliard gallery. By far, my favorite gallery in Milwaukee. We've seen Guzzo Pinc's work before, but this was a solo exhibit. He's great to talk with and his work is absolutely amazing. I can totally see one of these hanging in our house some day.

Moments 04 25 :: Week 01

Gretel turned 11 years old! I was in Germany, but Brian and Cole, who was home for a couple of hours last Sunday, got to celebrate her. I'm not sure what's going on, but she gets cuter by the day. 

Back from Germany. 

Big week for this guy. He celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday 4/4, starting his day in Key West, Florida. He also started his new job officially this week. Flying a Cessna 525B Citation. It's an internship he's doing for a year. He'll be on the road a ton, but hope he gets to see a lot and embrace this year. He started in Fort Myers, FL and has already been to Key West, South Carolina, Ohio, back to Florida and is in the Bahamas as the moment, ending his day in Charleston, SC. Pretty cool. We are so proud of him. 

We were in Racine for a celebration of life for our friend Scott's mom, Char. She was such a kind person, and we are all better for knowing her. She's even been at both of our kid's soccer games when we were in the area, cheering them on with her signature "Awrita!" Great seeing the Racine boys together too.

Germany :: Day 04

This is the day that nearly got us all. I woke up not feeling well, but took some cold medicine and rallied. My poor host-mom and host-brother were both laid up the entire day, however. A shame, since my host-mom got tickets for us to see a performance at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and was going to join Gudrun and me. Gudrun and I still met up, and took the train into Hamburg. The concert hall is absolutely amazing. Beautiful and the sound was incredible. I couldn't understand a single word of the performance, but that didn't even matter. It was a treat. After the concert, Andrea met up with us. We had a coffee, then Gudrun went her separate way and Andrea and I walked around the observation area of the Elphi, then had a delicious lunch at Cafe Elbwein. On our way back to the house, we decided to stop at our old school and take a look around. Can't believe 37 years have past. The next day, it was time for me to fly home. I just hope my surprise visit was even half as meaningful to my host-father as it was for me. It was incredible. Until next time. 

Germany :: Day 03

The first photo is me standing outside of the house I lived in during my year abroad. Felt so great to be back. On Saturday, we drove to Sierksdorf / Neustadt to meet up with one of my host-father’s friends who graciously invited us for a trip around the harbor on his gorgeous boat since my host-parents boat is not in the water yet for the season. It was another beautiful day, and the ride was absolutely lovely. I even got to drive the boat for a bit! After, we went to Claudia, their cousins house, which is also close by. She and her husband own Hansa-Park, an amusement park. The season doesn’t start for a couple of weeks but I was given a really fascinating behind-the-scenes tour. How cool is that?