Where to begin???

WE HAVE VISITORS!!!!David's sister and grandmother are staying with us for a few days and we have already had so much fun. We decided to hit up the Germanfest on Friday because afterall this is the city of festivals. All I have to say is that I'm glad David and Shawna got in free and that some "midwestern woman" gave Summer and I "buy one get one" tickets. It was fun to do something different but definitely NOT worth full price in my opinion. See for yourself....

I guess this little piggy went to the festival!

Saturday we hit up Chi-town but FIRST we went to the most amazing house ever....David and I had been there a time or two but always at night so we made it clear that we were going there first thing. In all honesty I WANT to move into this house SSOOOO bad. The neighborhood is awesome, and the house...come on who wouldn't want this house??? Which btw is totally the same as it is in the movie (believe me David did a play by play until like midnight) Anyway here I am encouraging the "screamer" face....

oh my turn....

I LOVE THIS HOUSE!!!! For those of you who don't know what this is, shame on you.



We decided to take a bus tour around Chicago which was the best thing. It was nice to learn a little about the sites we had always seen.

NBC Building



Wrigley Building (this is my favorite building)



AAHHH Wisconsin...too bad I hate cheese. Oh yeah this place was closed at 7 pm on a Saturday. Who does that???

We have always passed "Apple Holla" on the way to Chicago and decided to pull over and see what all the fuss was about. We were there right at closing but I was pretty impressed with it. It's a little run down but something was cute...not sure what...roaming goats? No that wasn't very cute. Anyway I wasn't tall enough to fit my head in the hole (go figure) so David was actually holding me up...hence the arm around the neck.

Stinky?

Ok if you live in the Milwaukee area and are just DYING to leave here is a quick fix....become our friends. Seriously anytime we make a friend they decide to move. I swear David and I shower (most days) so what's the deal? We will miss you guys, have fun at BYU!!! GGGOOOOO COUGARS!!!!

Notice how great I am with kids???

(Fair)ly good weekend

As small-folk kiddos David and I decided to hit up the Waukesha County Fair with our friends on Saturday. I always love going to these types of events to "people watch". Sure enough I was not let down. There is always the "wooly mammoth" guy, you know who I'm talking about. The one with the hairy shoulders wearing a black tanktop of the band that is performing later that night. The look is completed with a long mullet, worn out tennis shoes/hiking boots, and cut-offs. No doubt we saw him this year. Then my friend Tahlia and I were commenting on some of the trashy shirts that they were selling at this booth..."who buys this?" just then we see some "ladies" and we were reminded:)

*oddest moment at the fair----having a "tip jar" at the port-a-potties.

Is this not the cutest thing???

Is your mama a llama?

David taking the "bull by the horns"


After the fair we forked over the money for the Dark Knight. LOVE IT! Note to self...don't take kids. I was shocked at the number of babies in the theater. Yeah Kung Fu Panda is down a couple doors thanks.

Shocked

The last few days David has been driving the VUE which leaves me with the little red car. I am happy to report that the "check engine" light has NOT come on in the past two days! I can't believe I have actually driven to the store, the gym, work, Target, Kohl's and not a single sign of breaking down. I'm amazed. Now that I think of it the light must not be working because that darn thing goes off every other day.

Disclaimer

Just for the record this picture of the pizza makes it look nasty--well that's because it was the leftovers. Anyway the pizza really was amazing.

Sum Sum Summertime

Since it has actually been nice outside, we decided to get out and enjoy the weather which will soon be gone I'm sure. We started out by taking a FREE cooking class and learned how to grill this lil' number.


Then we took one of these


along this


and saw this


and this


and felt like this


then we put an offer on this house


when that didn't work we put one on this baby...


Yeah right we're not quite rollin' in the Benjamins

then came home and I made these (pudding in the middle)


ah the joys of summertime.

The more the berrier

Our new favorite Wisconsin tradition is picking strawberries and making freezer jam. I'm dreading the day we move from WI (uh...) and can't find a nice fruit farm to pick from. Could I scoot on down to the store and buy strawberries to make jam? Sure but where is the fun in that??? Anyway last year we picked 1 crate/box whatever it's called of strawberries, made a whimpy amount of jam that sadly only lasted us like 3 months. This year we decided to "go big or go home" and picked 2 crates and once again I am afraid that will still not last as long as I hoped. See I make a pb&j everyday...at the bay..in the month of May...it's the only way. I mix the pb&j so that it is as thick as the bread. Healthy? Probably not. Tasty? You bet your boots it is. So you can see why we run out of jam so quickly. Bummer. Maybe next year---I'll have to hire some kiddos to help me! Actually David was quite the helper this year and I think deep deep down he enjoyed it:)

Potpourri

It has been quite the weekend. On Thursday we whipped out another Six Flegs (yes that is supposed to be written that way) trip with our friends Jon and Angie. It was a really fun day and their little boy did AMAZING! I'm so glad that we were all able to go. Here are some highlights from the trip- you do the math.

small head + crazy pinball machine head ride= grumpy hurty Jodee
contacts + pool water = slightly confused and disoriented Jodee
contacts + pool water (take two)= moron Jodee
water slide + getting stuck at the top = insecure about weight/brain/comprehension Jodee
small breakfast + somewhat small lunch= beware of Jodee

When's the next trip? We really do LOVE it!

Friday we had the annual Kohl's BBQ which was nice to soak up some sun in the 70 degree weather! After that we went with the Johnsons to Cedarburg for some "wholesome" fireworks. We kept trying to find a spot where there weren't any smokers. Oh yeah we aren't in P-town anymore. Did I mention we saw a man with a Camelpak filled with red liquid? Pretty sure it wasn't kool-aid! I'm sure getting wasted on the 4th is what our founding fathers would want us to do right?


The fireworks...and pizza...and ice-cream...and popcorn (sigh) were really good. Usually the grand finale is like a bunch of little fireworks going off at once as if it were an accident but these were HUGE. I loved it! However I was a little bummed that they didn't play patriotic songs during the fireworks. I always get sappy though so maybe it was a good thing...on second thought it is the 4th of July where's the music???


Today we went out with some friends who have a sailboat and just sailed around and sat on the beach. It was a beautiful day and I was reminded that I actually do like Wisconsin....talk to me in November!


I'll be honest I'm glad tomorrow is a day of rest--well unless you have a primary class:)

Me Bersday Weekend

Since my b-day fell on a Sunday (29th) this year we decided to celebrate on Saturday. We went out early in the morning and picked strawberries (why I wore my nice clothes to pick berries is beyond me) and then headed over to Cedarburg for Strawberry Days. I really love festivals and all the fun food and booths. This time we finally realized that when we go to a festival we always end up buying food that we don't normally get because afterall this is a "special" occasion. So we buy this ridiculous priced food and end up being hungry and displeased with the choice. Those days are over. If I want a slice of pizza and it sounds good I will buy it-I don't care if I'm at "Mexican fest" I'll eat pizza and save the $10. I'm just going to stick with what I know. Kettle Korn---yes, chocolate covered strawberries--yes,




I'm so buying one of these little $9 babies when David isn't looking.

After Strawberry Days we drove down to the outlets--and bought David some clothes ;) then went out to Texas Roadhouse....and left our boxed leftovers on the table! How come I never seem to leave food at McDonalds but when I pay good money for a yummy salmon I manage to jump in the car empty handed? Sigh.

Ok I lied I did snag this cake pan at the outlets! It actually tasted pretty good if I do say so myself.


*Favorite B-day moment....having one of my primary kids wish me a "Happy Birthday" and opening the plastic Sports Authority bag to find a Nike+ (how in the world did hubby know that's what I wanted....hum...I wonder. Thanks babe!)