Forgive us...

as we are packing up, cleaning out, and headed to the big city. Hopefully, I'll be able to update you on Monday.

p.s. in case you were wondering, yes the windchill is below zero today as we move out of our apartment in Milwaukee and it's calling for snow on Saturday as we move into our apartment in the city. But what's new, eh?

Sista Weekend

This past weekend, I flew to PA to visit all my siblings plus our only girl cousin on our dad's side. It was so fun!

Ryan said he really wanted to see Adam (so cute!) who didn't come on this trip with me (cue the pouting lip from the sweet boy)

Thankfully for me, I decided to get to the airport 3 hours early to avoid rush hour. My flight had actually been cancelled because of wind but they would let me get on a flight that was supposed to leave in 15 minutes because it hadn't started boarding. I rushed through security and to my gate and made it on the plane being the third to the last person on the flight. I made it safely to Pittsburgh and spent the night with the Marquiss. (the next day there were crazy winds in Chicago so I don't even know if the morning flight they had automatically put me on after my flight was cancelled would have flown).

Friday, Leighann, sweet baby Piper, and I had a relaxing morning getting the kids off to school and packing up the car. We then went downtown to get some tacos and gluten free biscotti. Yum! Friday was all about getting there. We knew we had plenty of time so we didn't mind making little stops, in fact we encouraged it.

We got to stay in a cabin that my sister's, Chrissy, friends own. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture to prove that to you. It was so fun to get there and see all my sisters. The weekend was very relaxing.

Bonni- our only girl cousin on my dad's side. She is hilarious!

We each took care of one meal and just talked, made crafts, played games, took naps, ate. a. lot., and just enjoyed everyone's company.

We didn't have a short supply of bananas or eggs. Some would say we had too many.

Just want to remind you that we were only there for the weekend.

 There was only one baby there the whole time and then when my brother, John, and his wife, Jess, came they brought their sweet almost one year old Liam. He is adorable and has started walking since I saw him at Thanksgiving. It was weird not having all the nieces and nephews there but it was nice too.

sweet little piper who is almost 3 months old

this little guy is almost a year old. Seriously look at him.

I can't get enough of him

I'm so glad that Jess and John came up for a little. I miss them!

Love Jess, she is awesome!

just one more...

One of Amy's projects of the weekend was to fix her coat… This is Amy working on her project haha

We decided to bring small gifts for everyone to make it fun. Part of Leighann's gift was these cute bags. They were really handy when everyone started giving out their gifts.

We also decided to swap recipes since most of us have allergies and have gotten sick of what we make. I decided to make my gift, my recipe cards. (But I wasn't sure if I would get them done so I also bought these yummy allergy-free candy that comes in 4 different flavors. So good!)

Did I mention that we didn't have cell service or internet access? Well who needs that when everyone acted out their favorite you tube videos.

 Leighann acting out Bon Qui Qui

 Everyone watching haha

finishing out the weekend by being silly. Sorry Jess and Bonni, that we didn't take this picture while you were here!

Always prepared but can't quite remember that

I have a problem. I'm the type of person that buys things before they run out because I don't want to be stuck going to store late at night because I ran out of contact solution. So I'll buy it when it starts to feel significantly lighter. If it's on sale, I'll buy multiple. Fast forward to when the said item actually runs out and I'm at the store already, I buy the item and go on my merry way forgetting I already have multiple of the same item at home. This has been happening a lot lately.

As you can see based on what I found when packing the bathroom. 

( I found a pack of more toothbrushes after I took this photo)

This doesn't even count the bucket of toiletries I keep at my in-laws for the nights I stay there each week and my toiletry bag that is always packed….

 It even happens with cards. I bought Adam not one but two anniversary cards because I thought they were both so "us". Then our anniversary came and went and I forgot I even had them. Oh and Valentine's Day? I bought the card the day before because we didn't get each other anything with the craziness going on in our lives and us trying to get rid of things as we move and then I never wrote in it. The card sat on the kitchen island for three days before Adam asked what it was while he was trying to help me pack up the kitchen. Oh, that? Well that was supposed to be your Valentine's Day card. Do you want me to tell you what it would have said so I can use it again next year? And so starts the cycle over again. I'm telling myself I'll be better when we move but who knows. Here's to remembering how prepared I already am. haha

Happy Monday!

Sister's Weekend!

( this was from Mom's wedding the day we met sweet Jess!- Girls, we need a more update picture!)

I'm headed to the East Coast to see my sister's for a girls weekend. I'm have no idea what we'll end up doing but we'll be doing it sans kids (except the 2 babies of the family). Looking forward to some good fellowship and laughter with these ladies ;)

#tbt to that time I had movie picking privileges

Last Friday, we went on our Valentine's date to a movie and dinner. (Not getting creative over here with the amount we are trying to do in 3 weeks). I started watching Downton Abbey last year and so of course, like Sybil's character. When I saw this movie coming out with the same actress in it, I was curious to see it. I didn't really know much about it other than a few trailers but convinced Adam to take me anyways. As soon as it started, I knew I had picked a dud. Both of us thought about sneaking into a different movie but thought it would get better…. It did not my friends and that is why Adam has banned me from picking movies for a while haha and I really don't blame him.

It gives us a good story though. We laughed about it all through dinner at P.F. Changs.  Adam got extra sauce and meat with his meal so he asked for some extra rice to go with it. This is what the waitress brought us. haha

Hope you guys had a great Valentine's last week.

#tbt Ice skating

4 years ago, my friend, Jenelle, and I went on a road trip with some boys. It just so happened that that trip was to go to Chicago and see Adam. So fun.

we look so young! and are still so young!

 A couple nights ago, we went back to that same park to go ice skating. It was so fun and brought back so many fun memories of that trip.

 So thankful for a boy who loves to do fun things instead of letting winter get us down.

Losing track of time

I have been telling everyone that we are moving in 3 weeks. Well, I looked at my calendar and realized we are actually moving in 1-2 weeks depending on where we move. haha oops! I was totally behind. At least, we already started packing so we just need to follow through on the momentum we already have.

 That's about all I have for us over here. Adam is loving his new job. It's very challenging and hard (could take him a year to learn how to do everything/more of the statistics programs he needs to know.) which is great for his smart mind. We are just enjoying life and loving each other.

Happy Wednesday!

Our friend

Psalm 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

Praying for our friend, Steve, today. His mom unexpectedly died last week. The memorial services will be this weekend. If you think about it, say a prayer for him.

Hope you have a good weekend.

Throwback Thursday

In honor of the Olympics, which are starting tomorrow, I thought I'd throwback to when I worked at the Olympics… I cannot believe that that was 4 years ago! So much has happened since then. In 2010, I started dating Adam, worked at the Olympics, and promoted the World Equestrian Games. In 2011, I finished my senior year of college, got engaged, moved to Indiana for my first job at Indiana Wesleyan University and Adam went to Marquette for grad school. In 2012,  Adam and I planned our wedding, I had the best/worst year of my life in Indiana (made great friends, loved my job, but had such a hard time being long distance), He got a job at BMO Harris bank, and then we got married and I moved to Milwaukee. 2013, was our first year of marriage, some job transitions for me, and Adam graduated from grad school. Now 2014 finds Adam with a new job and us moving in a month. It's all very exciting. I am so thankful for the people I have met and the person that God is shaping me into.

Reading over those old posts 4 years ago was brutal. (If you decide to re-read them, you can start here but I warn you to grab some cheese because I provide a lot of whine…whew, thankfully I have grown up a little the past 4 years.)

Happy Thursday! We're looking forward to curling now that we curl. Are you guys looking forward to any specific sport?

Super Bowl Party

Our fantasy football team got together for the big game on Sunday. We got to host since the original "host" started to think of his set-up and realized he didn't have a table (his roommate moved out recently taking his half of the stuff), he didn't have adequate seating for 15 people, and he didn't have cable and therefore was have trouble getting his antenna to properly bring in the Fox.  I'd say he made the right choice.

We got a little excited about hosting and so we made a football field to use as our "table cloth". So of course the guys played paper football.

Adam had a lot of fun building the field and went into great detail.

And brought out our mini game of corn hole.

and everyone brought a great array of snacks. (yes we had a tv on our snack table.)

Stephen Colbert couldn't say Superbowl on his show last week so he kept calling it the "Superb Owl" hence our banners.

 We had a guacamole football field on our football field. Mind blown.

If only the game or the commercials had been entertaining. Oh well, we had fun with each other ;)

p.s. this is my first year on a fantasy football team. Is it normal to have a winter meeting about said league to discuss rules and changes "everyone" wants to make happen next season?

Chicago, here we come.

We are moving to the Chicago area and we are pretty pumped about that.

Here are some reasons why we're excited.

1. Traffic Public Transportation

Chicago is huge! but it's nice that there are so many ways to get around that don't require you to drive. Depending where we live, we might even get rid of one of our cars. From our times in the city, it's been nice to take advantage of all the forms of transportation to get around.

Back in July we took a water taxi downtown

2. The food

If you haven't had the pleasure of going to Chicago, I'm sure you've still heard about their deep dish pizza and Chicago dogs (A hot dog on a poppy seed bun with mustard, onions, relish, pickle, tomato, and a dash of celery salt- ketchup is not allowed.). However, the fun thing is they have so many more options for food as well. From ethnic (lItalian, Chinese, Polish, Greek, you name it ) to hopping restaurants like this one we love. I'm also excited to try some new places that offer more gluten free options.

3. 2 airports

Sounds silly but with family and friends all over the country, it's exciting to have more options! O'hare is actually the fifth busiest airport in the world. So lots of options and hopefully price breaks.

4. Family

Even though we won't live in the same place as Adam's family we will be closer than we've been for a while. It will be nice to have family closer and a bigger part of our lives.

Horrible picture but these are some of Adam's friends that he grew up with.

5. Friends

Adam has a really good group of friends that he grew up with that will be living not too far away from us. It will be fun to have more hang outs and traditions started while we are young. We are hoping to have game night and barbecues. Bring on the quality time.

6. New places and faces

We are also excited to keep exploring this part of the country and meet new people. This is actually my third year moving so while I have things down pat for the moving part, it will be nice to get settled, plugged into a new church, and know where all our doctors/grocery stores/daily needs will be met. Chicago has a lot of different neighborhoods, entertainment options, and museums to attend so it will be fun to see them all.

Us at a recent concert

7. The shows
Theater, broadway shows, concerts, festivals, you name it, Chicago has it. We're excited to continued to gain some culture.

8. We'll still be close to Lake Michigan
We love being close to water and love that even though we are moving, we'll still be close to the lake.

9. We will be out of Packer Country
There is nothing more annoying, being an adopted Bears fan myself, than having to endure packer fans and being in their main viewing market. Can't wait to have the Bear's game be the priority game on tv again.

10. Adam's job

Adam's job the last year hasn't really been up his alley so we are really excited that he found something he's really passionate about. It also doesn't hurt that his new place has windows (he had been in a windowless office in the basement) and that the lake and the city of Chicago are his view.

Here is to new beginnings.

Wisconsin

Quintessential Wisconsin complete with a painting of the Great lake that Adam painted for me

Today is Adam's first day at his new job in the Chicago area. We are both thrilled about this opportunity for him and aware of the reality of us moving this month (the poor guy will have a decent size commute the next month). The last year (for me) and 2 1/2 year (for him) in Milwaukee have been really fun. We are going to miss a bunch of places and people (lucky for us, some of our friends are hoping to move to Illinois as well).

Our top ten things we'll miss (not necessarily in order of importance but more in order of how I thought of them)

Via

1. How close we are to Downtown

Milwaukee is such a manageable city. We always laugh when the traffic report is on the radio because they mention delays going from 9 minute to 11 minutes to make the same route (11 minutes! That's awesome!). We have definitely been spoiled with the ease of getting around and the fun things this smaller city has to offer. It will definitely be an adjustment to move to such a big city as Chicago but we are up for the challenge.

2. How close we are to the Lake

Even though we rarely get in the lake, it was so fun to be close to water. During the summer, we took runs along the lake, laid out (mainly me on this one), and would watch all the boats coming into the harbor. It was so beautiful.

3. Curling

Even though I haven't gotten to curl this season, it was really nice having a curling club so close. In Chicago there are a couple but they are a lot more expensive or farther away. This hobby might have to take the backseat for a while.

A lot of sandwiches come with a least 2 different cheeses on them. I have gotten a grilled cheese that came standard with 4 different cheeses. um, yum!

4. Cheese everything

Who doesn't love cheese? I loved that there was an extensive cheese section in our grocery store, cheese shops all around, and cheese curds and really yummy grilled cheese sandwiches at almost any place you go. Yum! Adam and I would often get a new flavor of cheese we had never tried just to try out everything.

5. Custard

Along with the cheese theme, Wisconsin is known for their custard. It's so good. It's different than ice cream or fro yo, because it is just so darn creamy and thick. We love it! It's also fun because they have a flavor of the day, so you gotta keep up with the "flavor forecast" or you'll miss out on your favorite flavor. (  Leighann, are you picking up what I'm putting down?)

6. Our Apartment Amenities

Guys, we have been spoiled the last year with a heated garage space, a dishwasher, and an in unit washer and dryer. These things are going to be a thing of the past when we move to our next place. What's that you say? Husbands make good dishwashers? I've heard that too. Guess we'll see how that works out.

7. Sport's games

Miller Park is sooo close to our apartment, we could have technically walked to the games we went to. We have easy access to Milwaukee Buck's, Marquette Golden Eagles, and even lesser known activities like the roller derby. I have never lived that close to any professional sport's stadium but loved always having that option on the table for things to do. 

8. Living across from a Farmer's Market

Oh man, the farmer's market was open every Saturday from May to November and I think we only missed getting our fresh veggies and fruit 5 times . It was so nice. They even had organic/cage free meats/eggs which were nice to get as well. I loved supporting the locals and getting really fresh produce. I also loved the flower people that I bought from often. I am a sucker for fresh flowers… really flowers of any kind. They bring so much life to our apartment.  I am hoping a farmer's market will still be an option in Chicago even if it's not right across the street.

9. Easy access to Nature/Golf courses

Depending where we live in the city/suburbs will impact this answer but it has been nice to be close to so many parks and golf courses, whether it was the real ones, par 3, or mini courses. I didn't get to golf last year very much because of my carpal tunnel but I do enjoy going with Adam. It's fun to be competitive, be outside, and see Adam do something he really enjoys and is pretty good at. (which would be everything, the man is good at everything but at last it's still fun to watch ;)

10. My hairdresser

Okay technically this is a person vs a thing but Shantay is awesome.. Funny story, how we met but our pastor's wife, Tammy, introduced us. I had a wedding hair trial the Wednesday before our wedding and it was bad. I was so bummed that I not only paid for that but was worried that my hair would look terrible on my wedding.

what I wanted my hair to look like.

 

                      What my hair actually looked like after my trial. YIKES!

     

 I was talking to Tammy and she told me she had someone who not only would do my hair and but would actually come to my hotel. Shantay came to my hotel, did a wonderful job, has done my hair every since, and now we're friends. I feel like I found a kindred spirit in her. It makes it so much more fun to go get a haircut when you get to hang out with your friend. I will really miss her but luckily we aren't moving that far away.

Hope you guys have a Happy Monday!