Milwaukee

I entered the land of neighborhood pubs and Friday Fish Fry's and our time was exactly how I'd hoped.

I loved the feel of their area. The homes were all older with very well kept yards. There were a lot of trees and green rolling hills.

We went to church on Sunday, where I saw with my very own eyes, my 30 year old brother-in-law being the bishop. I mean, I knew he was the bishop, but I couldn't really see it, that is until I saw it.

No offense to him for looking and being young, and from what I could tell and how the members there related to him, he will do a fine job. And I am glad they are in the right spot and worthy and willing to do their part.

As Leah requested, I took some pictures of their family. I am always happy to do this, and a little nervous too. It is kind of a big production to plan your outfits, get yourselves and all your children dressed and ready, make it to the locale, and then take pictures without somebody coming up grumpy. And it is kind of a challenge for me in my amateur state to capture that many faces looking good at the same moment and I want to be sure they feel that their effort was worth it.

But I imagine the production part is the same for an amateur as it is for a professional. And if I do it, the production is free!

The temperatures were cold! At least to me and my Texas blood, but I couldn't bring myself to complain because it felt good! (remember my pants excitement?!) But it did make for our timing to be a little off in the sunlight department. We had to wait until it was at least 60 degrees to take those cutie pies out, because the outfits we finally put together weren't really cold weather friendly.

But we waited and then we went. Little Sage wasn't so happy with the whole idea but we got what we could and returned the next morning to get individual shots of those we didn't get the day before.











Can you tell that Ian did not want his picture taken?





Like at all.








Overall, I was so happy with how they came out. I felt like I learned some things and applied other things I had learned previously. I rediscovered my old Flickr account as I searched for ways to get the pictures to them without having to mail them. You can see the rest there.

Now if I could only take my own family pictures and be in them at the same time, we would be all set!

Leah and I took a tour of the Sprecher Brewery. We figured a brewery tour was a very Milwaukee thing to do. I fell in love with their soda (and I don't really even like soda) and thought I had stumbled across the perfect souvenir to bring home to Dan (who loves soda almost as much as he loves me). That was right until I remembered that it would cost me $25 to check my only bag for an 82 cent bottle of soda because it was over 3 0z and couldn't be carried on.

A quick check taught me I can order Sprecher Root Beer online, which might be happening in the near future. I can't promise you anything about the beer but I can whole-heartedly stand behind their Root Beer, Puma Cola, and Orange Dream.

I had to get some cheese while I was in Wisconsin too. I love cheese. I think I might die if I could never eat cheese again. And there's nothing better than Wisconsin cheese, right?



We went to a cute little cheese shop and I just couldn't decide what I wanted. So I purchased a bag full of all different "orphans". They were the little ends of the cheese left from the big blocks. I always try to do my part for those in need and these little orphans needed me! They are actually still sitting in my fridge waiting for a cheese tasting party where they will finally find their rightful home in our bellies. I did also buy some cheese curds that I just couldn't wait for, and we busted them open in the car.



Delicious!


And no trip is ever complete without a toilet smash. Leah and I had compared our plumbing woes right before my trip and she agreed to wait for me so I could be part of their smash to discover just which lucky toy had clogged up their potty for good.




The boys started with sticks,



then they moved to the hammer,




and once Chris stepped in it was over quickly.

I think when you see something expensive ruined you kind of hope that it was caused by something equally expensive, like a bar of solid gold or a fat roll of hundreds, just to make it feel worth it. You will have to ask Chris how it feels to spend hundreds of dollars replacing a toilet clogged forever by a free Happy Meal Toy.




Lastly we squeezed in our girl movie time. I had brought Sense and Sensibility and Anne of Green Gables.

Every time I watch Sense and Sensibility I think of Leah and I. She is Elinor and I, Marianne. But we opted instead for Anne of Green Gables. We watched the whole thing through and then with only a few hours before my departure, ran to the library to check out the sequel. We didn't get to finish and I was almost very late for my shuttle but we scrambled and made it in time.

It's no big deal because we have seen it before and maybe finishing it can be the first item on the agenda for our next visit.


Thank you for having me, Williamson's! I love you!