I had one last girl's night in WI with these two lovelies. We started with dinner at Chammps and then went back to Kelly's house to hang out, drink wine and cry. These girls mean the world to me and saying goodbye to them was definitely not an easy task. Thank goodness for "Grandpa tissues"! I love you!!! 

Little did we know that our last week in WI would actually lead to a last minute trip to Asheville to spend time with Erik's sister and her family. A trip I am forever grateful that we were able to make. I hopped on a plane with Will & John hours after Erik departed and they were amazing travelers for me. I'm so thankful every day for these sweet boys, even when they drive me crazy.

We flew home with Erik and had a layover in Detroit. We kept the kids occupied with dinner, complete with iPads at the counter. Their favorite part of the layover? Going thru the special light tunnel with music and people movers to get to our terminal for our connecting flight. 

John got into the dress up spirit and became Ariel for a good portion of the morning, complete with shoes, a tiara and a wand. Post playdate and post nap he decided Re-punzel (aka Rapunzel) was his dress of choice after seeing his cousin in it during the morning festivities.

Tuesday we  started the day with a service appointment on my car (so much fun) and the boys played happily with all the toys in the waiting area. We thoroughly washed our hands upon leaving - ick! 

Next, we braved the overcast, chilly weather and hit up the Milwaukee County Zoo with some school friends. We saw the dinosaur exhibit, complete with spitting dinosaurs, and the new otter exhibit. They were just feeding the otters when we got to the exhibit and we even caught one of them swimming for a brief moment! The boys and I took a zoomobile ride after our friends left. I had promised them we'd do both that and face painting at our final visits to the zoo before we leave town. Face painting will be next time!

Giraffe Beastie at the Zoo

Wednesday morning we headed to Apple Barn Orchard & Winery for Strawberry picking. It was opening day, the weather was beautiful and it wasn't busy at all. We picked 2 buckets - 1 for each kiddo - and then headed up to the shop for some Strawberry donuts. 

Wednesday evening we went out for a celebratory/goodbye dinner with my parents to Palmers in Hartland. We enjoyed delicious food and wine and toasted to our new adventure. The kiddos got to hang with my niece who kindly babysat for us so we could have a kid free dinner. Thanks, Mara! 😘

Thursday morning was pretty low key after a very busy few days. I caught up on some laundry and chores, followed the boys while they took a bike ride and got ready for an afternoon of fun with friends from "Book Club" - my dear friends I met through the Mukwonago Library when our oldest kids were between 1 & 2! The moms sat around chatting while the kids swam in the kiddie pool, played in the sprinkler and snacked. We all had a blast!

Whew, lots of emotion on Thursday led to a bit calmer Friday. We had originally planned to go to the splash pad with some friends and family, but the weather was less than cooperative. 

Friday became our "hang around the house and relax" day. It was just whst we needed after a very busy week, especially knowing we were leading into a very busy weekend. The boys watched TV most of the morning (a combo of The US Open and PBS Kids), had some much needed rest time, that turned into both of them falling asleep, and then played in the yard with hoses for the rest of the afternoon until Erik got home. 

We headed out to the Kiltie for dinner and frozen custard (note to self, always have plenty of cash so you don't have to run out for more to get the grown ups their dessert).

The boys thought eating at the drive in was pretty cool. They got to wander around the parked car and eat in their carseats, unbuckled. Woohoo!

Erik dropped us off at the picnic tables for the boys to finish their cones and so he could get the aforementioned cash we needed for our own. The boys made complete messes if themselves (as they should) and then ran their sugar rush off playing I Spy and racing to a tree stump. It really is the little things in life 😊

Saturday came and we took the boys for haircuts to the local barbershop in Mukwonago. After, we headed over to a coffee shop for some muffins, breakfast and coffee. It was starting to get pretty toasty so the boys got in their swimsuits once we walked home and spent most of the afternoon in the kiddie pool, squirting Miller (my brother's dog) with super soakers. The 3 of them had a blast together and it was hilarious to watch!

Erik ran to the store, packed up the cooler and we got the boys ready to head to Minooka Park for the beergarden and our FINAL going away party. We were absolutely blown away by how many of our friends and family joined us out on a very hot and humid Saturday. The kids all played on the beach and in the water, the adults all chatted and enjoyed the beer and a great time was had by all. It was so hard having to say goodbye to so many important people in our lives. But it was also really wonderful knowing we have so many friends and family supporting us on this next adventure.

The only photos I have from the party are from some sweet friends of ours that took some and sent them to me. Luckily, I have the events from the engrained in my memory.  That and a video of my husband in a push up contest!

Needless to say it was a busy, fun filled week and we are indeed blessed to have so many amazing people in our lives.