I'll admit, Will was a little too young to really appreciate what this night was about. And he was tired, hungry and bored while we were waiting to go in to the high five tunnel. In hindsight, I should have bought him his much desired ice cream to eat while we waited to go into the tunnel. Unfortunately, I had no idea how long the wait would be and knew he'd be even more upset if we had to throw a treat away in order to go into the high five tunnel.

Here's my big boy walking into the tunnel... he sure looks little here!!

He was mesmerized by the lights and the court. His favorite was seeing the Bango blimp!

Still waiting...

The Bucks and Hawks came through the tunnel shortly after and I high fived everyone. Will was a little overwhelmed so he watched all the players run by. 

Finally, it was time to be escorted out of the tunnel and time to go get the much awaited ice cream. I treated myself to a beer and we made the looonnnggggg walk up to section 411, Row W. I have never sat so high at an event in my life. It was quite the daunting walk up and I was even more glad that we didn't have John, aka Evel Knievel, to try and hold onto up there! Note to self, trying to carry a beer and ice cream while holding a 4 year old's hand was not a great idea! Oh, and next time, be sure to buy a bottle of water ahead of time so you don't have to walk all the way back down to get one when your 4 year old is "really really thirsty" after all the sweet ice cream! :)

We made it through the 1st quarter and a little into the 2nd quarter before Will's ice cream was gone and he was tired and ready to leave. I don't blame you, buddy. 7:00 PM is a late start time for a little boy!

We made our way back down to the main level and stopped in the gift shop for some stickers and a Milwaukee Bucks teddy bear. Here's my sweet little man posing with his new little buddy before we headed home.

We must've been good luck because the Bucks beat the Hawks that night 100-97! All in all it was a fun night out with my handsome date. Next time we'll have to take Erik and John with us... oh, and definitely sit a little closer to the action :)

 I dressed us all up in green shirts. And the boys chose their green hats for today.

Taking photos of the 2 of them together gets tricky sometimes. I'll take what I can get... even if it means one is blurry and the other is smiling or not looking at the camera.

 We really do have the cutest little leprechauns.

 We celebrated St Patty's Day with a visit for the boys to Grandma & Grandpa's house while mommy visited her cousins and baby Louie. I came back to 2 non-napping boys and we waited for Daddy to come over after work 

Uncle Pat, Aunt Amy and Mara came for dinner, too. Grandma & Grandpa made corned beef & cabbage and shepherd's pie. It was delicious!

We had guinness cake for dessert. Also delicious.

Not a bad way to celebrate St Patty's Day with our little leprechauns!

We chose to fly direct from MKE to PHX rather than connect and land in Tucson. We thought for our first experience it would be fun to make the drive from Phoenix down to Tucson to see the mountains and desert and if there's anything interesting in between.

The best part about our decision? Upon getting to our hotel in Phoenix there was a waffle house in our parking lot. It brought back memories of when we went to the Kentucky Derby with Stacey and Jason in 2010 and there was a waffle house in that hotel parking lot as well. We didn't actually check in to our hotel until late, but we dropped our bags and headed right over for a late night snack. Or in Erik's case, a full waffle house meal. I took this picture in the morning on our way out of the hotel. 

Erik needed a haircut so we drove over to a local strip mall so that he could get one before making the drive. Waffle House and haircuts. We sure know how to live it up when we don't have our kids with us. On our way I saw this sign and thought it was funny. I told Erik if we move at least getting a divorce will be cheap! 

We made the drive from Phoenix to Tucson and had been told by many that there was not much to see. Although its mostly uninhabited and there's really not much in terms of real estate or commercial area, it was a beautiful drive with lots of desert landscape and the mountains. So, all in all, I was pleased that we decided to do it. It's also nice to know it's an easy drive since Milwaukee offers direct flights to Phoenix. Right now, if you want to fly direct into Tucson you have to do so out of Chicago. I'd much rather make the drive between Phoenix and Tucson than sit in Chicago traffic getting out of O'Hare. Obviously making a stop on the way is also an option but whenever I can fly direct I will so that I don't have to worry about lost luggage, delays, etc. 

Our first stop in Tucson to start our weekend? Tucson Food Tours.... a walking food tour of historic downtown Tucson. 

Our group made 7 total stops along the way. The tour is offered a couple times a week and the owner/tour guide changes up the tour as often as possible in order to feature new restaurants that are in the area or new menu items available.

It was a pleasant surprise that the owner/tour guide Brad actually has family from WI so we chatted with him a bit while on the tour in addition to sampling the awesome food along the way and seeing the city.

Here are some of the restaurants we visited:

Hub Restaurant and Ice Creamery

Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink

La Cocina

Batch Cafe & Bar

I was very impressed with the tour, the sizes of the "samples" we were given and the group we toured with was really great. We tried cheese curds, specialty ice creams, coffee, pizza, Italian and ended at Batch Cafe & Bar, known for their whiskey, donuts and Boozy cereals.

If you're going to be in Tucson and are interested in doing the tour, book as soon as possible. It's only offered 1 - 2 days a week and sells out quickly!

When we arrived in Tucson, the weather was gorgeous. Erik and I were a little concerned that we would be really hot on the walking tour because the car thermometer showed it was nearly 90 degrees! I can honestly say that I've never felt 90 degrees in the desert as compared to 90 degree humidity in WI. It was beautiful. Sure, it got toasty if you stood in the direct sun for a long time. But walking and finding patches of shade and restaurants to duck into along the way made it more than comfortable outside.

 That afternoon we met up with a local realtor and drove to some different communities to get a feel for what Tucson has to offer. We really loved the Vail area, how spread out the homes are and have learned that the schools are very good . However, the commute for Erik could be anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour. We did a brief drive through of Sahuarita area as well (which is south of Tucson proper) and has a lot of great community amenities including pools, waterparks, parks, soccer fields, walking paths, etc. The house sizes are good, but the yards are small and there's not a lot of mountain views offered so it's probably another area we'll stay away from when it comes time to search for a home.

That evening we finally made our way to Cory and Kristin's home, the friends we would spend the next few days with in Tucson. We ate dinner and chatted and caught up on 4 years of life. The last time we saw them Will was just a baby and they were visiting after having just made the move to Tucson with their daughter. Fast forward 4 years and we have each added another little boy to our families who are only about 6 weeks apart! Needless to say, it felt like no time had passed and we all picked up right where we left off. There's something to be said about great friends.

Their hospitality was amazing and they gave us a good, realistic view of what its like to live in Tucson. It was refreshing hearing about the things they enjoy (beautiful weather year round) and the things they don't. Overall they are very happy they relocated and love the area.

After a good night's sleep, we ventured to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum with Cory, Kristin and their 2 kids. It's a combination of an outdoor museum and zoo. Their kids love it there and we really enjoyed exploring and learning about the local wildlife and plants. Plus, the views were beautiful. I can't wait to experience it in the Spring as we've seen pictures of all the Cacti blooming and it's really beautiful.

A tip about walking around on any sort of Tucson excursion... wear a hat, sunglasses and comfortable shoes/sandals. This WI girl isn't used to the direct sunlight beating down and I'm really glad I packed my hat for this trip!

PJ and I checked out our wingspans :)

I know it looks like a picture from a magazine, but don't be mistaken, this is the view from Cory & Kristin's back yard. Eating dinner in the evenings, playing with the kids, drinking coffee in the morning and taking a dip in the hot tub were all parts of this lifestyle I could definitely get used to.

We spent Saturday afternoon with the realtor touring houses and subdivisions again. We really liked the Catalina Foothills (where our friends live) as well as the Oro Valley, Marana and Dove Mountain area. It's nice to know there are so many good options for buying or building when the time comes!

Sunday morning we decided to make the drive on the Catalina Highway up to Mount Lemmon. It is exactly as it sounds, a mountain in the middle of the desert. You make the scenic drive up the mountain to the peak elevation of over 9000 ft. The drive is beautiful, with lots of stopping points along the way. We took our time and stopped at each one in order to learn about the area and enjoy the views.  

We reached Summerhaven, the community on the mountain, and had lunch at The Sawmill Restaurant. Although the drive up was sunny and beautiful and over 80 degrees, once we were outside at lunch I had to go back to the car for my jacket. It was only about 60 degrees and drizzling while we were there. It was amazing to experience 2 totally different climates . This is a frequent winter destination for skiing and sledding as well as for a summer getaway to escape the heat.

 Sunday evening we went back to Cory and Kristin's and went out to dinner at one of their favorite places: a local wine and burger joint called Zinburger. We had a great meal and enjoyed the company of our friends and their little ones.

When we got back to the house we spent time building legos with PJ after Seb was in bed. And then chatting more with Cory and Kristin and enjoying the little time we had left on our trip.

The next morning we packed up and made the drive back to Phoenix for our flight. It was difficult leaving our friends and their kids to return home but we were also very excited to get back to the boys, who were spending their weekend at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

It was a great first experience in Tucson and we are excited to travel back a time or 2 before making the move next year!

Well, the rumors are true, whether you've heard them or not. 

The Brandstaetter Family will be relocating to Tucson, AZ in 2018!

CAT has decided to relocate their Surface Mining & Technology team to Tucson, AZ and yes, that affects Erik and his job. CAT is a company that has been very good to our family and that Erik really enjoys working for. So, while it's a hard decision for us to move our family from a place we love so much, we also know it is the best decision for our family. 

I'll be the first to admit that this is pretty shocking. Mostly because I'm a Wisconsin girl, through and through. And I really do love it here. Except for the winters. Because while I don't mind the idea of snow and think it's beautiful when viewed from my sunroom windows into my orchard, I absolutely despise getting myself and the kids all bundled up just to go outside or run a quick errand during the winter months.

There's a lot I'll miss about this place.

Our home that we've worked so hard to turn into what we thought would truly be our forever home.

Our big yard that the kids can play in and explore.

Being near all of our family and friends and spending birthdays, anniversaries and holidays with those we love.

But, luckily, this is a digital world and thanks to social media, Skype, Facetime and this new-fangled transportation referred to as "air travel" we will be just a short hop away from WI and all those people and places that we love so dearly.

Our move date is set for Summer of 2018. This means we get "one more" of everything in our home. One more summer here. One more fall. One more time decorating our home with Christmas lights. It'll be very bittersweet to leave a place we love so much, but it's also really exciting to think what is in our future.

Warm days. Sunshine. A pool with a mountain view in our backyard. 

Scorpions. Coyotes. Unbearable summer time heat.

The ability to be outside pretty much all year riding bikes, hiking, swimming and playing.

Visits from family and friends to our new home and way of life. Visits back home again for major events, summer festivals, etc.

So stay tuned. We'll be sharing more life updates and moving updates as they come. 

And we're going to take the opportunity to truly enjoy Wisconsin and all of the awesome things it has to offer while we still live here. We are also very excited about the adventures that await!