Visits

Behr Family visit to Green Lake

The weather has been so much cooler in the last week.  The mornings are not quite crisp like Fall, but I have already noticed some of the trees on our block have started changing color.  I now have to pack a light blanket and a hat for Max on our morning walks, but by the time we are on our way back home, we're peeling off layers.  This is the time of year when I don't know if I should be excited for Fall to come or sad to see Summer go.  Maybe both.
Max and I took an hour-long walk this morning and I couldn't help thinking of how much we've enjoyed our visits with friends and family in the last two weeks and how much there still is to do in the next two weeks before we leave here!

We were fortunate to have my friend Lindsey from Denver stay with us for a long weekend.  Lindsey is a dear friend of mine whom I met through Cooking Club.  She was generous enough to share her well-earned vacation time with us so we could show her around Milwaukee and introduce her to some of our favorite people and places.  We started off her visit with breakfast at Alterra (of course), a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see the Posters of Paris exhibit, and a stop at the lakefront.  On Friday night, we got together with my family at Quit Qui Oc Golf Course in Elkhart Lake for a traditional Friday fish fry and birthday celebration for my brother, Biagio.  You can't find a real  Wisconsin fish fry anywhere but Wisconsin in my experience (although supposedly there is a Packer bar near Denver that claims to have one) so I've been taking advantage of these while we're here.  We spent Saturday and part of Sunday in Kiel enjoying some time with family.   It was so much fun to have all of my siblings back home at the same time.  I think Lindsey may have actually enjoyed all the commotion.   And I'm pretty sure she'll never forget the night-time mushroom hunt in the woods.  Yep, who doesn't love those?!  What, you think we only tip cows in Wisconsin?  Ha!

Happy Birthday, Biagio!

What is that?!

Giant Puffball mushroom

Great Great Aunty Jo with Max and Canaan

A walk down Millhome Lane

Last Wednesday, David's family started arriving for the Behr family visit.  David's brother, Steve, his wife, Julie, and kids flew in from Texas, David's Dad (we missed you, Mom!) arrived from Washington, and his sister, Laura, came in from Florida.  I was so excited to be able to share my home with David's family and show them where I grew up.  After spending a day in the city, we were able to find a last-minute cottage rental on Green Lake, so I forced everyone to pack up their things and we drove them out there for 2 nights so they could see why Green Lake is my favorite place on Earth.  The water had cooled off a bit since July 4th, but everyone got in at Norwegian Bay.  Even little Abby (19 months), who much prefers the warmer waters of the Texas pools.  Laura braved the cold after the rainstorm on Sunday and joined us for our traditional "jump in the middle of the lake" to end our lake season.  She took the crown for biggest splash with her Can Opener jump off the back of the boat and therefore gets an automatic invitation back next summer to defend her title.  Yeah, it's kind of like The Masters.

David, his Dad, and Laura at Big Bay Park

A Behr Family Picnic at the Lakefront

Laura, Julie and Abby

Reflecting

Max and Opa clowning around

Jack takes a swimming break

Baaaaaalllllll

Julie, Abby, Jack, me, Max and Opa

Has it been 30 minutes yet?

David and Max practice crawling

Behr Family with Rita

A very serious game of Bocce

A Wisconsin skyline - see the rainbow?

All summer, I've appreciated how wonderful it feels to be in such a familiar spot.  I love feeling really comfortable with the area, the people, the culture.  I've taken in the beauty of our surroundings and slowly stored it away in my memory bank, and carefully packed it away in my heart.  Such a blessing to be here for the entire summer!  It can be exciting to see new places, meet new people, and try new things too, but it sure has been special to be home, sweet home.

We're looking forward to our last weekend in Wisconsin, which includes the Color Run on Friday night.  More to come on that.  On Monday, it's back to packing!