Whew!

Wow! It has been almost two weeks since Kevan and I left Nebraska. We have done so much that it feels like it has been two months. I will report early that neither of us has a job yet, but are continuing to look. My hope is winding down, but I know something will come along. 

As I said the last few weeks have been crazy busy. We moved back to Milwaukee during what would have been our vacation any way. Every summer about this same time Kevan's family has a family reunion which truth be told last four days long! :) Here is a little of what we have been up to: 

July 7: departure from Lincoln and arrival in Wisconsin - I swear when I crossed the border into Wisconsin the air smelled sweeter and the sun shone brighter! Kevan drove the truck and I drove the car. I listen to Pride and Prejudice so it went pretty quickly for me. 

July 8: My sister still had not know that we were coming for a visit, let alone moving home, so we decided to stop over and surprise her with a trip to the movies. We say Toy Story 3 in 3D [for the record: $30 for a matinée is entirely too much money!]

July 9: In the afternoon we meet Kevan's parents at their hotel to take them to get their rental car.  It was nice to be able to catch up with them and see how they are doing. I was also given a great complement by my father-in-law, which I greatly appreciated - the complement was in regard to a trip I had take "to" Chicago in the spring with about 24 students. 

That night we went to our Brewers game and tailgated with a few Kevan's cousins there were ten of us all together. We saw the Polish Racing Sausage. After the game, there was some talk of tatoos by Kevan's cousins, but the store was closed so we meet up with his parents are the bar instead. 

July 10:  Breakfast without Aunt Nancy - each year about 35 members of the Furru family gather for breakfast the Sunday before the picnic. This breakfast began out of the desire to see Aunt Nancy, though she has moved away the tradition continues. 

Later that afternoon, Allie, one of Kevan's cousin's daughters, was having a high school graduation party which he attended. I did not because I had a really terrible headache and wanted to sleep away some of my stress so that I was feeling better for the picnic. 

That night, Kevan picked me up and we meet a few of his cousins at Ricardos in Greendale for some delicious pizza. I had a great time sitting next to Austin, one of Kevan's cousin's sons, and playing with his Tech Deck.

After dinner we meet Kevan's parents for Kopp's Butter Peacan flavor of the day!

July 11: The day that Kevan, his Uncle Ned and Randy Piskula (Kevan's second cousin but he is older!) live for - the Hirsch Family picnic. This year was the 55th annual. This day could be a whole blog on its own - how it works, the rotations, games and activities. What I will say today is that it was a great day. Great location in Franklin, kids games were pretty fun and the Furru's one the softball game. I got a little sun burned or really badly sun burned but I will know for next time. This was my third picnic and I really felt part of the group - I could recognize several faces and knew what to expect from the schedule - it was great! This year Kevan and I helped with the raffle and picked up the chicken! 

July 12: We meet Kevan's parents, Auntie Jo and Uncle Wayne at George Web's for lunch - my grandma Sandy came with us! After lunch we all went downtown to the Riverwalk and a few had their picture taken with the statue of the Fonze! 

After the riverwalk we went on a boat tour of the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan. It was relaxing to be out on the water - we saw a man catch a very large fish and we floated past one of the movie sets for Transformers 3 - Shia LeBouf was here!

That night we went to dinner one last time with Kevan's cousins from Florida and Auntie Jo and Uncle Wayne and then Kevan's parents were also there. We went to Claimjumpers at Brookfield Square. 

July 13: Today we slept in but joined his parents that night for dinner with the Kirchner's, one of Kevan's mom's very good friends. 

July 14: Today we went to lunch with Kevan's parents at Applebees. 

July 15: We joined Kevan's parents and their friends, the Gordon's at FestaItalina. All the rides were free so we decided to give one a shot - well that was a mistake! I smooshed Kevan! The fireworks were great and we ended the night seeing Pat McCurdy! 

July 16: Kevan's parents left today, but we went out to lunch one finally time with them before the left at Red Robing YUM! 

That night Kevan and I went over to our friends house Megan and Ryan for a vegan dinner. The food was delicious and the company even better. Before we knew it it was 1 am and time to head home. Megan and Ryan's home is very cozy and matches their personalities and values so well. 

July 17: My friend Danielle opened a new store today - Drawstring Studios: Fabric and Design. We went over to the grand opening to check it out. It is a great store, with nice products - I can't wait to get my sewing machine set up or buy a new one so that I can begin to make my own creations. 

Whew! I am exhausted now just thinking about all that we did and I am pretty sure I missed somethings or left details out. It has been a great first few weeks, but reality is setting in. The last two days have been pretty boring and there is not a whole lot to do day to day. I am however in a good place to do what I wanted to do - help my family. Yesterday I was able to help my sister to clean one of the rooms at her and my mom's house as neither can really do it on their own.