March 10-14th

We left Phoenix on March 10th and arrived in Milwaukee WI. We spent the night there, and the following morning Dave's brother Eric and his wife Holly picked us up.

After a delicious bagel breakfast we spent the morning at the Milwaukee art museum much to Ethan's chagrin. I personally loved the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. David loved most everything we saw, and I think Ethan's favorite part was getting to play in the snow.

After the museum we drove down to Pleasant Prairie which is where Holly and Eric live. It was fun to see their new home, and get to be their first visitors. The boys picked Emma up from school, and we were off to eat at the Brat Stop. All I can say is YUM!!! I was too busy eating to get any good pictures :)

Saturday was a fun filled day. We went to the Jelly Belly distribution center for a short train tour, and free samples.

We enjoyed the evening, playing games and laughing.

Sunday we went to church and spent the day relaxing. My favorite part of Wisconsin besides the company was the amount of delicious food, ie the brats & cheese. We discovered a locally brewed root beer that we had to stock up on for our trip to Cincinnati.

On Monday we (Eric, Holly, Emma and the 3 of us) rode the train to Chicago.

It was a fun new experience. The kids loved the trains we were able to ride.
We couldn't spend time in Chicago and not have Pizza. It was also great to have the time to sit inside, and warm up. The pizza was like nothing I have ever eaten.

It was a bit of a challenge to figure out the "el". However, I think we caught on and are ready for another try.

After 7 hours in the "windy" city I fully understand why it has that name. I had to buy a new jacket because the Phoenix jacket I had was not enough to keep me from freezing.

Today Holly and Emma brought the 3 of us to Cincinnati. It was fun to be able to see the Chicago Temple. We wanted to stop to see the Indianapolis Temple as well, but didn't want to spend more time in the car.

The 6 hour, 4 state drive was pretty quick and painless. Unless your name is Dave and had to sit in the back seat with 2 crazy children.

The 5 days we spent in Wisconsin with our family was priceless. I don't think I realized how much I needed the "boost" to get us through the next 10 days. Ethan has had so much fun with his cousin. He normally begs to play his Nintendo DS all the time. While with Emma, he never even asked. Ethan loves playing with her, and they are often heard laughing. I know this was a small miracle to have time to spend with the Wisconsin Meadows clan.

Thanks go to Eric and Holly for having us in their home, and showing us an amazing weekend. We love you guys!!!