Wisconsin

So what do you do when you need something for your kids to do the last 2 weeks of summer? ROAD TRIP! Robb's older sister and her kids as well as his mom were planning on driving from Salt Lake to Madison, WI to visit his little sister. I decided kind of last minute I'd surprise Lori and show up too. So I made some last minute arrangements, met up with them one afternoon in the middle of Nebraska, and off we went! Between me and his two sisters, there were 11 kids aged 2 up to 11. It was a little bit of a madhouse but we had so much fun!

Over the weekend we arrived, we watched two of Lori's girls compete in their first triathlon which was totally inspiring. They did great! Then it was off to the water park. Are these girls cute or what? We called them chocolate and vanilla...


Also, that weekend the girls had a chance to take off to Chicago for the evening for a little dinner and to see Beauty and the Beast down in the theater district. It was so much fun and a big thanks to Scott for watching my boys and the little kids. :) Here are the "older" nieces outside Lou Malnati's, a super yummy place we went for some deep dish Chicago-style pizza.

The show was awesome and so funny actually. Gaston was a hoot. The Oriental Theater was downright AMAZING. It was built in 1926 and it was so ornate and over the top. I've never been to anything like it. So glad I was able to be sneaky and buy a ticket without Lori knowing and sit right by them!


One day we took all the kids to the zoo in Madison. It's not a huge zoo but it's awesome. Just the perfect size in my opinion. They all had a great time.


One day we spent the day in downtown Madison. We picnicked on the lawn of the capitol and let the kids run around and play tag. Then we went inside the capitol. Yes, people are STILL protesting over the unions/teachers' rights. There was actually a group inside that was singing. We talked to the security guards and they said they come every day at noon and sing peacefully. They sounded good too. No matter what side you're on, it's awesome we live in a country where it's ok to do that. Loved this picture I snagged on the way out.

Then we headed a couple of streets down to the farmers' market where we got some yummy produce for dinner and then strolled up to the overlook of Lake Monona. So gorgeous!

Before heading home, we stopped at this super yummy popcorn shop and tried 3 of the yummiest flavors ever: caramel apple, caramel corn, and tutti frutti. Mmmm...


On Thursday, we headed out to Lake Mills, WI. It's this adorable little old town right on the shores of this gorgeous lake. There was a perfect little beach area and we played all afternoon. For those from Spokane, reminded me of Sandpoint. I took so many pics there but this is one of my faves. I have no words.

Friday we went out to the Amish Country. There is a bakery there that is only open on Fridays. They get up at midnight and bake all day till 4pm. It's in the basement of this Amish house that has 2 little lightbulbs powered by a generator. They have breads, donuts, pies, turnovers, cookies...mmm it was all delish. The men just keep coming out and putting fresh things on the racks. We let the kids buy a donut and we got a few more things. This picture was in the driveway of the little Amish house.

Enjoying their fresh baked goodies.


I'm so glad we made the long 968 mile drive (but who's counting) to see everyone. We missed the Robb quite a bit and I'm thinking he missed us a little to.