Ode to Wisconsin

Yep...we're in Wisconsin...if you look close enough, you'll see what I mean!

KENOSHA! My Hometown

I was so excited to visit Kenosha. I hadn't been back since I left almost 6 years ago! It was even more special because I was able to show Devin all of the places that meant a lot to me as I grew up. We went to church all morning, brunch at an old family friend's house, drove all around town, and then had dinner at another family friend's house! It was a really good, tiring day!

Kenosha!

My Elementary School, Middle School, High School, the harbor, and the Lighthouse downtown

My hometown!

My house!

This is the house I grew up in...it was soooo sad because the new owners have completely neglected it and let the weeds grow out and let the paint chip and it doesn't look like the place it used to be! The park in the picture is right across the street from my house.

Fun at the Apartment

I spent an entire day cleaning Devin and the guys' apartment. There were four pairs of shoes blocking the entrance so I lined them up on the stairs so they wouldn't trip on them when they walk in the door.
The guys thought it would be funny if they brought out all of their shoes and lined the entire stairway with them...that's what you get when they have too much energy late at night! It was the perfect picture op too!

The Harley Store

It seems like everyone in Milwaukee has a Harley Davidson and Devin wishes more than anything he had his Harley out there with him! We found this Harley store with a giant motorcycle statue so I made Devin pull over so we could take pictures on it! We didn't see a sign that said stay off...but then again, we didn't look that hard :)

The Chicago Temple

We woke up at 5:30 in the morning and drove an hour and a half to attend the Chicago Temple. It was so amazing to be able to do that with Devin!

More Downtown

Downtown Milwaukee...Lake Michigan, Miller Park, and the pond we went peddle boating!

Downtown Milwaukee

Devin and I tried to go to the mall in downtown Milwaukee but it closed at 7PM! What mall closes THAT EARLY!? We decided to walk down by the river and it was gorgeous!

WISCONSIN!

I went to Wisconsin last week to visit Devin! I don't know how, but Devin and all of the guys got sent to Milwaukee, WI to install for APX Alarm Company, just 40 minutes north of the town I grew up in! It was amazing to see Devin again after a month of lonliness, and as a bonus, I got to show him where I grew up and he got to meet people that I grew up with. This is gonna take a couple of posts!

A Trip to the Park

I took Penny's boys to the park! They loved it and they are so cute!

Lizy asnd Nick's Wedding

I didn't get any pictures of anything else but luckily I remembered to get my camera to get some shots of their drive away car! i got some car window paint and painted all of the windows and Courtney and Nick's sister and some friends tried to scrounge up anything else they could find to attach to the bumper! It ended up looking pretty good!

Engagement

Sorry all of these posts are at the same time and the events all happened a while ago, but it's better later than never, right!?
As everyone hopefully knows by now, I'M ENGAGED! Devin proposed April 14, 2009. He was about to leave to go to Milwaukee that weekend to work as an installer for APX Alarm company. We were planning on getting engaged when I went out to visit in May, and I never thought that that wouldn't be the case. He was getting everything ready and packing and when I got off of work, he asked me to go to Walmart with him and run some errands. On our way, he turned the wrong way and he said that we were going to go to the Neilson's Grove Park (right near Walmart, and also happens to be the park that we had our first kiss). I figured he wanted to reminisce before he left, so we got out of the car and ran in the ran to the pavilion we had our first kiss at. He said, "I didn't have enough money for your ring, but I wanted to get you something before I left." He pulled out a Macy's necklace box and when I opened it, I couldn't process the fact that my ring was sitting in there! That little amazing liar of mine got down on he knee and all I could say was "Shut up, shut up, shut up, etc." He asked me to marry him and I got down on my knees and we just hugged and cried. I was so surprised that I forgot to put the ring on and I forgot to say yes!
After I stopped freaking out we ran back to the car soaking wet and went back to my house to show my parents and for me to change before we showed everyone! Then we went to Devin's mom's house and showed everyone there. Devin and all his friends came over to see the ring and make sure we weren't lying! It was one of the best days of my life so far! This is a picture of all of the girls rings. Mine is the one on the thumb!

Lizy's Bridal Shower

Lizy and Nick got married May 9, 2009 so Courtney threw her a bridal shower. It was a Tea Party theme so I made the cupcakes and the large cupcake cake! It was so fun hanging out with the girls and making Lizy dress up in funny clothes blindfolded while wearing oven mits!