milwaukee fun

A favorite time of year comes at the end of July...the annual Northwestern Company meetings in Milwaukee. This year we decided to only take the two oldest kiddos. So hard to leave Luca behind, but she was in very good hands with Grandma B.


Here we are early morning on race day ready for the 5K. This would be the first year without a stroller in the race...Kaiya insisted. She did ok, but daddy had to carry her part of the way. Her comment at the end of the race was that next year she is using the stroller. :)

I felt great through the whole race. I've been walking at home so three miles really wasn't a big deal. Right at the end of the race Kevin and Caedmon decided to run the rest of the way to the finish line...Kaiya and I would walk the rest of the way. They took off...I could still see them running ahead when I got a sharp pain in my back and across my abdomen. It got pretty intense...so intense that I had to stop and rest. I had Kaiya with me and tried to breath through the pain and relax, but it didn't go away. Finally, I decided to start walking again and try to make it to the end so I could get some help from Kevin. Thankfully the pain left as I continued walking and by the time I made it to Kevin it was completely gone. We had another mile to walk back to our hotel...I took it slow and was feeling ok again. Kevin decided to go on ahead because he needed to get showered and make it to a meeting shortly....he would meet me back at the room.

Here it is again...just Kaiya and I. We made it to the hotel fine and while waiting for the elevator, here comes the pain again...I stood there for a bit and realized that I needed to lay down very soon...it was getting very intense. So we took the stairs...like seven flights. By the time I made it back to our room, I was in tears...the pain was so intense and would not go away. It came two more times after that throughout the day and finally stopped by the end of the day. I called the dr. on call and she assumed they were contractions which my doctor later told me they were not. She thought I just had overdone myself.

Later that evening and feeling much better...at the sea lion show on Zoo Picnic Day.
I usually have a stroller and a child to look after that's too small for this ride. So I usually happily observe and take pictures from below. This year, everyone was big enough and we were stroller-free...so I went. Didn't enjoy the ride so much...worried about someone falling off let along getting off and on the ride safely. Whew...glad to be on the ground again when that was over. It's always a joy to hang out with these dear friends. Great faces here.
Lots of games for the kiddies to enjoy...including the big kid.
Taken outside the Dairy Barn at the Zoo.Day three was museum day.This year we checked out one we haven't been to yet...the aquarium was a hit with the kids.
Caedmon wanted me to take his picture with the puffer fish...in honor of Jake. :)
They also has a cool "touching" area where you could touch some of the stingrays and other fish. My kids were too afraid to touch...and well, I didn't really want to touch the things either. I'm sure it would have been a different story if dad wouldn't have been there.Dinner out with friends...we got to eat outside on that beautiful evening. Day four - waterpark fun And a Keith Urban concert that evening.A very fast-paced week, but packed with tons of fun once again!