Buenos Aires!

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I woke up and Kyle told me he had a birthday surprise for me. I said, thanks Kyle, but my birthday isn't until next Tuesday :) This required a bit of planning he said though. He told me that I had the option to accompany him on a work trip next week to ARGENTINA! Option?! This was no option in my mind- this was a definite! He said he already coordinated child care with our families, and my Dad is out here today and tomorrow helping us pack up, so he would take the kids back with him on Saturday morning. I couldn't be more excited. Even though it's their fall- which means highs in the 60s lows in the 40s (and I already packed all my winter clothes and shoes, literally, they are all at my parents house already) I will make it work! It also means we will have to miss Preston's 3rd birthday next Wednesday, but being with his grandparents, I'm sure he will have a great day :) Another downfall is that we leave Sunday night and get back Friday morning, only to close on our house and move out of Indy that next Monday! Luckily, we are already mostly packed and Kyle and I will get the remainder of it done all day Saturday when the kids are gone. Things will work out just fine, I'm sure. So, the next time you hear from me, I will be moved in New Glarus! Talk to you then!!

Reese turns 5!

Reese turned the big 5 on July 24 and we celebrated back in Illinois. We had her friend party the weekend before at our house, and then a family party back home. She had a great time, and is very happy to be 5. Since we wont be moved back yet and Preston's birthday is August 19th- we celebrated them both with family.

Reese's My Little Pony friend party- coloring pages, pin the tail on the donkey, the limbo, cupcakes, and lots of fun!

Our week back in IL:

 Cousins at Nana's getting too big too fast

Catch up

Last I was here, you found out we were moving back to Wisconsin. This time, I have a few more details. We bought a house in New Glarus and close on August 24th (we just finalized the date today!) I am so excited that Reese will be there a week before school starts (Sept. 1) Last week we were back for a few days and Kyle and I toured a preschool for Preston (right in New Glarus) and the elementary school. We got to sit and talk with the principal for quite a while and I am very happy with what I saw. Reese will be in good hands :) She is a future New Glarus Knight!
Now, the packing begins. We are packing everything up, and having a moving company load, drive, and unload it for us. Not cheap, but worth the stress of us having to do it all by ourselves. This next month is going to be busy, busy, busy, but we are excited to start this new chapter!

Our new house- which sits right north of New Glarus off of 69- back a ways of the road in a subdivision called the Highlands. It sits on FIVE acres! We are so happy to have such a big yard!



The view from our deck- gorgeous!

Adios Indy

The time has come. I knew it wasn't too far away, but it's here. We are moving back to Wisconsin! For those who didn't see my Facebook post, about 2 weeks ago (or so) we made the decision to head back North.

It's hard to believe we have been in Indy almost 2 1/2 year and 2 years in the house pictured above. Feels like longer than that! I've made some amazing friends, connected with a bunch of mom's groups, we love our neighbors, and have become invested in our church here. Those are going to be the toughest things to leave. The kids are young enough that they won't be "missing" friends or school yet, but it will still be interesting to see how Reese reacts. Especially if we don't buy another house with a pool- haha. 

So, here's a short version of how we can to our conclusion. Kyle was offered a job in Kansas City with a start up company to be the head of the Business and Development Department. We contemplated moving, but in the end, he turned down the job because we didn't want KC to be our next place we called home. Fast forward 3 weeks after that, the CEO of that company came to Indy- met with Kyle, and said the offer still stood and Kyle could work remotely!! YES, sign us up! Kyle accepted the job, we listed our house, and went on vacation for a week to Idaho :) When we returned, we had multiple showings, and then an open house. We then got an offer and accepted. Everything fell into place. Fast forward 3 days after the accepted offer- Kyle's last day of work at Elanco (his current job.) The CEO and CFO have a meeting with Kyle saying they don't want him to leave, and will do whatever it takes to keep him. UMMMM WHAT?!?! Well, a dilemma for sure. He told them we already sold our house, we are moving back to Wisconsin, and he was to start his new job in 4 days! So, this past weekend was BUSY to say the least. In the end- Kyle has ended up staying at Elanco (his current company), but he will take a different (better) position. He will be running the business development division of a company that his company has purchased in Switzerland (its a global company) and will be able to live wherever (Wisconsin!) So this past month has been intense to say the least. Never a dull moment in our house. 

Tomorrow we head back to the homeland and start our house search. We are narrowing our search to New Glarus, Evansville, and Oregon. Our house is set to close August 31- but the buyer told us today he can probably shoot for the middle of August- thank goodness!- as Reese starts Kindergarten September 1. Looking forward to the move, but its bittersweet. I will really miss Fishers and everyone I have met here. But here's to new beginnings (again!) and making this our "hopefully" last move for a long while! :)

Vacation!

Vacation came and went, too fast. We had a great time. Kyle and I flew out to Salt Lake City, UT on Wednesday and drove the 4 hours north to Jackson Hole, WY. We spent the afternoon walking around Jackson and enjoying the sites and stores. It kind of reminds me of a downtown Wisconsin Dells (touristy) but much nice stores and shops (very expensive!) We stayed the night in Jackson Hole and took off early Thursday morning to head an 1 hour 30 minutes north to Yellowstone National Park. We also drove through the Grand Teton National Park on the way up there, and it was just gorgeous. Seeing elk and bison up close was awesome. Once we entered Yellowstone, I realized how many things there were to do there! I knew we couldn't pack it all into one day, so we did the "lower" loop instead of the huge loop which could probably take 2-3 days. My favorite thing was the Geysers. It was like you were on Mars. It was unreal to see the geysers and all the different "mud volcanoes" around there. Once in a lifetime experience. Highly recommend it to everyone.
We headed back down to Victor, ID Thursday evening and went to the Welcome Party for Jenna and Mike. They got married on a cute ranch in Victor with the mountains surrounding it. Friday we a free day until rehersal at 4:00, so we took advantage of the pool at our Lodge and enjoyed an afternoon of relaxation and strawberry mojitos :)
Saturday was the BIG day. It was the perfect temp (low 80s) and sunny. Jenna looked stunning and we danced late into the night. The day went too fast, but it was a great time.
Sunday we went with 31 other wedding guests into Jackson Hole to go white water rafting. I was so excited to do it, and I was NOT let down. It was AWESOME! Just like I imagined. Granted the water was only 30 degrees (FREEZING) but it was worth getting cold.
Monday we drove back down to Salt Lake City to fly out. We covered FOUR states in the 5 days we were there. Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. I had no idea all of them were so mountainous. Who knew Idaho had so many mountains (and potato fields) lol. Overall a great trip. Big thanks to my Mom and Dad for coming out to watch the kiddos!

The Grand Tetons

 At an overpass in Yellowstone

 HUGE Elk

Mr and Mrs Piche

What are you?

What are you...

Eating: Anything grilled! We since the warmer temps have arrived, we have been using our grill alot. Our favorites include brats, hamburgers, and fish with grilled veggies. I have been grilling asparagus and it is delicious!

Doing: We are celebrating the fact that it's summer! Reese's last day of school was a week ago, as was Preston's. We had our first week of summer this past week, and everyday Reese asked what we were doing. She is going to have to slow her pace, and realize summer is about relaxing and playing outside :) She is finishing up her gymnastics next week and taking the summer off, and she is playing t-ball right now too. The past couple of days it has been in the mid 80s so we have been swimming alot!

Summer plans: We have a couple things planned for the summer. Here are a few items on our summer bucket list:
-Go to the zoo
-Pick strawberries
-Swim
-Go to the Splashpad
-Have a lemonade stand
-Go for lots of walks and bike rides
-Go to the fair
-Go to an Indians (minor league) baseball game
-Go to the Children's Museum
-Go to Conner Prairie (an interactive historical setting for families) and ride the hot air balloon there
-Attend the NCAA Hall of Fame downtown (more for Kyle and I)
-Go fishing
-HAVE FUN and eat lots and lots of popsicles!

Reading: I just finished Amy Poehler's book "Yes, Please" I have also read "One Step too Far" and am now going to start "The Boston Girl" by Anita Diamant.

Watching: Kyle and I just finished the Netflix season 1 of Bloodline and we also rented American Sniper last night.

Looking forward to: VACATION! Kyle and I are going to Victor, Idaho and Jackson Hole, WY for a week in the middle of June. My childhood friend, Jenna, is getting married our there, and my parents are coming out to our house to watch the kids. I havent been out West and we are also going to do white water rafting- super excited for it!

*Just a note to keep my college friend, Lauren, in your thoughts as she delivered her baby boy, Austin, a week ago and he is still in the ICU. He has high blood pressure on the right side of his heart making it so the blood doesn't flow the right way sometimes. It will take time for the pressure to get down to normal. I think about her daily as she is sleeping in a recliner in the ICU room every day/night. Just say a prayer to give her and Dave the strength to get through this time and that little Austin can go home soon!

The Month of May

May. Busy. That pretty much sums up our month. With not one "free" weekend, we were on the go constantly, along with wrapping up the kids school year, bridal showers, a bachelorette party, and ending the month enjoying Memorial Day weekend with family and friends. Here are some pictures of our May adventures!

We opened the pool and the kids braved the water (chilly!) but they had a blast!

 Reese's first and last day of Pre-K pictures. Onto Kindergarten in the Fall!

 End of the year school picnic with her two buds- Faith, Reese C, and Reese M.

 Preston actually driving Papa M's tractor around- he rode on it all afternoon!

 Above is Mothers Day Tea at Reese's school. It was SO sweet. They sang lots of songs, we had tea and cookies, and then had dress up time!

Below is Reese's class field trip to the Zoo- they were in awe of the tiger!

 Mr. Orangutan just hanging out!

 Below are pics from Jenna's bachelorette party in Lake Geneva, WI

Mekenna's 1st Communion