small town girl, livin' in a lonely world

i know i've only been home for a week, but my oh my what a fun week it has been! why do i always think i'm going to be bored? i have barely had a minute to myself on this trip home, and am only home for a few more weeks with SO much left to cram into the visit.

it's stuff like this that make wisconsin wisconsin

i flew into MKE last week monday to a much cooler climate, but one where i am lucky enough to see the most beautiful sunsets almost daily.

2nd day home, sunset over okauchee lake

creating magical movie memories at the marcus cinemas

tuesday night i was able to catch up with my dad and bunny, which was awesome since dad and i are both always so busy that we don't get to spend much time together. the weather was crummy all week until saturday, so we went to dinner at Texas Road House and saw Hangover at the theater. dad was laughing so loud i had to tell him to quiet down! he LOVED it. i thought it was pretty entertaining, but i think he was a huge part of the entertainment for me.

hailey, luke and melissa

wednesday i visited melissa and her two kids, hailey (3) and luke (18 mo.) at their new house in new berlin. every time i see them they are so much bigger than the last! it was fun playing with them, reading books and coloring with hailey (she loves to read) and catching up with meliss. she and i have been good friends since early childhood (as in, like 2 and 3 years old). melissa is about 2 weeks away from having baby #3, so i'm excited to be in town when it happens and to actually get to visit her in the hospital for the first time. what a celebration! no one knows what she's having yet, so i'll place my bet right here and now and say it's a girl. i have a 50/50 chance, so why not?

bunny and i, dinner at la fuente before the imax

wed night i stayed at my dad's house, and we saw a double feature at the imax since bunny had free tickets. it was very educational (and interesting). volcanoes and outer space and the like. makes me realize how huge this world is and how in the grand scheme of this young planet's life span, we aren't even a speck of dust on the spectrum.

having inappropriate amounts of fun at la estacion

thursday i caught up with friends from spring creek. theresa came over for a little sun tanning on the pier (though the clouds came in quickly after a short hour) and then she and i ventured out to la estacion for dinner and met up with josh, stephanie, emily and abby. it was super fun! we got there around 6:30 and stayed until about 10pm so i think that's a pretty good indication of a good time. even chenoa stopped by after work. i love my friends!

sarah, courtney and nick

friday was another busy, busy, super fun day. i drove to chicago to stay with anne and rachel in their new apartment. it's under some rehab, but when it's finished i think it will be adorable. i'm still pretty astounded at the prices of everything around here. even in chicago, the rent seems SO CHEAP! i can't wait to leave dc- i'll feel like i'm getting a great deal on everything i buy...though that could lead to some dangerous shopping sprees! friday night was matt's graduation party, and i was SO surprised and excited to see courtney and nick there. i wasn't expecting to catch them before they left chicago to return to st. louis, and seeing them definitely made my night. it was a great party, with an assortment of 7 types of dips, many drinks and 2 great hosts. seeing so many familiar faces made me miss chicago and reconsider moving there after dental school is over, despite the frigid winters.

lincoln park sights

bff's with bubble tea

saturday, anne and i continued living it up in the city by attending megan and pam's rooftop party, celebrating....the lincoln park festival? those girls have an incredible apartment, so maybe they were celebrating that. post party, we ventured out and walked around the lakeview/lincoln park area where i used to live. it was great revisiting it! we got bubble tea from a tiny restaurant, visited Pocket Puppies and played with the tiniest dogs i've ever seen, and i took the liberty of having a mini shopping spree at anthropologie, my new favorite-i-can't-afford-to-buy-anything-there store. the sun was shining on us all afternoon, we had some great conversations, and it was just like old times when we were roomies in alpha chi. =) gosh i miss that girl! maybe after school is done i'll just move wherever she is just because she's so much fun. saturday night i drove back to wisco, windows rolled down and the tunes cranked up. it was some great God-time. i got back home just in time for a hot dinner off the bbq grill, caught up with mom, steve and grandma and relaxed for a little bit.

kayla, off to madison next year

sunday was another busy day with church and a graduation party on little muskego lake (where my dad lives) and today, monday was a slightly less busy day, that i got to spend with mom all on my OWN! i felt so selfish getting her all to myself for a full day, but it was great! we had fun running errands with the top down and our girlie music on, laying on the pier, exploring the lake on the paddle boat and having a delicious lunch out on the deck. tonight i saw pops again for a brewers game against the nationals, which we (the brewers, duh! please note that i am no traitor, nor have i ever been. loyal to a fault.) lost horrifically! the nationals had TWO grand slams!!! i don't think i've EVER been at a game where that has happened before, especially with a team that is performing the worst in all of mlb. we left at the 7th inning, we were so outraged. the score was 13-6 nationals. in the brew crew's defense, we have 3 injured pitchers, but seriously? just ridiculous. i was expecting a big W.

sunday's sunset over the water

this week will surely continue the craziness, with friends coming over to the lake nearly every day (girls day with theresa and liz tomorrow!), hopefully some better weather, and emily's wedding in chicago on saturday.

....and that's the play-by-play of this girl's first week at home, in this small town....