Our Crazy Few Months

The past couple months have been a complete whirlwind for our family. After spending 6 months in a Residence Inn in Madison, Wisconsin, Michael finally got the call at the end of August that he would be the new Branch Manager for his company's Houston, Texas location. We had been waiting for this call for over a year but once it finally came, it just seemed so surreal!
They didn't give us much time to even think about it since they wanted us there the first week of October. We packed up all of our stuff, which wasn't much since we left most of our belongings in Idaho, and hit the road on September 5th.

 We wanted to drive home a different way than we came so we decided to go through Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming with a pit stop at Mount Rushmore since Michael and Elliot had never seen it. It was a welcome stop to get out and stretch our legs. Elliot took off running and absolutely did not want to go back in his car seat afterwards. But who could blame him after 2 days of being buckled in a chair I would probably run away at the first chance I got too!

 It was a very long 3 days in the car and I swear I could feel my pores shriveling up as we drove further and further from Wisconsin's humidity. It always amazes me how the landscape changes as you drive. This really is a beautiful country we live in and we have been so lucky to see so much of it.

Michael was only home for two days before he had to fly to Houston and take the reins of his new office so we saw what family we could, washed a few loads of laundry and then he left for Houston and Elliot and I started packing, and cleaning and packing some more. After living in a hotel for 6 months with hardly any belongings, I think I had forgotten how much stuff we actually owned! Michael tried to find us a new place to live while he was in Texas but came back home without much luck.
We spent the next week and a half seeing as much family and friends as possible, and I am sad to say that we didn't quite make the rounds to everyone and I also was not very diligent about taking pictures when we did see our family and friends.

 Moving is time consuming and apparently A LOT of work. I don't remember our previous moves being so labor intensive. That said, we had never lived anywhere else that long (almost 5 years), we had never moved with a kid before and we had definitely never moved cross-country before. Needless to say, with the help of our amazing family and friends we did eventually cross the finish line. We got our U-haul packed up and our house cleaned spic-and-span in just 2 days before we had to hit the road. We also finally locked down a place to live just two days before we left Idaho. Talk about stressful!

Moving to Texas has been bittersweet. We were extremely sad to leave all of our family and friends but we are so excited for this new adventure. We are ready to start our next chapter and experience everything that is in store for us. Here's hoping this chapter is a good one! 

Our Six Months in Madison, Wisconsin

So, let me start out by apologizing for all the missing pictures from my previous posts. Somehow the links got broken. I thought about going back to re-find all those pictures and fix the links, but let's be honest - that's probably not going to happen. Who has time for that nonsense anyways? I hope your'e not TOO  disappointed...

It has really been super long time since I have written a blog post but I have been contemplating starting up again for quite a while and I guess today is the day! I don't have anything else better to do and it's better late than never right?!? At least that's how the procrastinator inside me justifies it...
A lot of changes are happening in our lives this year. In February the company Mike works for, RS&I, asked us to come to Madison, Wisconsin for 2 months while he worked on fixing the branch and hiring a new branch manager. Due to unforeseen circumstances that 2 month commitment quickly became 3 and then 4 and eventually 6 months. Before we knew what hit us it was August! While it has been long, interesting, sometimes boring and occasionally excruciatingly lonely, we have been so grateful for the opportunity we have had to be together as a family this whole time instead of Mike having to travel back and forth. And Elliot and I were even lucky enough to go back to Idaho for a visit in June paid for by Michael's company. We have experienced so much and been able to do and see so many fun things while we have been in Wisconsin.
Here are a few of the fun things we have been able to experience thus far. Prepare for a picture overload...

The beautiful Wisconsin State Capital Building - 

Chicago - Including traditional Chicago style deep-dish pizza at the original Lou Malnati's! 

Henry Vilas Zoo - The FREE Zoo in Madison, WI. Elliot loved the Giraffes! 

Milwaukee, WI - Including a Brewers baseball game (Elliot's 1st MLB game & Mike & I's 4th together). We stayed at a beautiful historic hotel in downtown and attempted to see the Great Lake Michigan but there was so much fog you couldn't hardy see 20 feet! (The second time was much better!)

The Olbrich Botanical Garden. There was a live band there the night we went and it was so much fun to explore the beautiful grounds - minus the hoards of mosquitoes everywhere.

The Wisconsin Dells - The Water Park Capital of the World! 

Alright, I could keep posting pictures ALL DAY LONG, but I think you get the idea! In addition to all these fun things we were also able to celebrate Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, 4th of July and my 27th birthday here in Wisconsin. Needless to say it has been a fun-filled 6 months but we are more than ready to settle down and get back to our regular lives. In just 8 days we will be loading up the car and heading West back to Idaho with a pit stop at Mt. Rushmore along the way. We can't wait to see all our friends and family again but I have to admit, there is a lot I am going to miss about Wisconsin. First and foremost is the humidity, the super intense rain & thunder storms, and the amazing Madison 2nd Ward and all the delicious, cheap gourmet cheese & meat you can possibly dream of. One thing I will NOT miss is living in this stinkin hotel! 

Onward and Upward! I can't wait for our next 6 months of adventures!