Thursday:
We set out for Milwaukee in the late morning and got away with only making one stop from here to there for a potty/nursing break. After making great time, we stretched our legs and did a little walking at a few stores before meeting our friend Tasha and her boyfriend for supper. We ate at a place called The Chancery. As you can see in the picture, I think this is largest glass of lemonade I have ever ordered! Tasha and I went to high school together and I cherish the time we can meet up and see one another.
After dinner, we went to stay with our friends, the Zeman's. Matt and Chris were college roommates and his wife Stacie also went to UWEC with us. They have two little boys, Chase and Cade, who are 5 and almost 3. We spent the rest of Thursday night getting settled, getting the kids acquainted with each other since it was their first meeting, and of course taking a walk down memory lane and sharing stories from college.
Friday:
We woke up to a delicious breakfast of omelets, pancakes, and sausage. We were quite spoiled! Our systems were fueled and ready for our big day at the Milwaukee Zoo. I had not been there since I was very young and Kelsey was pretty anxious to see all the animals. The weather turned out perfect as well. It was such a nice day there! The zoo has a great set-up where the animals are all in close proximity to each other allowing you to see more animals and not have to walk so much. They also had many animals that Kelsey recognized and was able to identify. Plus, we went on a train ride that the Zeman boys really like to do when they go on their own. When we got back to Zeman's house, we ate lunch and all just relaxed for the afternoon. The kiddos all napped or rested and so did some of the adults ;) The weather remained beautiful and we grilled out for supper. Chris made some amazing burgers that I will be getting the recipe for! The night was spent with the kids playing, having some beverages, and watching the Twins/Brewers game.
Saturday:
We woke up to cinnamon rolls( Kelsey's favorite!) and got ready to say our goodbyes to the Zeman family. They were amazing hosts and we were so happy to get to see them. However, it was time to head to Chicago for a wedding. Matt's parents met us there and we were able to get settled in the hotel for a little bit before the ceremony. Matt's good high school friend Tim got married and I had been anxiously awaiting this wedding because his beautiful new bride is 100% Polish! Obviously that is right up my alley with being primarily Polish myself. There were many Polish traditions incorporated into the day and I loved it all. To name a few, a reading at mass was said in Polish, they served pierogis and Polish sausage as part of the hors' douvres, I met relatives directly from Poland, I heard the Polish language spoken everywhere, they had Polish snacks brought out later in the evening, and many desserts were Polish as well. Speaking of desserts, they had the biggest dessert table I have ever seen. Period. It was something to behold. We were able to see some of Matt's high school friends, too. Kelsey and Megan were 2 of maybe 5 kids at the wedding, so I was a little bit nervous they might act up or cause a scene at some point, but they were both outstanding. They actually got a lot of positive praise for their behavior which made us very proud as parents. Congrats Tim and Monica and thank you for including us and our family in your special day. We loved it!
Sunday:
Today was Mattey's birthday! We checked out of our hotel in Chicago and went to Wisconsin Dells to celebrate Matt's special day. Dave and Vickie joined us as well which made it that much more fun. We stayed at Copa Cabana resort and Kelsey loved the water. Although she had a very hard time staying warm. Her poor little lips were blue and she was shivering a lot, but she didn't want to get out of the water. The skinny-mini is so little that it doesn't take much for her to be cold. Regardless of the temperature though she was a fish in the water. Megan also had her first experience in the pool. We let her sit in the water and splash a little bit before tuckering out and sleeping by Grandpa.
After swimming we went to eat at a place called Moose Jaw. The food was really good and they even sang Happy Birthday to Matt. 
After dinner we tackled Mount Olympus for a bit. Our hotel gave us free passes so we figured we might as well try it out. Matt and Vickie went on a few roller coasters, Kelsey went on a few of her rides, and Grandpa, Megan and I took pictures and watched them. 
To round out the night and Matt's birthday, Dave, Mattey and I went to Ho-Chunk casino to test our luck and Grandma and the girls watched a movie and played cards in the hotel. I think we were all pretty tired by the end of the day, but it was all worth it.
Some trip highlights:
Kelsey recently watched Despicable Me and a character in it says "Oh yeah!" So Matt made up this game where we would say "Oh yeah" and then add a random word to the end like "oh yeah-pickles" "oh yeah-silly monkey" etc. Kelsey's favorites were "oh yeah-hot dog" and "oh yeah-french fry."
Seeing so many friends-Tasha, Zemans, Tim and Monica, Andrew and Jen--We love spending time with them all.
Spending quality time with Matt's parents and seeing how much the girls love them and interact with them
All the Polish traditions at the wedding
How good the girls were in the car--no accidents, hardly any crying unless tired, hungry or wet, and lots of singing songs and playing I Spy
Celebrating Matt's birthday
Surviving our first big trip away from home and watching the joy in Kelsey's eyes as we did everything.
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