Fun in the Sun

This summer has been a hot one! I thought Wisconsin would be a little cooler than Utah, and from what I hear it usually is, but this heat wave (plus the humidity!) has mostly kept us inside enjoying our AC. However, we did enjoy some fun in the sun this past weekend and for the Fourth of July.

On Saturday, we met up with Brady and JaNae's family at a fun community pool in Galena. Jaxon rode his first water slide! It was kind of a slow one, and Travis held him up before hitting the pool at the bottom. He seemed to like it, and so did we, so we rode it over and over again.

For the Fourth, we had a fun branch activity in the morning where we ate a yummy breakfast and took a U.S. history trivia quiz, which I won! (I don't know...maybe it was a little unfair for me to play. ;)) The prize was a gift card to Culvers, a popular restaurant out here. Which is great, because we've been meaning to try it since we moved here.

In the evening, we were invited to a barbecue with friends from the branch where we had yummy food and hilarious conversations. We've really enjoyed our branch and appreciate how much they've reached out to us since we've been here. Jaxon was also able to watch his first fireworks. He was fine for all of it except the last one, which surprised all of us! Sparks were flying everywhere, and it was very loud. Jaxon started crying, poor little guy! But all in all, it was a successful Fourth of July. :)

Madison Farmers' Market

Everyone here has told us wonderful things about the Madison Farmers Market, we just had to check it out. It's held every Saturday morning right on the capitol square, surrounding the capitol building.

It was huge! We couldn't believe how many farmers, bakers, and cheese makers were there selling their products. We got freshly made squeaky cheese, and a hot loaf of cheese bread. It was delicious!

(Yes, that's me wearing a cowboy hat. Travis thought I'd look nice in one...)

We took a minute to sit down and enjoy our food while listening to the local music groups. After the market, we walked to the Monona Terrace that overlooks Monona Lake. We've really enjoyed Madison since we've been here. It's probably one of the nicest capitals I've been to.

Smack, Smack...

We discovered this past weekend that Jaxon loves spaghetti, which is great because we have it all the time!

He's also crawling a lot better now, standing himself up in his pack 'n play, and he can wave at himself in the mirror and occasionally when I say "Hola". It's pretty cute!

Beautiful Nauvoo

In continuation of our adventures in the midwest, we just spent a whirlwind weekend in Nauvoo! This was a first for Travis and Jaxon, so it was extra special. It's about a four hour drive, so we arrived late Friday evening and shared a tent with Travis's brother and his family.

Travis and I got up early the next morning to attend a session in the Nauvoo temple. Technically, our temple is the Chicago temple, but since we were in Nauvoo we couldn't pass up the opportunity. It was such a wonderful experience, and so beautiful. We kept thinking about the people who built the original temple, and how there were so many people who wanted their work done before moving out west. The spirit was so strong. Many thanks to Brady and JaNae for watching Jaxon while we were gone. :)

After the temple, our families took a fun carriage ride around Nauvoo and learned all about the history of the area. Travis and I then took a quick drive down to Carthage where he was able to see Carthage Jail for the first time. It's incredible that the original door is still in place and you can see the bullet holes. We loved every minute of it.

When we came back, we visited some of the recreated buildings and had a scrumptious dinner at Hotel Nauvoo. To end the day, we watched "Sunset By the Mississippi" (a hilarious musical program put on by senior and volunteer missionaries), and the BYU Ballroom Dance team which was on tour in Nauvoo!

We got home at two in the morning and woke up early for church the next day, but it was well worth the trip!

Madison and The Dells

We've been having so much fun exploring Wisconsin- it seems like there's so much we want to do in so little time! This weekend, our family took a day trip to Madison, Wisconsin's capitol. Travis spent the day on a service project with other Lands' End employees, while Jaxon and I explored Madison.

Madison is a beautiful capitol, I really enjoyed it. We dropped by the Monona Terrace (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) which sits right on the lake in front of the capitol building. After that, we found the Henry Villa Zoo, which is free! There were a lot of kids there on field trips, and Jaxon didn't really seem interested in the animals, so we didn't stay long. We spent the rest of the day walking around Lake Monona and playing in the sand.

That evening we drove up to Wisconsin Dells and met up with Travis's brother, cousin, and their families. It's fun being so close to them, and we're looking forward to lots of adventures with them this summer. The next day we took a nice, rigorous hike at Devil's Lake State Park. About ten minutes into the hike we decided to ditch the stroller and borrow Bryce's baby carrier. We climbed rocks for what seemed like forever, but we had such beautiful views of Devil's Lake that it was worth it.

When we got back, we went swimming at the clubhouse pool and enjoyed hot dogs and s'mores around a fire. It was so much fun to be with great company in such beautiful surroundings. I can't believe how beautiful Wisconsin is turning out to be.

Life in America's Dairyland

We've made it! Our family is now settled in and thoroughly enjoying Wisconsin. It is so beautiful here! We love how green everything is, and how there's nothing but farms as far as the eye can see.

The town we live in is very small. We live right on the main street and have a good view of everything from our living room windows. Monday, we celebrated Memorial Day by watching the parade go past our house. Our bedroom balcony made for a perfect view. The parade only lasted about 5 minutes, but it was great, "small town America" fun.

Church is amazing- it's only been one Sunday and we absolutely LOVE our branch. Everyone has been so warm and friendly. There are lots of young families in the branch, and many who graduated from BYU who are now working for Lands' End, so we feel very comfortable around them already! On Monday, we were invited to a Memorial Day picnic, and the night before that we had been invited to a marshmallow roast. Everyone is really fun to be around and get to know.

Travis started work yesterday, but he has a couple of days of orientation before he can really get to the meat of his work. But he's very excited to see what he can learn from and contribute to Lands' End.

Everything that we've seen and experienced out here so far has been amazing. We've truly loved it and can't wait for the rest of summer to get underway!

Wisconsin, Ho!

We're moving! For the summer, that is. Travis accepted a summer internship with Lands' End where he'll work with a group of inventory strategists (although he tells everyone he's been hired as a model...). He was flown out for a second interview last month and was able to meet his team and see the facilities. He was very impressed, and is excited to work with them.

We already have so many ideas of fun things we need to do while in Wisconsin! We can't wait for all the adventures that await us there this summer.