October 6th, 2018

Milwaukee Bachelorette Trip: Day 2

Today was so fun! We started the day off putting on the matching shirts the girls had gotten for us! They were Disney-themed, of course! Once everyone was changed and ready to go, we headed to get brunch at the cutest, tastiest little restaurant in the area.

After we were stuffed, we did some walking around and shopping before getting ready again and heading out for the pedal tavern! We arrived early, so we went inside the attached rustic bar to warm up and have a drink. I also got a photo with a stuffed goat. ;)

When we finally got on the pedal cart we discovered that we had been paired with another bachelorette party, so that was pretty cool! We all had a great time with the other girls, laughing and blasting tunes out of the speakers on the cart. Boy, did you really have to pedal! The cart was 100% man-powered, so if we all weren't peddling the thing wasn't moving!

Our first stop was George's Pub, which was a sketchy-looking dive bar that ended up being a total riot! We got beads and raffle tickets as we walked in the door, and both Becky and Jess ended up winning some silly prizes!

Cutest. Shirts. EVER. 😍😍

Our second stop was at a cool brewery which had a huge garage door open to the outside.

The third place was a sports bar that had bowls of peanuts on all the counters!

The last stop was Drink Wisconsinbly...and tbh I don't remember much about this bar, lol. Overall it was an absolute blast. I had so much fun with all my girls!

After the pedal tavern we headed back to change for dinner. We ate at this amazing Italian restaurant called Onesto where I had the world's best ravioli! Afterward we had planned to do an escape room but it was still kinda early, so we headed to a trendy Japanese bar next door to wait until it was our turn.

We ended up barely making it out of "The Dig"! We only had just 30 seconds to spare! After the escape room, we stopped at one last bar that had a cute outdoor patio before calling it a night. It was such a fun-filled day!!

October 5th, 2018 (Pt 2)

White Lake Bachelor Trip: Day 2

After enjoying a breakfast fit for champions, the boys had a laidback morning resting before they later went to the resort restaurant for lunch.




The resort was next to empty, so they enjoyed strolling around and looking for peacocks before heading back to the cabin for another fun night!

October 5th, 2018

Milwaukee Bachelorette Trip: Day 1

My bachelorette weekend in Milwaukee with my two bridesmaids, my mom, & my Aunt Susie started tonight!! 💕



But! Before I left to head to my mom's (we all drove together minus Jess) I was surprised with my wedding present from my best friend Ang! She got me the most adorable carousel picture frame EVER! I'm literally obsessed.

She also sent me her lucky jade pendant, which I'm going to incorporate into my wedding day outfit! We promised each other years ago that we'd let one another borrow our "lucky" necklaces for our wedding days...it's so incredibly special to me to get to use it.

Anyways, so I got to my mom's and we all headed out! Thankfully Milwaukee is like, maybe two hours away so the drive took no time at all. Once we arrived, we met up with Jess and brought our things to our hotel room. While we were getting ready to head out to grab dinner and drinks, the girls showered me with gifts. My mom got me the gorgeous necklace pictured below, while Becky & Sue got me some goodies from Victoria Secret. :)

Since we were all giving gifts, I finally gave my two ladies their bridesmaid boxes! We were so excited back at the engagement party that we just kind of abruptly asked everyone to be apart of our of big day (without any cute gifts 😬). But I finally made sure the girls got them! Might’ve just been a tad bit late on the delivery. 😉



We headed out to Wicked Hope (one of Jess's favorite spots—she and my cousin Jon come up to Milwaukee a lot since they're only like an hour away) and chowed down on some delicious grub. We visited the attached club next door for dancing before eventually wandering down the street. The boys had been sending us silly photos at the cabin, so we sent some back of me as well, lol.



We ended up accidentally stumbling upon a speakeasy bar! I had never been to one before and it seriously was the coolest thing ever. It was super authentic and also very large! There was a live band, dancers, and so much cool décor. There was a "butcher's shop" out front that looked so real! The only reason we found it was because Becky was being silly and went to try to pull open a door she assumed was locked.

It was definitely a successful first night! :)

October 4th, 2018

White Lake Bachelor Trip: Day 1

Mike left on his Bachelor Trip today! He and his three groomsmen (Zack, Mitch, & Jax) minus Luke (who's away in the marines) went to our favorite place in Montello: White Lake! Our friend Tommy went with too. The boys had a good drive up and spent the first night having a great time together. :)

October 3rd, 2018

I cannot even begin to talk about how much I love and appreciate Mike’s Aunt Mary. ☺️💕 She truly is the sweetest, most supportive lady and I always look forward to seeing and talking to her! She is such a blessing to me. She has especially been such an encouragement when we sometimes haven't gotten the expected support from some parties. Her love and compassion for me is so evident! And texts from her (even simple ones like this) absolutely make my day. I love you very much Mary!! ❤️❤️

October 1st, 2018

This week my kiddies learned about Adam & Eve and the Garden of Eden! They loved hearing the story read aloud from the Bible, as well as making their "original sin" apple cores and their cunning, trickster snakes. Teaching these sweet kids absolutely warms my heart! It makes me so proud to see them arriving to class eager to learn each week and to hear them answering all my questions correctly whenever we review our lessons. ☺️🍎🐍

September 30th, 2018

So obviously we have a whole bunch of firewood now but don't have any type of wood storage unit to hold it all. So, naturally, Mike just went and built one from scratch out of pallets! Is this guy even human?? Like for real! He constantly amazes me. :)

September 29th, 2018

Conquered my 3rd Warrior Dash (and my 5th 5K!) today alongside my hunky fiancé!

Later in the evening, and after we cleaned all that mud off, we headed over to my family's house to hang out and go bowling. I got second place for both games!

Thankful every day for my baby brother--whom is also one of my very best friends. Love you Lil’ J! Thanks for never being "too cool" to hang out with your big sis. 💖🐧⚡️🐸

September 24th, 2018

It’s literally been only a week since we sent out our invitations and we already have 50 confirmed guests!! 😍

September 23rd, 2018

With the wedding getting closer with each passing day, it has become increasingly important to us over the last few months to find a special way to honor those in both of our lives who have since passed on. We finally came up with an idea to go visit each of our grandparents at their respective cemeteries and drop off a wedding invitation. Although they won’t be in attendance, we know that they’ll all be looking down on us from Heaven with proud, smiling faces. (Unfortunately, we won’t have an opportunity to fly down to see Paul in Alabama, but you can bet he was not forgotten as we made our visits.)

I can just imagine them all there: Rita & Richard would be a riot—ever the loud, Italian grandparents who’d be overjoyed to join in on the celebrations. Ron would give one of his famous back-breaking hugs and laugh that unforgettable throaty laugh of his. Bernie & Pat would be the soft-spoken ones of the bunch; not as noisy as the others but easily the most sentimental. Paul’s eyes would hold that familiar twinkle as he flashed that signature German smile. And Emil, well, he probably would’ve been the one to marry us if he were still around today!

It was so lovely getting to visit them all and leave behind an invitation with some flowers. Well, all except for my grandparents...who are ten feet high in their mausoleum! 😜 An invite on the sill had to suffice. My poor Grandpa Ron’s grave was half-buried by grass--Mike so sweetly dug him out. Rita & Richard have a beautiful shady spot underneath a large tree, while Pat is happily nestled beside her mother and brother. And lucky Paul gets to enjoy that gorgeous Alabama weather year-round.

We miss all of them and so greatly wish they were still here with us to share in our special day. But we know they’re all so excited and proud of their grandkids. It’s safe to say that there will be seven amazing people smiling down on us on the 10th. ❤️