Another Family Visitor

We were so happy and lucky to have Eric's sister Melissa come visit us recently.  She was able to come during Emma's last week of school.  We loved every minute she was here, and can't wait to see her again.

We were mostly staying close to home during her visit because Emma had school that week, but we still managed to have fun.  Between lunch with friends, helping a friend make some crafts for girls camp, Emma's taekwondo classes, and games at home, we kept fairly busy.

We started things off by heading out to Lake Geneva and enjoyed dinner at the Sprecher restaurant while we were there (it's Emma's favorite!).  It's always so pretty out there, no matter what time of year it is.  This time of year, however, it's super crowded.  Wow, there were so many people everywhere!

No visit is complete without a trip to the Jelly Belly store (at least according to Emma).  She lives for the sample bar.

Emma's last day of school snuck in there, and I almost didn't get a picture of her.  The one I did get is a little blurry, and was after she got home.  Phew!  Barely made it.  I can hardly believe she's done with 3rd grade.  I swear it was only a year ago she was finishing 2nd grade!  =)

We celebrated her shorter final day by going bowling.  And I'm sticking with the story that I bowled so terribly just so that Emma could beat me.  It was a special gift in honor of her having done so well in school.

Following the bowling we took Melissa to the shooting range.  It was her first time, and I think she might be hooked.  She did a great job.  Emma of course watched from the room behind the range.  This picture was taken from there.  The plastic windows don't really lend themselves to great photos.

For Melissa's last day in town we decided to go explore Milwaukee a little.  First stop: Sprecher factory for the tour.  You get all the soda you can drink on the tour, which sounds great, but you quickly realize how little soda it takes before you start feeling sick.  Adults get some free beer samples too, but of course, we did not partake.





My brother-in-law Brad just happened to be in town on business for a few days, and this was his last day in town.  Lucky for us he had a few hours to kill, so he joined us the rest of our day.  It was great seeing him!

We went to see a gorgeous lighthouse.  I don't think it's possible to take a bad picture of this place!  The grounds were also very amazing.  There were bridges with great iron work, and a path leading down to the beach that looked like it was out of a fairytale.  Melissa even made a crown of flowers for Emma.

Next stop was the riverwalk.  It was the perfect day.  And we bumped into the bronze Fonze.  Ehhhh!

After some late lunch (or early dinner if you like) we headed to the beach just to dip our feet in the water.  Eric and Emma attempted skipping some rocks too.

I think this picture is funny because it looks like Eric just hit that bird with his skipping rock.

Across from the beach was this magnificent house.  This was its backyard.  Whoa.  I would love to try to get used to having this for a backyard.  As long as I didn't have to maintain it!





We then sadly had to take Melissa and Brad to the airport.  It was so much fun seeing them both (even if only for a few hours Brad!).   We hope to see both of them again soon!

Emma and Eric just had to end the day by trying on one of their Sprecher souvenirs and enjoying their favorite Sprecher soda.  Grape vs root beer.  Personally I prefer the root beer.