Visit From our TN Family

My parents & brother Spencer came up from TN to visit us this last week! I hadn't seen them since the beginning of May (?)--about a month before we moved. I have been so excited for their arrival! They drove all night & got here around 5am...bless their driving hearts, it was a long drive. I am so glad they did, though--we enjoyed every second!

They ended up staying longer than originally planned (yay!), and we had a blast. It was wonderful to have them here and enjoy making Wisconsin memories with them--they absolutely loved it!

Here is my favorite pic from their time here--aren't they the cutest couple EVER?

They hold hands, kiss, and follow sunsets.

Talk about romantic.

My parents are awesome--and my appreciation has grown 100 fold since I have become a parent myself. Here's the group from TN plus the little one:

J, Grandmama, Granddaddy, & Uncle Spencer
Of course one of the most important visits during their stay was to a CHEESE factory/store! We actually went to two: Sutner's & Mullin's. Both were good. I prefer Mullin's of the two. Anyway, we proved our true cheesehead selves, relished the squeakiness of the curds, and marvelled at the many varieties of cheese (and herring...?...).
Here are some of the pics of me & Mom while they were here.

This woman is amazing.

Ask anyone.

Or just ask me.

She is crafty, witty, smart, cool, devoted, and the most positive person you will ever meet. We enjoyed down time at home, visits all around, shopping The Dollar Tree & crafty stores, driving around & she even came to my cake decorating class!

Love my Mama!
And my brother Spencer.
For those of you who don't know, I have 3 amazing brothers. Spencer is the youngest, he is going to school to get a degree in accounting, but he knows not to talk numbers with me. HA. He is one of the most inspiring people in my life, and an above-average UNCLE. J loved spending time with him & Spencer was a great babysitter when I was busy.
Aren't some of the most fun stops the ones that aren't planned?

We stopped on the side of the highway to get some sweet corn (mmmMmmmm) & some free apples. Classic summertime eats. We made a delicious corn and blueberry salad (seriously--delish!) & I am going to attempt an apple treat later today.
At the farmer's market, Mom discovered in her stash (of more corn)--the teeniest tiniest corn cob we'd ever seen. Check out its cuteness:
Note: That last pic of Trevor with his 'foo man choo' has nothing to do with the teeniest tiniest corn. But it does have to do with silliness & corn.

Another classic Wisconsin experience (that we hadn't done before) was the DAIRY FARM. They are everywhere--after all, this is "AMERICA'S DAIRYLAND" (did you know that?).

We went to the largest one in the area--Van Der Geest Dairy.

We're talking HUGE.

3,000 cows

milked 3x day

It was fascinating...and really stinky.

We enjoyed the local farmer's market...

Dad bought some "purple potatoes" (pretty good!)

Mom bought some more corn

I bought an amish-made loaf of dill bread (mmMMmmm)

And we all had brats & 'Dang!' brand Caramel Root Beer (made in Milwaukee, WI) for lunch & took a walk along the river & across a bridge to a little island in the sun. It was a perfect start to a fun Saturday.

So...we made lots of little trips and the TN crew even enjoyed a day trip on their own (up to Phillips, WI to see this) This site also good.

We spent an evening with friends from church who shared a common SWEDISH connection with Dad, and I made a dala horse cake for the event. I made tons of roses for my last class of Wilton Cake Decorating Course 3, so there was a lot of SUGAR in the air as we hung out together. We ate out at a few local places and tried out some of the local favorites for ice cream, etc. CHEESE was a theme and anything dairy...delish!

One of the highlights for J was the makeshift climbing wall (made from the bottom of Uncle Spencer's air mattress-bed)...he discovered it one evening & wanted to climb EVERY DAY after that. He would probably be climbing it *right now* if we hadn't discovered a hole in it last night!

Note: Will post video of the climbing soon--the boy has no fear!

Monday evening we ate out at the Wausau Mine Co. which is designed to look like the inside (and outside) of a mine--we were very impressed! The food was good & we had a great time there.

These 4 photos document our (Dad & I/Dad's & mine/mine & Dad's?) 8 block CLIMB up to the art museum. Dad had no clue it was going to be uphill & I didn't realize how steep it was...hilarious. We were too stubborn to get in the car when offered (at about block 3 before we really started to ascend), and enjoyed the views the historic district has to offer.

And here are the 3 stooges:

Or something like that.

Spencer noticed that J had a shirt that matched his, so we decided to have a day where the two were matchy-matchy. Then Mom noticed that I had a shirt that coordinated with the striped theme as well...so we went with it.

We are so glad that the 3 Jacksons from Tennessee were able to take time out to drive 'up North' for a visit. The house is all quiet now, and we miss them!! Thanks to Spud, Mom, & Dad for all of the details, the extras, the moments, and the memories. It was the best!