I Love You, California!

Remember how I mentioned that the original plan was that we would be permanently living in Honolulu by June 24th? Well, when Katie and Alex ended up planning their honeymoon/one year anniversary trip for the end of June we invited them to stay in Honolulu with us. Luckily it worked out that we had the Kaimuki Cottage, and they had a hotel lined up just in case. They stayed a couple of nights at the hotel, and a couple of nights with us. We had a fantastic time showing them around Honolulu, having some lazy beach days, watching World Cup games, snorkeling with turtles, seeing turtles on the beach, eating a lot of sushi and poke and other really amazing food, and swimming in waterfalls, too. It was almost like they moved here, too! Until we all had to go back to California, when it then felt like Hawai'i was just a dream and maybe life would be normal again, until we picked up and moved to Honolulu, and they're on their way back East in just a few weeks. Of course the plan is th...

It's wonderful because it produces bananas like these and then I get to eat them! Will went up to the site today and brought these back from his farmer's neighboring banana orchard. Apple bananas. A little tart. A lot tasty : )

Will came to Honolulu a couple of weeks ago in hopes of finding us a place to live, so that we would be able to arrive on June 24th and have a place to call home. Our list of requirements was pretty long and narrowed down our options quite a bit: two bedrooms, in one of two highly sought after neighborhoods, furnished, and accepts two cats. These requirements, along with low inventory, a competitive rental market, and limited area due to constraints of the geography meant slim pickings and no luck. Will toured a couple of places, but we were always the next couple behind another couple who looked at it right before Will, or the cats were OK so long as none of the neighbors knew. Yikes! This was getting stressful. It's the middle of June, we have to move out of our current apartment by July 8th, we're supposed to move to Hawai'i, but we have no place to live! Will came back to California, and we set a trip for June 24th to find a place to live. We'd have to go for a week...

Margaretta is one busy lady and even though we had been in Bayfield since Thursday night, today was the soonest we were able to see her! We went into Ashland to have lunch and we stopped at one of the coolest places I've ever been to. There is a family dairy farm outside of Washburn that has a small building where passersby can stop in, select anything from cheese curds to ice cream sandwiches, to tubs of ice cream, to eggs, and milk, and on and on. Then, you just put your payment in an envelop and put it in a depository and you're on your way! How cool is that?! After devour our ice cream sandwiches we drove Margaretta back to Bayfield and explored around a little. Here are Will and Margaretta on a bridge.

Saturday was unfortunately pretty cold and wet, but we all made the best of it and the bride and groom were very handsome looking. Here are some of us girls at the reception. And here are Will and Mark!

This weekend our friends Jen and Dan got married in Bayfield! It's been a long time since we've had much of a getaway when Will didn't have to work during the trip, but a lack of internet and even a phone signal went a long way toward stepping back and enjoying time together, and with great friends, too! On Friday the girls took the ferry to Madeline Island to rent mopeds and bikes, and have a celebratory libation at the Beach Club. Here's the biker gang!

And I didn't get one picture, ugh! On Tuesday we moved over to Emily and Nate's house for the next two nights before we head up north to Bayfield, WI for the next wedding! For dinner we went out to Barbette in Uptown at Will's request. It was so strange to have to drive and park to Barbette. (Remember, we used to live across the ally from this great establishment!) After a nostalgic dinner, we walked up the street to Stella's rooftop, where many of our friends came to meet us! Two nights before we left Minneapolis for California we gathered everyone on Stella's rooftop, so it only seemed fitting to do it all again! We feel so loved that so many people were able to make it out to celebrate Will's birthday with us!

Will and I had a wonderful visit with Brittany and Tim. We grilled dinner at home on Monday, played cards, the boys played pool, and we had some good heart to hearts with these two! I really would like to just move into their basement apartment! It's so cozy, a great personal space, and you can't beat the hosts! Cooking dinner!

On Sunday our friends Rob and Hali invited us to their beautiful new home, along with our friends Nate and Emily, Tim and Michelle, and of course all the little kids, now too! It was great to meet two new little girls that have made an appearance since we were last in Minneapolis, and chat with our amazing long time friends. We miss them so much! Here are the boys! After the BBQ we headed to Brittany and Tim's house, who graciously hosted us for the next two nights!

We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends in our lives. We were invited to the wedding of two dear friends, JJ and Ashley, which was happening in Minneapolis. We decided to make a week of it and see our wonderful friends. Friday and Saturday nights we stayed with our friends Sean and Kiri. I have to say that I got a little caught up in everything and sadly didn't take that many pictures of our time in Minneapolis. Here we are at the wedding on Saturday evening.

Tuesday was a busy day for Meredith with some trainings and other meetings. I rode along with her and did some shopping in the areas where the offices were located. It was fun to get to see her in action! All this work didn't leave much time for play, but we had a fun day planned for today. We got up bright and early to attend a PureBarre class. This is an exercise class that uses a ballet barre and other floor equipment for a workout that kicks your butt, almost quite literally. There were moments in the class when I wasn't sure if I would be able to sit back down because of the outrageous backwards leg lifts I had to do. Fortunately I was still able to move, but boy was I sore for a couple of days! After a great class we went back home because we had a busy afternoon planned! Mom and Dad were set to arrive from Madison, Will was arriving at Midway that evening, and David was landing later that night. Once Mom and Dad got to the house we walked down to pick up some cassero...

This morning Mere woke up bright and early to stop by one of her client's offices, which allowed me to sleep in and take it easy. When she got home we ate some lunch and ventured off into the city. We stopped by TJMaxx and got some bargains before we drove downtown to go to the top of the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). The Skydeck on the 103rd floor had opened up in the last couple of years but Mere said that David wouldn't want to go up there with her, but I was certainly up for it! Thank goodness we went on a weekday; it was so busy and I can't imagine what the lines would be like on the weekend. We quickly walked through the "museum" at the entrance and got to the elevators. There are two elevators. They pack you in like sardines and as the door closes they say "90 seconds to the top!" and you cross everything you can, not only for good luck but because you're trying to make yourself as small as possible in the sardine can. A short vid...

I got in late in the evening on Saturday so we just spent time together at home. Today was filled with outings! First we went to the new organic nail salon that Meredith likes to go to, and got pedicures. Once our toes were all shiny and pink it was time for a snack. We stopped back at home for treats that Meredith had been raving about. There is a new cupcake shop in her neighborhood that makes amazing cupcakes and other scrumptious treats. She had stopped there with David a couple days earlier and had some goodies waiting at home. We started by sharing this: It's a Cinnamon Toast Crunch treat! (instead of Rice Krispies) Yummy! Oh yes, and Mere's legendary bloodies to go with! (Don't judge, we're on vacation!) This weekend also happened to be Maifest in Chicago, which is right in Mere's neighborhood, so we walked over for some drinks and very interesting people watching. For the remainder of the afternoon we really couldn't stop thinking ...