Our Annual Milwaukee Trip.....

Every year we head out in the family truckster, complete with the rooftop carrier, for the Northwestern Mutual's Annual Meeting. One might say it is the "ground hog day" of vacations--same hotels, same restaurants, and even the same activities at the same times. :) Thank goodness the kids like the structure and predictability this affords!

We headed out to Milwaukee on July 22nd this year. BUT WAIT, we really shook it up this year as we went a different direction so that we could stop and meet Michelle Zoromski and her family who just brought Lilya home a week prior from Bella's same orphanage.

Here are the kids at a Culver's right before we got to the Zoromskis:


Here is Bella, Lilya, and Ruby (Lilya's new little sister):

Lilya and Bella:

Elizabeth and Lilya (Elizabeth got to love on Lilya last summer at the Berizka orphanage)....

And, finally, here is Bella & me and Lilya & Michelle...

We had so much fun meeting Lilya's family. We got to meet Lilya last year at the orphanage, so it was so special to see her again living with her wonderful new family!

After our short stop to meet Lilya and her family, we headed south to Milwaukee. On Friday and Saturday we spent most of the time in the hotel water park because Daddy had meetings for special needs planning.

On Saturday night, we went to the "MinnKota" dinner held at a really nice place called "Mikey's".

Here are the kids at their table:

Sunday morning we participated in the fun walk...they close down downtown Milwaukee so that over 10,000 agents, home office personnel, and their families can participate in the Roots and Wings Run/Walk.

Sunday afternoon we went to the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa to do a little shopping. After that, we went to the "Garden Party" where the agents and their famlies eat under four big tents, listen to music, play games, and have the Milwaukee Zoo all to ourselves....





Monday night Elizabeth & Daddy got all dolled up and went to the College Awards Night....
On Tuesday we went to the waterpark, then the two olders and I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Loved it once again! :) After a full day, we went to Mo's Irish Pub for dinner.

We headed out for home on Wednesday morning and all voted in favor of driving straight through. Fourteen hours later, we arrived safe and sound and glad to be home.

Until next year.....