Whirlwind

That's about the only way I can describe the past few months. I've considered not trying to catch up on my posts, but I feel like I want to for my own benefit.

The end of August brought our big party that we'd been planning over the summer. We meant to have a reception like party when we first got to Wisconsin since so many couldn't come to our wedding, but time went too quickly and the summer slipped away.  But late is better than never, so on the 25th we had an official "Shindig" to party and celebrate and say hello and goodbye to all the wonderful people of Wisconsin that we grew to love so much over the summer. No wonder I had been putting it off... it took ALOT of preparation. We wanted a barn dance.. but let me tell ya- we had to give the barn a serious makeover before there would be any dancing. So we spent a week cleaning it out, spraying it down, shooting the bats, clearing the weeds, setting up lights, etc. etc. We hauled in strawbails and layed planks across them so there were benches around the perimeter. We hired a caterer and a DJ which both turned out fabulous. We sent out invitations and took RSVPs. We worked hard! And the good news is that it was all worth it! Kaylie and Brandon flew in and visited for the weekend and all of Matt's family made it too. That afternoon we took family pictures, played volleyball, ate delicious food, and then danced the night away in the barn full of music and lights. It was a BLAST.

 The Yoose Family

 Grandpa Ivan and Eileen

 Ready for the barn dance

 We visited the capitol building before we dropped Kaylie off at the airport.

 Kaylie even tried the badger bomb to get the full WI experience (people are crazy about their brats here!)

After our fun weekend we sent Kaylie home on the plane and kept Brandon for an extra week. He helped us pack up our house and made the long trek home with us. We had quite an adventure and saw many sights!

 We visted the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. It was unlike anything I've seen. It was pretty awesome.

 We also stopped at Wall, South Dakota. The most random little tourist town I've ever seen. We looked around the shops there and ate a yummy breakfast buffet. They also had some fun photo ops :)

 Next stop was Mt. Rushmore. I was excited to see it in person, it was great!

 The boys decided they needed a little break from driving and stopped to jump in a very cold lake. That woke them up :)

 We camped the first night, and the second we stayed at this shady motel. haha Oh it was an adventure.

Our last stop was Yellowstone National Park. I hate to admit it, but this was my first time in the park. We had a good time trying to spot animals and looking at the hot pots and geysers. We had quite a trip, but I must say we were all very ready to get out of the car by the time it was over!

Since being home, our lives have been a bit hectic trying to find housing and jobs, but we are finally settled!

I had my 23rd birthday last week and was able to spend it with my entire extended family as we gathered for our sweet Grandma's funeral. Grandma Walker passed away last week. We will miss her so greatly. She was an incredible woman and her example will always be remembered.

Life is sure eventful, and I'm just grateful that we have each other to make the journey so enjoyable! We finally get to stay in one place for at least the next 8 months so we are excited to make our little house a home and keep the adventures rollin :)