Back to School

Summer is almost here but Rick, Cara, Dan and I decided to go back to school last weekend...Sandy's school that is! Sandy graduates in May so we thought it would be fun to visit her at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before she transitions to the real world. The eating highlight of our trip took place at The Comet Cafe just blocks from Sandy and her roomie Ali's apartment. Dan saw Comet Cafe on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives and determined this was a must try for the trip to Milwaukee. This diner certainly did not disappoint! Some of the favorite menu items include: carmelized onion with almond soup, meatloaf with beer gravy and battered balls of turkey and mashed taters! We proceeded to a campus tour and then prepared for a pub-crawl courtesy of Ali's Mortar Board Club. We learned at each bar why this Wisconsin hub earns the name Brew City. Thanks to Sandy and Ali for allowing us to tag along, take over your living space and for showing us that we can still play with the college kids (sorta) !


It just so happened we could continue to act like kids on Sunday. The next day was CDW Coworker Appreciation Day at 6 Flags Great America! The company takes over the amusement park, opens all the rides and feeds us a picnic-style lunch. This is an annual event and definitely a "perk at work." I have waited over 1 hour to ride the Superman and on this day the wait was a mere 15 minutes (if that). Cara, Dan, Christine and Rae joined us this year for a sunny but cool spring day at the park. We realized that even though we can hang with the college kids on Saturday, our bodies might be a little more susceptible to the intensity of the rollercoasters. Rick knows each ride so well and preps us for where you want to be positioned on each coaster. He also got his thrill fill on the King Chaos which looks like it might be illegal for the way it thrashes the riders around! Raging Bull in the back still rules!!

XO,

EAT

Summer...er, Spring!

We are experiencing the second day of highs in the 80's today! Date check? April 15, 2010...tax day. Location? Our back yard...AKA The Jungle. Playing in our backyard leads us to believe the previous owners loved two things...gardening and birds. We also know she was retired and took up much of her free time filling in gaps in the garden or heck, why not throw some tulips in the middle of the yard? I will be posting photos as our jungle garden takes shape but for now we have 2 trees in full bloom. The Magnolia is situated right off the back deck and in it's shadow there is the Cherry tree. The Magnolia puts off the sweetest scent that lets us know Spring is here. The Cherry is a pleasant surprise as we have picked many of cherries but had yet to see it bloom.

The Magnolia at night

And the fruiting Cherry tree

The 80 degree days might just be an April tease but we are sure enjoying the fresh, warm air. We look forward to our ongoing battle with creeping charlie (ick!), planting veggies, arranging pots, setting up the water garden and making the Jungle our own!

XO

EAT

Noises of the night

This morning we woke up saying "did last night really happen?" The past few nights have allowed us to sleep with the windows cracked with warm days and perfectly cool nights. It was about midnight when we were awoken by the loud, high pitch, fight for your life series of squealing. I initially thought the noise was in the house but we layed still trying to determine where it was coming from. I should preface this with stating we had a hard time getting Stewie to come back in the house before bed due to action in the back yard. Back to midnight, we pulled up the blinds and saw large tailed figures moving up and down the huge elm (we think it is an elm?) tree behind our house. Rick turned on the flood light that shines over the entire back yard and the squeals did not cease. I can't accurately explain the noises but it was either a fight, mating call or young ones crying for their mother....loud!! The squeaks must not have been on Stewie's frequency because he did not stir much through the 20 minute sound show. We did some You Tube research and determined this was indeed a family of raccoons! We have no problem sharing our back yard with wildlife (except rabbits in the garden and skunks ANYWHERE) but they need to know Stewie might just not be so welcoming!

EAT