Rangers game

A few weeks ago we headed up to Arlington to watch a Texas Rangers baseball game.  We headed out on Saturday morning to catch the 7pm game.  It was a four hour drive and we had time to explore Ft. Worth for awhile before the game.  The Rangers ended up winning and then we checked out the nightlife and found a bar that had Schlitz!  Felt like home, and on the way back to the hotel I found my old Explorer and got a little choked up so I had to take a picture.  Overall it was a good trip and was able to cross another stadium off the list.  

lots of graduations

For memorial day weekend, Stefan got cleared for leave and we were able to fly back to Eau Claire to celebrate all of the graduations going on in his family. His brother, John, graduated high school (and will be a badger in the fall!!!), his sister, Jess, graduated UW-Stout with a fashion design degree, and his mom finished her masters!

We flew in to Minneapolis and his mom picked us up. We drove back to Eau Claire and had a yummy dinner and then headed out to his dad's house. A lot of the family was already there and crowded around the campfire. Around 11 or 12 they lit the fire pit for the pig that was going to be roasted. (For those of you that have never been part of a pig roast, you light the fire at night, bury the pig very early in the morning and then dig it out in the afternoon and it should be fully cooked.) The next morning, Stefan and I went for a quick jog, had some breakfast with his mom and then we all headed out to his dad's together.

 

It was such a fun day because all of the families came together for John and Jessi. In the afternoon, we uncovered the pig and then began to "pluck" the meat from the bones. There were only four pluckers and I got to be one of them! One thing I didn't learn until the end, though, was pluckers are "supposed to" eat a bunch to make sure it tastes right. It was delicious! After all of the guests had come and gone, the family left sat around the campfire and chatted and told stories until late in the night. Stefan and I were supposed to sleep in the tent but it was so freezing that we just dragged the air mattress into the basement and slept there instead.

The next day we woke up, had some brunch, and then went back to his mom's house. We decided to go for a long walk around the campus. It was such a beautiful walk, but Stefan and I were not prepared with our flip-flops. When we got back our feet were hurting and his mom prepared some water for us to soak our feet. Then we enjoyed a delicious meal off of the grill and then headed back to his dads for another campfire.

It was such a wonderful weekend for us because Stefan hadn't been home since Christmas. We are very fortunate to have such a great support system. It was great seeing everyone and we miss you all already!