Fleeing to Milwaukee

Thursday morning I got an email from the State Department with details about training and assignments. Basically we learned we will get our assignment bid list sooner than we expected and shortly after we'll find out where we are going.  When I called Janet to give her details, she dejectedly said "Now I am not going to be able to enjoy your week off since I am anticipating you starting work and getting the bid list."  Recognizing that this week might be tough if we stayed around DC I asked if she wanted to get out of town and see her family in Milwaukee.

By Thursday evening the Swagger Wagon was packed and we were ready for the 829 mile drive to Milwaukee.  Then Friday morning with the three kids packed and ready to go we were off at 5:30. The kids are road trip champs. There were almost no fights and few complaints on the 15 hour drive.  We are hoping the same level of cooperation when we get on some 30 hour flight to who knows where.

This week I am hoping to get a bunch of bike riding in, go on a date or two with Janet, relax, teach Maddie to ride a bike without training wheels, play with the kids a lot, and relax. So far the week is off to a good start and Janet hasn't thought much about where we might end up. Below are the first two fun experiences of many. 

The first discovery of the trip was Saturday morning as we were getting ready to walk out the front door we discovered a Robin's nest in the wreath. The nest appeared overnight and was a nice treat for the kids.

On Saturday evening we had a chance to surprise Janet's sister, Rissie who had been out of town at a math conference in Philadelphia. When her dad brought her over the kids hid in the living room and surprised Rissie.