And then there were two

That fabulous August I was telling you about back in the middle of July? It's done - just like that. It's now just Nate and I, which is exciting and sad at both the same time. Exciting in that, well, we're newlyweds and like our alone time. Sad in that it means the visits with our family are basically over until Christmas.

My parents visited this past weekend, and it was dad's first trip to Milwaukee. We were very busy showing him what Milwuakee has to offer, as usually happens when guests come. Dad was introduced to my Nintedo Wii on Thursday evening, which was a blast. Friday I gave them the tour of Marquette, and I had a special surprise in mind for my mom. Her name is Carol, so I thought it'd be a hoot if we drove out to Carroll College and made her get her picture taken by the sign. Of course, this is the first time I had been to Carroll College so we got lost, and it's usually 30 minutes away to begin with, so by the time we got there, there was a comment along the lines of, "Are you serious?" and they both looked at me like I was looney. Such is life.

After our visit to Carroll College, we had lunch at Kopp's and headed to Miller Park for our tour of the ballpark. This could quite possibly be my favorite part of the weekend. I did my internship for a Triple-A baseball team, so I've seen my share of ballparks, but to be able to see a big league park and the behind-the-scenes things was awesome. Among the things we saw were the press box, the box that Bob Uecker broadcasts from (I personally can't stand the guy, but I sat in his chair nonetheless), we walked around the warning track, sat in the Brewers dugout, and walked around in the Brewers bullpen. As a baseball fanactic, this was fabulous, whether a Brewers fan or not. A tour of Jacob's Field is now on my list of things to do upon moving back to Ohio. I made dinner Friday night (yum!) and we headed to Kopp's (again) for some delicious custard.

Saturday was a little more relaxed. Nate gave us a tour of Rockwell in Mequon, including his lab and other areas. I tell you what, the man is too smart for his own good. But that's why I love him. Wow. We then headed to Port Washington for lunch and walked out to the lighthouse (well, three of us did, anyway - mom headed back about 3/4 of the way there). I was ill all night with a horrific migraine (terrible timing!), so we stayed in - I went to sleep very very early, and Nate watched the race with my parents. I love that they get along so well.

Sunday was a fun day we had planned for awhile. Dad has worked at Goodyear for over 40 years, most of that time spent building race car tires. I have racing blood in me. There was a race at Milwaukee Mile the weekend they visited - do you honestly think we're going to miss it? I have to admit, the race was a lot of fun. Mom cheered for the #2 car as though Rusty Wallace were driving, which was funny to say the least. Dinner at North Star American Bistro was next in line, then an evening of me and dad bowling on the Wii (he refused to stop playing until he reached pro status).

And with that, they were off to return to Ohio this morning. I cried a little, realizing that I'm not likely to see them again for 4 months, but was happy to see that I could contain the tears in realization that I love my life up here, and while it was great to see my parents again, Milwuakee genuinely feels like home to me right now. Ah, someone's growing up.

And now I start my fall classes, so I'm likely to blog less and less. I promise I'll do the best I can, though - I'm always in search of a good distraction!