It’s my first time in Wisconsin; my almost-son-in-law said that when you cross the border, you see signs for cheese and porn. The porn signs that we saw were a bit hidden away (they’d come in on a different highway before, and said the signs were plentiful) but we did see cheese signs. Of course.

cheese and fireworks! a natural combination!

Let me go back a little bit. I flew into Chicago, and coincidentally arrived at O’Hare at the same time my older daughter Katie and her husband Trey arrived from Austin – that was a surprise treat. So we met up, got a car and drove to Marnie’s house where we met Tom’s (the groom’s) sister and her family. Then Joe arrived, their friend who is going to be their officiant, and the wedding paperwork was signed.

top to bottom: Joe, Tom, and Marnie (wearing her wedding shawl, even though it was sweltering hot!)

yay! It's all signed! Marnie is happy and Katie is clapping.

Then we all trekked through the sweltering neighborhood to the kids’ favorite restaurant for brunch. Unfortunately, the air conditioning had died in the restaurant. We ate there, anyway.

that little charmer is Liam, and his sister Ella hides behind him.

Then a sweltering walk to the Lake Michigan shore, then a sweltering walk back to Marnie’s and Tom’s place, then we loaded up the cars and drove to Wisconsin, to the cabin.

Marnie and Tom

Maplewood Lodge

(If you look back at this post you’ll see how well Marnie captured the lodge in her wedding invitation print!)

wild and beautiful

it's just gorgeous

a bit of lawn, a grill, a picnic table, and an abundance of wild flowers and birds

they can sit here in the mornings and watch the morning come up

look at the lodge kitchen! what a great old stove at the end

Marnie just found a tick on her bicep, and I think that’s probably a harbinger of things to come. The location is absolutely wild and beautiful, and full of bugs and birds and bats and probably other things that start with other letters of the alphabet. The actual wedding is going to be in the prairie behind the lodge; there are gorgeous walkways through the forested area, a fire pit (where there will be s’mores made by the dozens, I imagine), and lots more to see. Today we’re going to be setting everything up, hanging lights, doing all kinds of things to prepare for tomorrow’s happy event. Marnie and Tom get married.

Marnie just narrated the events so far: Day 1, BATS!  Day 2, TICKS!