Year Two

Raspberry picking, tulip sitting and ice cream eating

We have been in Wisconsin for two years now...whoa! This past Monday marked the day that Alana and I finished our drive from Texas to Wisconsin (along with my dad who accompanied us on the trip). Its always fun to think back and reflect on what brought us up here and what we have been up to. Check out the review of year one here!

We moved up here because this is where some good jobs were/are. We were both in the oil and gas industry and with the downturn we saw the inevitable and decided to jump. We were also over the Texas heat and its two seasons, hot and hotter. Was Wisconsin our top pick on location? Of course not, but it seemed to tick a lot of boxes.

Alana has spent more birthdays up here than she did in Texas which kind of makes me sad because I am a Texan and will always associate myself that way. When people ask where I am from I say I am from Texas but live in Wisconsin... Texan for Life! But Alana will most likely say she is from Wisconsin; when we practice our states I remind her that she was born in Texas and is from Texas, but, the reality is she only spent 16 month of her life there. We also correct her on silly Wisconsin pronunciations and will continue to do this all her life, lol, or at least until we move again.

Up here in the cooler weather I am able to run and enjoy it and not have to worry about getting a heat stroke or a syncope flair up. I have made a handful of amazing friends that share this love for running too so that helps on the long training runs! I even completed my first half marathon this past April in Nashville, TN.

Christmas feels like Christmas! Our first Christmas here we got really lucky and it snowed December 24th so we had a white Christmas. Christmas 2017 we had some ice and snow but nothing major. But there is snow on the ground, the fire place is on and its all just very cozy and wintery. So far, we like it. We also got to experience our first blizzard this past April when a crazy storm came through dumping over two feet of snow April 14th and 15th. We were just glad it was on the weekend and didn't have to try and drive to work in that!

April 2018 Blizzard

We have been fortunate enough to have family visit us often with my family and in-laws visiting 2-3 times a year (usually not at the same time). They come for Alana's birthday and Christmas and my brother and dad visit for the annual EAA air show.

EAA AirVenture: Airplane pictures taken by Zach Mayer

What do I miss about Texas? I miss the food and HEB. I miss having my family close and I miss our forever home we built and only lived in for three years...But, Wisconsin has been good to us these past two years, I like the lack of bugs and snakes and the soft green grass. They don't have the monstrous rain and thunder storms that cause severe flooding and power outages. I like the slower pace and lack of rat race and the fact there is no traffic. We get to go to farms and pick fresh fruits a few times a year and eat things right from the source! 

Did you leave your home state? How long have you been away? What do you miss?