June – Page 2 – Beauty and Blooms

June was an emotional month in a lot of ways. As we celebrated birthdays, hiked nature trails and perused farmers market stalls fear tangled itself within my happiness. Try as I might to push it aside, I fell asleep most nights worrying about my upcoming surgery. Luckily, I had Ian at my side and he continued to push me to enjoy the moment and make the most of each day.

It was easy to follow his advice at the beginning of the month because we celebrated his 26th birthday! Since a lot of our friends live in the Milwaukee area, we decided to drive down for the weekend and let our inner child out at the Dave & Busters arcade.

After our bellies were full of ice cream cake, we packed up the car for another road trip. This time our destination was Mt. Horeb! We spent the weekend catching up with Ian’s family, checking out the renovated museum and playing bingo at the Summer Frolic.

As each week passed I was more aware that my surgery was approaching. To keep my mind off of it, Ian drove me to Whitefish Sand Dunes State Park. We enjoyed a picnic on the beach, hiked out to the caves and danced in the rain.

Then, in the middle of the week Ian and I had the pleasure of showing my parents around the Farmers Market. They were on their way home from Door County and decided to make a pit stop and see us for a night! We had so much fun hearing about their trip and catching up we stayed out until 10pm! I was a bit sleepy when my alarm went off for work the next morning, but it was all worth it!

At last, I couldn’t ignore the date on the calendar. It was surgery day. I could feel all the prayers and well wishes that were sent my way because instead of feeling anxious, I was calm. The surgery went better than expected and I was able to go home that afternoon. While we were confident the tumor was benign, hearing that the test results were negative was a huge relief.

My mind is often my thief of joy, so I was thankful I had supportive friends and family around me this month. They all encouraged me to stay positive and make the most of each moment without shadowing it in fear. Looking back, we had a busy month filled with love and adventure – even with my surgery looming on the calendar. I’m beyond relieved to have it behind me and I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing of things as I reach the end of my recovery time!

The month began on a high note with another trip! I swear Ian and I don’t normally travel this much, but it just so happened that his 25th birthday fell over his brother’s 8th grade graduation ceremony so we jumped at the chance to fly to Florida.

We usually visit his family over the winter holidays so I wasn’t prepared on how warm Florida is in June! Cue many afternoons spent at the pool cooling off.

We had planned to relax and catch up on laundry when we returned from Florida, but Gaelic Storm headlined Irish Fest that weekend and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see them again for only $8! The night was spent watching the Trinity Irish Dancers, playing rounds of Uno while eating dinner on a picnic blanket, and helping Ian try on kilts. He didn’t buy one this time around (they didn’t have his family tartan) but I’m sure the purchase is in the near future. Stay tuned for photos!

Month in Review: June 2016

Another exciting change happened this month! I accepted a 6 month graphic design project that requires me to work on location. It’s been an adjustment, but it’s nice to work in a team setting. Sometimes freelancing can get a bit lonely!

It’s tempting to get home from work and settle down for an evening of Netflix, but Ian and I have been trying to get out and make the most of the summer. We’ve filled our evenings by taking bike rides along the country paths, signing up for private sailing lessons, and eating dinner out on our patio.

Towards the end of the month, Ian’s cousin made the trip from St. Louis to spend a weekend with us in Wisconsin. Our agenda consisted of an evening out on the city deck listening to live music, sipping wine at the von Stiehl steer roast, and driving up to Fish Creek.

The month ended back in Madison for two celebrations: my Mom’s birthday and my parent’s anniversary. The festivities included roasting marshmallows, watching movies, and giggling during the Bubble Run.