We just returned from a trip to La Crosse, Wisconsin to see my little brother, who is spending his summer there playing baseball. He left right after school got out and will go straight from La Crosse back to college in Tulsa. It's nothing but baseball, but he is loving it.
We started our trip super early on Saturday morning. Our flight left at 6:40 a.m. , but the kids shot out of bed at 3:30 when we woke them to go to the airport. My mom and stepdad also went on the trip and we met them at the airport. Lucky for the kids, Papa Jay was able to give them a full tour of the airplane before we left since we were flying on Frontier for whom he is a pilot! They got to go stand and look at the engine and then tour the cockpit. Have to say even I was jealous!'
Personal jet tour!
We flew into Milwaukee, which was a full 3 hour drive from La Crosse, but it was such a pretty drive. That part of the country is so green and all the farms with red barns along the way were amazing. We got checked into our hotel, went for a quick dip in the pool and then headed for the ballfield. One of my best buddies from nursing school is now a Ph.D student in Minnesota and she was able to make the drive and join us. It was so good to see her!
My good buddy, Karen
The town of La Crosse is not big, but they sure love their Loggers! As soon as we got to the field (which sits right by the Mississippi River), we found Bennett who was busy signing autographs for tons of kids. So fun! The kids were so happy to see him.
Hi, Uncle B!
Signing autographs
The whole atmosphere of the game was great--funny games between innings like musical chairs and the toilet seat toss (redneck country?). There were over 3,000 fans there each night and they are die hard! The first night was almost rained out and yet not many people left. We sat through a two hour rain delay and watched a heck of a thunder storm. Bennett only played a couple innings because they were bringing in a new guy to rotate in due to an injury to another catcher.
Before the game
Massive thunder storm!
We spent Sunday just walking around La Crosse and met Bennett for lunch before his game. The town borders right on the Mississippi River, so we walked along the river. The game Sunday night was a great game--Loggers won in extra innings! After the game, the kids got to play with Bennett on the field for over an hour. That might have been their favorite part!
Cheese heads!
Right on the Mississippi
Playing catch on the field after the game
We got to meet the family that is hosting Bennett and their daughter, Rayna, and my girls became instant buddies. They played and entertained each other all weekend at the field. Bennett and one of his roommates are living in the basement of their host family for the summer and they are so good to him and obviously huge Logger fans.
Rayna's new buddies
Doug and Cooper headed back home on Monday morning because Cooper had a baseball game of his own and Doug had some things to do to get ready for his big family reunion. Poor Cooper was so conflicted--he really wanted to stay and go to the water park, but didn't want to miss his game.
Monday was a rare day off for Bennett, so we got up and headed to the country's largest water park called Noah's Ark. It made Water World in Denver look puny. We got there a little before 11:00 and didn't leave until 7 p.m. The girls were tall enough to ride all the big rides and we had a blast! The lines weren't bad at all and it gave us time to just visit when we did have to wait. We couldn't have asked for a better day!
Ready for fun!
What a day!
Rode every ride
The girls and I left super early on Tuesday morning (left our hotel at 3:45 a.m.) and because we were flying on buddy passes, we had to get a little creative to get home. The direct flights back to Denver were all full, so we flew to Omaha and then from Omaha back to Denver. We were stuck in Omaha for about 5 hours before a flight became open, but the girls were such troopers. We read books, played games, watched movies and just hung out. Honestly, as much running around as we do, I had no complaints to just spend that time with them.
Hanging out in Omaha
What a memorable long weekend! We affectionately refer to ourselves now as Team Bennett. :)
