This was the first picture I took after piling in the van with my family as we pulled out of our driveway one week ago. I'm not generally very awake on Saturday mornings, but I was pretty excited about our planned weekend getaway. Milwaukee isn't the most exotic location for a vacation, but we just needed to get far enough away to forget about all the stress and drama of home life and work life and (yes, it's true) internet life.

I accumulated well over 1,000 pictures over the course of four days, so I'm going to be telling little stories about a few of them over the next week in my final attempt to catch up on all this blogging nonsense.

P.S. Juan Pedro was very excited to be a part of this adventure. He has missed being in the spotlight. No, scratch that. He has missed you.

The family and I are leaving this morning for a weekend get-away to Milwaukee. Apparently, this is super funny to everyone we know. My pastor asked yesterday, "So, you going with your parents on this exotic adventure to . . . [dramatic pause] . . . MILWAUKEE?" And then he burst forth in childish giggles.

"Hey, they have a jazz fest this weekend!" I proclaimed. "And the state fair! And museums and dinner cruises and theatrical productions!" The chuckles continued. Another man poked his head into the church office and joined in on the teasing.

"You guys should visit a brewery while you're there," he suggested playfully. My pastor laughed even harder.

My mom added, "Actually, someone told us we should stop by the Kohler factory. Where they make faucets. Now how is that supposed to be fun?"

I responded, "Clearly, you need to hit up the brewery first. That way, everything is fun."

Nothing I have ever said has made my pastor laugh that hard. I felt a little proud of myself, really. I mean, I guess he did get out some pretty good guffaws when he was making fun of my "scandalous" photo collage, but I try to repress that memory.

Anyway, I apologize to any Wisconsin readers for any upcoming jokes about your state in the next few days. Once you have the mental image of someone donning a cheese wedge on his head, it's really hard to take Wisconsin seriously. However, I really am looking forward to going to the jazz festival today and touring Lake Michigan and all the other great activities we have planned. Oh, and I hear our hotel room is going to make us want to stay for the rest of eternity. (Fancy robes and slippers and expensive bath products! Plasma TVs! Beds that don't smell of sin and decay!)

I think the most exciting part of this trek is the idea that we may pick up a puppy on the way home. Our Border Collie passed away a few months ago, and my parents are now anxious to get a new dog. While my cats are probably not too thrilled at the prospect of a furry bundle of ZOMG! ENERGY! THROW A FRISBEE AT ME! running around, I'm kinda looking forward to having something to take with me on walks. Plus, how can you resist a face like this?

I don't see any way to walk away from something that looks like that, so I recommend that you start thinking of names while we're gone. (Rule #1: Not Johnny Depth.) Meanwhile, I guess I have some packing to do.

Yesterday's entry reminded me of all the times I have smashed my face in a door waiting for some guy to open it for me. Or worse, all the times I've hovered awkwardly next to a door, waiting for the nearby male to remember how to pull a handle.

I didn't have that problem until I went away to school, attending a university with a 7:1 guy-to-girl ratio. Most of the guys were nerds, and most of the girls were snapped up within minutes of setting foot on campus. That left me and the one other single girl on campus with approximately 3,000 sweet-as-pie nerd boys who 1) were constantly in awe of girls and wanting to do nice things for them and 2) were raised well by their mommas. I don't think I ever opened a door for myself at that university unless I was going to the bathroom or was meandering about in a girls' dorm building.

Now, I am back home. I don't ever see boys my age, especially since Cute Tuesday Boy disappeared. On the rare occasion I do see a boy, it's one of those "Have you SEEN my face? It's dreamy. I don't need to impress you with niceness, nor do I really even need to acknowledge your existence" types. (All the nerd boys up here must be inside, building robots or playing WoW or both.)

Anyway, if you ever see me in real life, don't be surprised if I seem to have a real knack for smacking into doors. In fact, you should probably bring a camera. I need more faceplant videos on YouTube.

P.S. Guys, open doors for girls. No excuses.