July Summer Fun

Simon loves pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!

Simon loves to collect pinecones in his wheelbarrow.

Livi and Simon had fun ice-painting!

Livi loves to play with Eric's childhood wooden rocking  horse.  She made a corral for it, and Miles and played all afternoon.

Livi made this beautiful salad out of wildflowers and leaves while Simon made meatballs out of pinecones.

Simon absolutely adores playing with trucks.  

We got this giant purple cauliflower at Golden Harvest and Simon did not want to put it down!

Olivia has such a bold and unique fashion sense.

A new Space Jam movie came out starring LeBron James.  We all agreed it wasn't as good as the original, but it was still fun to have a movie night.

Nolan got to go to the Lindner's cabin for an afternoon.  They swam, fished, had lunch, and made s'mores.  He had such a fun time!
 

We started to head back to our library to be able to pick out our own books.  All the kids love it, but Simon can't get enough of Franklin the Turtle, the fishes, and Axel  the Axolotl.  Simon did such a good job wearing his mask during our visits!

The Kremers shared some monarch caterpillars with us that they found on some nearby milkweed.  We brought five of them home to our butterfly habitat.  They ate SO MUCH milkweed.  We needed a new plant every day.  They grew so fast and before we knew it, they were hanging in the J formation and made their chrysalises.  We can't wait to see our beautiful monarch butterflies!

Livi and Simon play pretend so nicely.  Here they are playing store.  It is so cute to watch them interact.  

Simon thinks it's HILARIOUS to try to run me down with his lawnmower.

He also loves his trike.  He puts rocks and matchbox cars in the back compartment and loves to push it all over the yard.  He isn't wanting to pedal yet, but loves it when I push him too.

Madison

For years, I have been wanting to visit Brigid down in Madison for a girls weekend, but with young kids and a pandemic, it has been hard to get away!  We decided to make it a priority and I headed down to Madison for a wonderful weekend with my bestie.  She and her sister, Katy, recently moved into a beautiful new townhouse.  I had my own cozy bedroom and it was very comfortable.  Brig and I spent a lot of our time shopping.  I hadn't been able to do any shopping for months and months.  It felt so good to be out and about!  

One of the highlights of a Madison trip is the Farmer's Market around the Capitol.  Though it was busy, it was fun to see all the delicious produce and smell the aromatic breads and baked goods.  It was pretty crowded and things moved along at a quick pace.  I purchased a loaf of spicy cheese bread from Stella's, per the recommendation of Patti, and it was delicious.  Since I didn't have any big plans to cook over the weekend, I didn't purchase much else, but it was a fun experience being amidst the hustle and bustle of the downtown area.

After our downtown stop, we headed to Ohana Antiques, a place Brigid has been telling me about for a long time.  It is ENORMOUS.  There are so many different things to look at, and I was so excited to find a display of beautiful English Setter figures.  I picked out a favorite as a souvenir from the trip and also found a beautiful vase.  

We were starting to get hangry, so it was important to take a break for lunch.  We stopped at a delicious pizza place and had the most delicious sangrias I have ever tasted.  Going to a restaurant feels so special after so many months away!

One of my favorite parts of the trip was Opera in the Park.  We brought our own blanket, a bottle of wine (maybe two) and lots of snacks, for a picnic on the lawn at the bark amidst the beautiful singing from four opera stars from the Madison Opera.  They were all fabulous, but we were especially smitten with the booming voice of the bass.  I haven't heard live music in so long and it was so fun to enjoy it in such a relaxed atmosphere.  Brigid's Aunt Elizabeth bought us some glowsticks once it became dark and the whole evening was pretty magical.

 This was such a needed getaway.  I had so much fun spending time with both Katy and Brigid and making some new memories together.  I can't wait for the opportunity to make another visit!