Wisconsin Visit: Madison

We spent a full day in Madison this trip. It was so good to see so many people!  We stopped at Olin Park for a good leg stretch/run and observed the city from across Lake Monona before heading downtown.  After a brief drive around campus to see all the new construction and walk down memory lane, we went to State Street Brats for lunch.

We've been initiating Evan into the ways of being a Badger for a long time now by frequently reading one of his favorite books, "Hello Bucky!"  It has paid off, because as soon as we walked into the restaurant, Evan shouted out, "Bucky!!!" at the carving on the bar.  He thought sitting in the big booth was awesome, and the fact that there was a life-size cow statue right out the window made it that much cooler.

The next stop was of course the University Book store, where Evan scored major points with all the college girls.  Right inside the front door is a wooden cut out of Bucky that you put your face in.  Evan squealed with joy, yelling "Hello Bucky!" and climbing right up to happily stick his face in the hole.  He then proceeded to lose major points with mommy as he ran happily through all the clothing racks attempting to pull off the hangar one of every shirt and testing one of every hat, pointing out each and every Bucky he saw.  There are a lot of them, it being a Badger store and all.  We did walk out with a new hat and shirt for Evan, who was pleased as punch.

While Evan took a brief car ride nap, we traveled to see some of Mommy's lifelong Racine & Madison friends.  Evan was in complete awe of the big 5 year olds, who were very kind to include him in their play and showed him how to walk up a slide.  He was also enthralled with the girls who are almost his age, and I think he would have taken PeeWee the dog home with him in an instant.  After a great dinner of burgers, corn, and watermelon and a fantastic group photo, it was time for jammies.  But just like any good bedtime with friends, all the kids got a second wind and started chasing each other through the house.  Evan tried mightily to catch the big kids, and ran happily around and around and around and around and around...  When we finally got loaded back in the car, he was asleep almost before we left the driveway.  Thanks again for a great visit, friends!  I hope we can see you again soon - we miss you tons!