On Wisconsin!

This post is SO long overdue! I apologize for those of you who have been watching for it!


We visited Wisconsin over Father's Day weekend (yes, in JUNE! I told you it was long overdue!)
We had a GREAT time there! We decided to avoid Chicago traffic on a Friday and also take advantage of being able to have lunch with my husband's parents in central Illinois, so we routed our trip to Madison that way.

Here is grandpa playing with the boys before lunch.



And a picture with grandma
after lunch, we headed to Madison to visit our good friend, Joanna. When we crossed into Wisconsin we pulled off at a rest area and there was this terrific playground there. It was a great place to stop. Wisconsin is such a great state with very clean and surprisingly fun rest areas! Who knew?!
Here are some of the highlights from our trip to Madison. We had a great time!

First stop, State Street. If you have never been to Madison, you should make a trip! It is a great city and State Street is a must see. Cars are not allowed to drive on it and there are a lot of great restaurants and shops there. It is also right next to the Capitol building.

It wouldn't be State Street without some street musicians.
Next stop, Capitol Square where the awesome Farmers Market takes place on Saturdays. It was such a beautiful day and it was so crowded!
One surprising thing that happened while we were there was the annual naked bike ride around the Capitol area! yes, I said naked! Don't worry, I did not put any pictures up of that nor did we participate!! Madison is such a liberal city that I guess I shouldn't have been surprised! lol

Like a postcard
Here is my little guy, Andrew (bottom right) with our good friend Joanna (in brown, who is also Benjamin's Godmother) and also our friend Jennie (in white) and her two kids. I lived with Joanna and Jennie in Madison the year before I went to grad school. Seems like another lifetime ago now!


Taking a break on the square
After the farmers market, we went to have lunch. Joanna made us an awesome picnic lunch and the kids loved being in the park, enjoying the birds.
sharing a joke:)
We went to the zoo and it was so great, and FREE! Wow! They had an awesome kid play area there too. So fun!

A rare moment of sleep....
On Father's Day, we met another college friend and her family for brunch. Here is her little girl and my toddler having fun after we ate. They are 3 months apart in age and had a blast hanging out together.
And here I am with Joanna and our friend Michele.
After THAT (yes, there's more!) we headed down the interstate an hour to my brother's house to celebrate Father's Day. My brother has an actual arcade in his basement and all of the kids (big and little) LOVE it! Here's Andrew with my dad playing the bowling game.

Andrew with cousin Jessie (who's birthday we were also celebrating)
The kids loved the pinata!

collecting candy from the pinata

Benjamin with my brother (also his Godfather)
Last stop, my parents house for the night!

Whew! I am remembering how much we did that weekend as I write this! It was a lot but also a lot of fun seeing everyone. We also drove our new minivan that we just bought, so that in itself was fun! (never thought I would say that!!) :)

Have you been to Wisconsin? What is your favorite place to visit there or thing to do?

Thanks again for reading and have a great weekend!

Rebecca