June 13, 2012

Garrett Meets Madison

Last weekend's trip to the Riddles' in Madison was Garrett's first.  We hadn't seen Mike, Karyn, Owen, and Elliot since last September when we met them in Peoria.  We had planned on driving to Madison Saturday morning, but Mike talked us into heading their way Friday night.  We expected Garrett to sleep most of the way there since we were in the car for more than three hours past his usual bed time, but Garrett had other plans.  He may have slept 45 minutes during the entire four-hour journey, but aside from a few, brief fussing episodes, he was a happy traveler.  Just when we thought he was drifting asleep, he'd point out the window and say what we understand as "BIG TRUCK!".

Saturday, we went downtown to Madison Children's Museum.  What a wonderful place!  I could have easily spent an entire day there - by myself!  I loved the quotes on the walls throughout the museum.

"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons." -Author unknown

"Love all children of all species for all time." -William McDonough

Garrett's favorite exhibit was the water dome in The Wildernest, an area designed for children up to five years of age.


(Don't worry.  The water wasn't hot, as it appears to be here.)
A future scientist?
Sunday, we went to Henry Vilas Zoo - another first for Garrett.  We got to see a polar bear, a grizzly bear, prairie dogs, bison, otters, flamingos, giraffes (my favorite!), camels, and much more.

We finally found a place where we belong - the zoo!
After wandering around the zoo for a couple of hours, we enjoyed a delicious lunch nearby at ZuZu Cafe, where Garrett 'painted' his face with the peanut butter from his sandwich.  (Yes, that's Nathan using a potato chip to scrape some of it off!)


Between our excursions to the museum and the zoo, we thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Mike and Karyn, watching our boys play happily together, playing Catch Phrase and Family Feud after the kids went to bed, and reaping the benefits of the Riddles' expert hospitality.

We're back to our reality now, which really isn't bad at all.  Looking forward to this Fathers' Day weekend!

2 comments:

  1. What a fun weekend! These images are just fabulous and I love the look of happiness on that peanut butter face.

    There is nothing so precious as time spent with good friends.

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  2. Sounds like an AMAZING weekend!!! :-)

    ReplyDelete