Splashing and wading at Dunn's Marsh after a heavy rainfall!

First day of kindergarten

Nevi's first day of kindergarten was very exciting!  Huegel Elementary is only 5-6 blocks away from our house so we walk there and home most all days, weather permitting.  Nevi loves her teacher, Mrs. Henderson, and has found some friends in her class already.  Today is the last day of her first week and she was still excited about school this morning - even woke up on her own at 7am, rearing to go, which for those her know her, know the girl can sleep in... LATE.  !!!! Awesome times ahead....

Labor Day Weekend

Gearing up for the end of summer and 'back to school' routine, we had one last summer visit from Ahma, Ahpa and Aunt Jenn. And a wonderful time was had!!!!... Hiked to picnic point overlooking Lake Mendota, went to Lake Mills to meet Robb and Jenn's cousin/family who live near Milwaukee for lunch and a quick swim (darn horse flies!).  We did some back to school shopping and winterizing (THANKS AHMA!) and Ahpa helped us with a few more things around the house (what would we do without you Ahpa!?). Plus, while here, Ahma received an ice bucket challenge from a friend of hers so we did that! Brave and awesome lady.  Always sad to see them leave....even though they are only hours away.

Garden

When not playing with the kids, cooking or exploring something new and fun in Madison, the garden is where I spend a lot of time.  Even the kids have enjoyed it... they helped do the initial planting but also help with the ongoing weeding and worm searching (and their favorite part.. the harvest.  We planted: zucchini, cucumbers, acorn squash, pumpkins, watermelon, tomatoes, peanuts, wildflowers, and have a berry section with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.  We had some perennial dillweed pop up under the mill so I turned that section into our herb section with chives and basil as well. The garden plot was nothing but weeds as high as my shoulders when we arrived so I rented a tiller from Home Depot and went to town.  The windmill is supposed to keep the bunnies away (which we have living under our gazebo and shed) but next year, I'll need to make-shift a scarecrow of sorts because the birds LOVE my garden.  We have also put up a badminton net, a old/used swingset that is hours of daily entertainment, and recently created a beautiful fire pit for fall bonfires.  Our backyard is heavily used by these games, plus frisbee and baseball are daily activities.  

Indiana Trip

This was, hands down, the best vacation away from home we had all summer.... a 7 hour drive to Indiana to see Nana, PopPop and all the awesome aunts and uncles (and cousin, I have no pix of you Cydney!!!).  We swam, fished (Nevi caught 6 fish!), skipped rocks, jet ski'd, pontoon boated, searched for shells, watched the moon rise over Anderson Ocean, played on the water carpet, and YES, Coda is potty trained now!  Hooray! Oh yeah and it was Robb 25 year high school reunion - that added to the good times!  I saw some familiar faces from his 20 year reunion and even made a few friends.  All around fabulous time!

4th of July!

Ahma, Ahpa and Aunt Jenn all came for the 4th of July!  We walked only a few blocks to watch the fireworks in our neighborhood park and found out that our neighbors LOVE fireworks (they loved them until 1am!)  LOUD but very fun night.  I think this was one of my favorite weekends here so far.... I must have had so much fun that I forgot to take pictures.  Seems only Ahpa made it into my camera (and the ladies red, white and blue toes, too).  We hiked and were attacked by Wild Parsnips, had picnic lunches, ate yummy fried cheese curds (CO friends, don't hate me, but they are REALLY good!) and as usual, took in lots of good local beer.  Wisconsin truly does have the best food and beer I've EVER tasted.   And this was one of my favorite 4th of July weekends of all time!    

Horsin' around

Below are some pictures of us just having fun around the house, plus one trip to the Monona Terrace rooftop (overlooking Lake Monona) for a special kids event (they happen weekly throughout June with a variety of entertainment).  Lots of dancing takes place here in Madison.  

Capital Square Mile RUN!!!

Robb, Nevi and Coda all participated in the Capital Square Mile Run!  Robb ran the mile with the Masters group, coming in 4th in 5:27.  Nevi was the youngest runner in her age group and came in 3rd place in 10:10.  And Coda ran the diaper dash!  Such fun!