Weekend the third

Mmmmmmm rhubarb
Cutest farmer's market bouquet ever!
Me petting a cow. If you look at this picture more closely you'll see that I am way more excited then any of the kids to be petting this baby calf.
Yay Cows!

So apparently May was a super busy month, and while it was fun I'm enjoying having some more downtime in Madison.

This was our May-
Weekend #1 - Camping at the Kickapoo
Weekend #2 - Daytrip to Chicago
Weekend #3- Helping Mark's parents move (and getting engaged!)
Weekend #4 - I was in Florida
Weekend #5 - Camp Balsams

So though we had lots of fun we didn't spend as much time in Madison and some of my favorite moments are when we're just kicking around here.

So this past weekend that's exactly what we did.

Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market (surprise surprise). It was really nice though because we haven't been able to go and just enjoy the Farmer's Market in awhile. The past few weeks we've been going and parking with only about 30 minutes to walk around. So Saturday we did it the right way. We walked downtown, took our time walking around and looking at all the produce and plants. We were rounding the third corner when I saw this sign: "Cows ahead." I'm pretty sure Mark thought this was a joke. I exclaimed rather excitedly "There are cows!" and he said something to the extent of, "I don't think there are real cows." BUT THERE WERE!!!!! It was Cows on the Concourse. I have been WAITING for this event since I read about it in my Wisconsin travel guide last summer. There were COWS at the FARMER's MARKET. I love cows! I love the Farmer's Market! What a glorious combination! Some might not understand my love of cows, but I think they're beautiful animals. They have the prettiest eyes and they're so warm when you pet them. I may have been the only adult crouched down petting the 3 day old calf, but heck it was worth it. This is one of my favorite things about Madison. There are always festivals and events going on. For the Cows on the Concourse there were a ton of extra booths set up selling dairy products and promoting drinking milk (this is the dairy state after all).

Mark had report cards to do this weekend so he spent a good chunk of time doing that, but we also had some time to just hang out and relax. Saturday night after Mark had worked on report cards for awhile at his apartment we ordered pizza and had a picnic at his apartment (which we jokingly call the storage apartment). It was a rainy evening and it was fun sitting on the floor eating pizza and listening to the rain and birds singing outside. He did more work and I started working on some new art projects.

Sunday we did more of the same - he worked on report cards and i worked on art. Then we did "Ride the Drive". Some of Madisons busiest roads around the capitol are closed from 10-4 and open only to bikes. It is way cooler than it sounds. It's a 6 mile loop and it was so much fun to be able to bike on those roads and not have to worry about cars! There were tons of people out riding bikes and everyone just seemed super happy. Sunday evening Mark and I watched Up and just relaxed. It was a lovely weekend.

Weekend #2

Mark and I had a really nice Memorial Day Weekend.

Saturday we got up early and went to the Farmer's Market (of course). It was a quick trip though because we wanted to go to Britta's frisbee game. She and my other friend Fernando were in the National Championships for ultimate frisbee which just so happened to be in Madison! Mark and I got to watch part of Britta and Fernando's games. It was really fun. After that we had to get some chores done before heading up to Camp Balsams. So we did laundry and went grocery shopping and then we were on our way!

Camp Balsams is in Eagle River which is about 4 hours north of Madison and in a part of the state that Wisconsinites and actually a lot of midwesterners would label "up north." As in, "We're going up north for the weekend." This was my first experience up north. Camp Balsams is owned by Mark's parents' church. His Dad is the head of the Camp Balsams Committee. Memorial Day is opening weekend so a group of people go up and get things ready for the summer (when the cabins are rented out to church members). We got there Saturday night just in time for dinner. Mark gave me a tour around the Camp and we also went canoeing. The next day we got up and went kayaking. Then Mark did some work around camp cutting trees. We helped put in a pier and then went and had a picnic lunch by a dam. It was a super super windy day. A lot of the work had been done the previous day so there really wasn't much for us to do, but hang out and relax. After lunch we went swimming and took a nap. That evening it rained. You could see the rain coming across the lake and it was really cozy to be inside the little log cabin as it poured outside. Mark and I played Rummikub (which is a board game similar to rummy).

Monday we went for a bike ride around the lake. Mark cut some more trees. Then we had lunch, went for a quick canoe trip and then we headed back to Madison. It was a really nice weekend. Exactly what we both needed before finishing up the last two weeks of work.

Playing Catch Up

I'm going to try to catch up on blogging for the past 3 weekends.

So here's weekend #1:

A few weeks ago I went down to Florida for my friend Jenn's wedding. Over a year ago when Jenn first got engaged and they were picking dates it seemed so far away, and now it's over. It was a pretty whirlwind trip. I was in Florida for 5 days.

I flew into Tampa to see my family for a day. We went shopping and just hung out and talked. It was really nice to be there with them and not just talking to them on the phone. I love Wisconsin, but I miss my family. I found a WEDDING DRESS, but sadly will not post a picture on here because Mark reads this. If you want to see a pic I can email you one! Anyways...after only being with my family for a day (which was way not enough) I was on my way to Jax for Jenn's wedding. I drove up to Gvlle with my sister and then up to Jax with Laura and Galo. We stayed with Hailey and Shaun in their SUPER CUTE apartment. (Thanks Hailey.)

The weekend was busy, but here are some highlights-
- Making pizza with Laura, Galo, and Hailey
-Morning walk around Hailey's super cute neighborhood
-Breakfast with Jenn and all the bridesmaids
-Rehearsal Dinner on the St John's River (the weather was wonderful, warm, but with a breeze)
-Getting our hair done and hanging out with Jenn on Saturday (her WEDDING day!)
-Jenn's wedding
-The reception (it was nice hanging out with friends I hadn't seen in awhile and seeing Beth! And also Greek dancing was fun!)
-Picnic with Hailey!