On the Friday after my mother arrived,
Adam's family and my dad joined us in Madison. We had a great night
just hanging out and enjoying each others company.
On Saturday morning, all the adults
went to the farmer's market and the children, including Lewis, stayed
home and played Castle Crashers. We had a pleasant walk and an even
nicer time at the market. My parents checked out the capitol and
Julienne and I checked out the jewelry. Indy found an adorable little
dog he wanted to hug but the poor thing was a little shy.
After the market, we ate some lunch and
headed to The House on the Rock! I love this place. It is full of the
weirdest stuff you will ever seen and it was built by a man who loved
this rock so much that he hauled all the building materials up a cliff with nothing but muscle and pulleys and built the whole house mostly by
himself. The first time we went, my camera wouldn't work. I was
frustrated at first but then I realized that I enjoyed the exhibits
so much more when I felt like I couldn't capture them. I found myself studying each detail and savoring the
light falling on each object. So this time, I decided to do the same.
I will put up a few pictures taken by my family but keep in mind that
however beautiful they may be, they do not do the subject justice.
We had a fantastic time and from the
carved ivory, to the suits of armour, to the crown jewels, to over
100 mini circuses, everyone got to see something that interested
them. But by the end we were all totally exhausted! We all put up a
good show for the final picture but you can tell from the before shot
that we were all worn out.
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| Before |
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| After |
The next day, after church, Adam's
family headed home and I spent some quality time with my parents. We
coerced my dad into playing some games with us. I picked
Scattergories since it's one of my favorite games and I thought my
dad would be good at it. He did quite well. It's one of the only
times I can remember having a great time playing a board game with my
dad. It was really nice.
The next morning, we said goodbye to my
mom and my dad and I started our week of just the two of us. It was
nice to have a more relaxed time. Indy finally got back to his nap
schedule. And I got to show my dad some of the great sights of
Madison.
On Monday, my dad introduced me to a great old
show called “One Step Beyond” and we showed my dad Lake
Mendota and paddled around Tenney Park.
On Tuesday, we checked out Monona
Terrace, which was surprisingly boring inside. The exterior was nice
and the rooftop garden had some pleasant flowers and a great view of
the capitol. But overall, it was a little underwhelming.
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| Indy's first time trying to walk in shoes |
Wednesday was a very full day. We went to
the Chazen Museum of Art on campus, the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, and a
service project at the church.
The art museum was fantastic. I had no
idea how big it was! My dad loved the Japanese art that was on
display, I loved the glass work, and Indy just wanted to push the
stroller around as usual...
The Olbrich Botanical Gardens were
amazing. We had planned on spending an hour and a half, maybe two
hours there but we just couldn't do it. We decided that we simply had
to come back the next day. My dad LOVES
taking
pictures of nature and this captured his full attention.
My favorite was the rose garden.
My dad's favorite was the Thai garden.
Indy loved the Thai garden too but really he just loved anything that
I would let him touch.
The
day before my dad left, Indy decided to walk for the first time! He'd
been walking along the side of things for months but hadn't let go
for any length of time yet. But on August 8th,
2013 Indy officially took 3 steps without holding on to anything!
Thus, making Mommy the winner of the little bet between parents. And
the really funny thing was that Indy's first steps were to Grandpa's
camera while mom and dad were both out of the room. The little
stinker!
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| Couldn't he have at least waited until I made the bed?! |
Seeing Indy walk for the first time was the perfect high note to end my dad's visit. The next day, we met up with Adam in Dubuque. We had a
fabulous meal at a cute little place called Vinny Vanucchi's Little Italy that had great atmosphere. Then it was time to say our goodbyes and part ways.
It was a fantastic visit and I miss my family already. But it sure is
nice to go back to my normal, low-key life! ...Now where's the
remote? It's time to watch a little Voyager...
