These Are The Days: Madison (cont.)

The mornings usually looked a bit like this....Rob and my Dad are quite the blenders! There were several great concoctions.

We started Saturday off with a trip to the Farmers Market--Lindsay and Rob and Sadie and I.

That afternoon, we had an official party for Mary Jo, complete with one of the largest birthday cakes we have ever had. In fact, I am quite sure it was THE largest.

Oh the joys of potty training. Blake had only been potty trained for 3 days at this point, and this was the face I got when I said, "Blake, do you need to go potty?" and he answered 'no', as if to say, "What would give you that idea?"

My kids love picking out cards and they especially love the cards that have music or make noise. Mary Jo, being a kid at heart, as an equal appreciation for them, so the kids were extra excited to give this one to Mary Jo.

That is some genuine laughter on Mary Jo's face! Consequently, Sadie felt like their time spent picking out just the right card was not lost on Mary Jo. She absolutely appreciated it!

Such a huge cake! My mom ordered a tiramisu cake and ordered a double, thinking it would be two cakes thick. But apparently when she went to pick it up, she learned that the tiramisu is already 2 cakes thick, so we got 4!

Matt had to miss out on the activities on Saturday as he headed to Michigan to spend some time with his family and his uncle, who was very rapidly dying from cancer and only had a few weeks left to live. We missed Matt, but I am so glad he was able to spend some time with Uncle Neal and his family. It was a precious time for Matt and I am glad he was able to go.

On Sunday, my Grandpa Criter and my Great-Uncle Roger came down for the day to spend some time with Lindsay and Rob. My uncle Ken and Aunt Barb also flew in from Denver to see the happy couple and also to spend time with my grandpa and great-uncle.

Listening intently to one of my Uncle Ken's stories

My mom's spotless countertops start to look like this when we are all home.

Sunday afternoon, the Wisconsin Badger Football Team had their annual 'Family Day', where fans can walk on the field and meet the players.

The highlight for Sadie....pictures with the cheerleaders

(Sadie asked me if I would ask the girl cheerleaders if she could have her picture taken with only them and not the boys, as you'll notice them with their backs turned in the background).

One of the coolest parts of the day was getting to be out on the field with my Uncle Ken, a former Badger football player who was the Big Ten defensive player of the the year 2 years in a row and an All-American at UW as a linebacker. He went on to play for the Denver Broncos for many years and still lives out in CO, so he rarely gets back to Madison and very rarely comes to a Badger game. So for us, getting to talk to him about his time at Madison while we were out on the field with him was a special treat.

Meeting the players....gettin' autographs

Wyatt was most excited to get Chris Borland's signature, All-American linebacker

Lindsay and Rob were also most excited to have their picture taken with him, although for different reasons...they all share the same last name!!

I am quite sure they were the only ones to ask him if they could take a picture of his back!

Playin' football!

This is what my family room looks like most evenings--if it were up to Blake, he would spend every minute of his days doing this. I can't tell you how many times I hear him say, "Let's wrestle!"

I had a horrible angle on this picture, but I still had to post it on here because it was so classic--Blake taking Matt's face in his hands and looking him straight in the eye while talking to him. Must have been something serious!

Paul Bunyan's Axe (awarded every year to the winner of the Wisconsin/Minnesota game). I was reading about the Ax online and learned that the rivalry between the Badgers and the Gophers is the most-played rivalry in all of Div. I football, beginning in 1890 with 120 games played between them. They used to play for a slab of bacon that had an "M" or "W" on it, depending on which way you looked at it. But since the inception of the Axe, the Badgers lead the series 37-24-3. (the handle of the axe has the scores of the games listed on it).