Old friends

We had a fun weekend... Aug 15 is "Hippy Christmas" in Madison- the day that all of the apartments turn over and everyone leaves their junk on the curb so people can take what they want. It is an amazing thing to behold. You would not believe the piles of junk- lots of mattresses and old, ratty couches...But also some hidden jems. My friend Jen and I went driving around to see what we could find. I came home with a new desk chair. She got a few camping chairs and some nice metal cafe-type chairs for her porch, along with a few plants and other random goodies. I also made a killing at a garage sale- lots of stuff for Caroline, including a fleece snowsuit and some brand-new stride rite shoes!

On Saturday, I went down to Chicago to see my friends Allana and Tous. I went with Caroline, but left Mike at home to recover from his work week and catch up on all of his to-do's. It was tough to drive almost 6 hours total (we hit some traffic) without someone to comfort and entertain her, but we managed it OK. She was actually remarkably well behaved. I had a great time with our friends- they took us to see an air show on Lake Michigan- Caroline loved playing on the beach, but kept sticking her face in the sand... bizzare. You'd think she'd learn after the first try. The noises of the jets freaked her out, but otherwise she loved it. We also visited the Navy Pier and ate brunch at one of the tastiest restaurants ever. Mostly it was just awesome to catch up with old and dear friends.

Sunday, Mike's parents dropped by our house after going to church in our neighborhood. We went out to brunch at "Lazy Jane's Cafe"... Jane thought they should offer her a job :) And then our friends Anna, Langdon and Eliza came over in the afternoon for a little fun with the Wii and dinner. A great time as usual.

Tuesday, I took Caroline out to Milwaukee to see my old high school friend Karen, who was visiting from California with her family. She's got twin 4 year olds who are totally cute and sweet. It has been fun following their lives with their blog, but it was fabulous to finally meet them in person. We went out to a tasty lunch and then walked around downtown Cedarburg- a really cute little town- and ended up at a big park which Caroline loved running around. Then we finished it off with a beer, in true Wisconsin style!

With Karen - everyone has their beverage of choice :)

Caroline with her awesome new toy from Karen

Caroline getting after a pat of butter. Now tell me, how does this child not gain weight?You can't get Karen's kids to sit still... but here they are running around with the fire truck playsetAnd Caroline, checking herself out