Road Trip 2009 (Part 2)

Next stop, Madison (well, Blanchardville, actually) Wisconsin for the 4th! We had a nice, relaxing weekend with Papa, Gramma Kristi, Uncle Adam and Aunt Jen. Though I am sure it wasn't as relaxing for them! We spent as much time as we could outside the house, so we planned many outings. The first of which was a nice trip into New Glarus (America's little Switzerland) to play mini-golf. Cooper got a 2 on every hole (because he would hit it once, pick it up, put it by the hole and then tap it in) and Jackson scored well over 140. I can't say I did any better either. We then went for "lunch" Ice Cream!! It was filling enough to be a meal in itself!! We forgot our camera on that outing...sorry!

Jackson, Cooper and Papa say "Happy 4th of July--Yay America!"

Jackson and Cooper watch Uncle Adam make snakes!

Just too into it!!

So Papa, having been this way since I can remember...LOVES fireworks. Oh, the shows he would put on when we were kids. He had a few tricks up his sleeve for his grandsons, too! We were all just hanging out on the deck and we heard a "POP" loud enough to make us jump. Papa had gone down to his fireworks cache and secretly brought up his loud firecracker packets. Jackson LOVED them, Cooper, however, liked them only for a while and then would retreat to the house for safety.

Jackson thrilled with Papa's surprise firecrackers!!

The next outing we planned was a trip to the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison. The men went golfing this day so Gramma Kristi, Aunt Jen and I took the boys.

The understatement of the year.

Aunt Jen and Coop feeding a greedy goat!

Jackson deciding which goat should get the next bite!

This was the 4th of July, so that night, since the public show didn't start until 9:30, and how Cooper would handle the noise was really iffy, we decided that we would stay home and purchase our own fireworks to shoot off (Jason got a killer deal on a bag of fireworks at a roadside stand--I thought that was a little sketchy, but it ended up being a great show!) Cooper sat in the car and watched through the window the whole time, though we promised him that they wouldn't be loud!!

Jackson with his sparkler. Cooper was inside the car, fearing for the noise. I honestly don't know what he was afraid of!

So we lured Cooper out and he had his first sparkler experience!
I just wanted a picture of the proud men with their pyrotechnics, this is what I got.Jen and Kristi (and their beers)
keeping warm ready for the show!

The next day we headed over to a Beach in Monona, WI. Madison has the most beautiful lakes. It was 90 degrees and the perfect day for lake play.

Jackson and Cooper taking off into the water! Yippee!

A nice family shot....notice I am never in these pictures! I'm the one behind the camera the whole time.

This part of our trip was so much fun. We filled every second with fun, had great food (Thanks Kristi...and yes, most people do pay $10 for lunch these days ;) and laughed a lot. Thanks to dad and Kristi for your hospitality, and maybe next year we can snag the lake house for the summer visit!


Next, we're going to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come!