Wisconsin!!!

We left for our Wisconsin trip on Wednesday night.  We hoped that the boys would fall asleep in the car and sleep the whole way there.  Well, it didn't work out quite that easy BUT they still did great.  Hutchinson stayed up way longer than we thought he would and Finnean was so excited about going to Wisconsin that he couldn't fall asleep.  He wanted to see all the lights :)  Sweet boy finally fell asleep outside of Dubuque.  We got to Ashlyn and Adam's a bit before midnight and got settled in.  They made us feel right at home and they have a perfect little guest space!  On Thursday, we started our adventure...

Adam suggested Marigold for breakfast!  It was right downtown Madison and perfect for breakfast.  It was so nice because we got to take our time getting around and finally got to breakfast around 10.  Finnean LOVED that you could watch them cook our breakfast.  Food was amazing and the place was super hip.

Good thing we had such a good breakfast because we set out for the Madison Children's Museum!! WOW!  It was awesome.  If we lived there, we would totally have a membership.  This is the view from Capitol.  Madison is so neat because the Capitol Building is right there, you can get so close. 

The museum had all kinds of activities to do.  The boys enjoyed playing with babies, instruments and {pretend} fire in the mud hut.  They also planted veggies and picked them. 

Our little drummer.

Hutchinson loved doing a little canoeing.  He was just starting to take a few steps here-so it was fun to watch him explore!!

 

They had a water room that the boys LOVED!!!  It reminded me of landscape fountains but to play in!!  I love little Hutchinson's bare feet!

Then we went upstairs and they had a big window that overlooked the street that you could paint on.  Finnean loved that he could paint on the window and then wipe it off and start over.  I think he would have stayed there for hours if we let him.

Love his little hands.

Keeping clean.

They had these giant spoons...Hutchinson thought they were funny :)

We rode the biggest elevator we have ever been in (it took 16 Finnean hops to make it across) up to the green rooftop of the building.  It was a rainy dreary day but still very beautiful to see everything.

This is the spot we took a picture of from the street level.  You can see the Capitol in the back.  We headed back to Ashlyn and Adam's for lunch and a nap.  They so graciously took Thursday afternoon off to hang out with us.  It was so nice to visit and catch up with both of them.  Then they took us to...

...the tallest building on UW's campus.  Adam just happens to work in that building so we got to go all the way to the top.  The view was amazing!!! AND we got ride in a tiny elevator...just a few Finnean hops across.  You can see the Capitol just where the sky meets the earth.  Madison is on two lakes---so it was a BEAUTIFUL view!

Looking so old!!

The Waglers!

After our sky views we headed back downtown and did a little running on the lawn.  Finnean LOVED being chased and chasing Adam :)  They played a few rounds of hide and seek as well.  It was great because I got to chat more with Ashlyn.  They are expecting a baby in January-so it was fun to connect with her. 

Finnean checking out the AMAZING dome!

Silly boy!

We ended our night with dinner with Joe and Susan.  We were in Madison three years ago to celebrate them getting married.  You can see those posts here and compare how much Finnean has grown!!  We love getting to see Joe and Susan, seriously some of the nicest people we know.  We ate at the Great Dane Brewing Company and sat in their garden patio.  It was like a little sanctuary but right on the Capitol square.  Awesome way to end our first full day on vacation.