High flying fun at the Fair!

On Saturday, July 23rd we ventured out to the Green County Fair.  It was hot, sunny, 10% chance of rain and the kids were free for Kids Day!  

We made a beeline for the Cheese Curds as our friends, Luke & Dianne, were visiting for the weekend and had never experienced the best curds ever!

Nate and Luke show off the curds...

 Luke takes a bite and the curds are a winner!!

 Nater enjoyed some super stretchy cheese!

 After curds it was off to the rides!!  Mads had to help Nate with a lift to get his wristband!

The kids chose the Scrambler for their first ride and Mr. Luke offered to ride with them!

 Smooshing Luke!

 Next up Nate hopped into the flying spaceship:

 Is it a Transformers flying ship?  We're not sure...

Then it was on to the Cliff Hanger.  The kids rode a smaller version of this ride last year - this one was way up in the air!  

 They were giggling the whole time!

 Then it was on to the Viking Ship.  Mads chose the seats.  I was a little nervous how far back they were, but Mads was ready for it.  Nate didn't know exactly what he was in for, but ended up having fun!

 Then they took a second ride.  They told me they were going to sit in the last row.  I had a heart attack and then Nate said "I'm not scared, I can handle this."  Deep breathing for me while they rode...  

 It's so high!!  But they hopped off and said they loved it! 

 Next up was the Ali-Baba carpet ride.  (The kids were separated by this group of kids that jumped in between them - Mads is on the end)

 Then THREE trips through the Wacky Shack and it was starting to rain....

 The rides were still going so they took a spin on the Moby Dick:

 And a walk through the other fun house:

 Hey guys!

They slid down at the end..

and Mads got a wet butt!  :(

 Mr. Luke had some fun at the football game while the kids were in the fun house:

 We quick scurried over to get our favorite fair foods.  Lemonade for me, twist ice cream for Nate and a funnel cake for Mads.  We found a table in one of the vendor sheds and not a second too soon!!  The storm hit and it DOWNPOURED!!  Along with thunder and lightning - it was an impressive storm!

We enjoyed our treats while waiting for the storm to pass: 

 Fun with powdered sugar!

The rain let up a little bit so we made our way quickly home.  We were quite a bit wet when we got home!  We didn't get a change to go through the animal barns, but we still had a good time at the fair!  :)

Starbucks, Flowers, Butterflies & Books!

Mads had requested a Mommy & Mads day a week ago, and luckily we were able to make it happen quickly - on Saturday, July 16th!  

We started with the basics, a stop at Starbucks!

 Mads tried something different - a Strawberries & Creme - and she loved it!  :)

Rockin' out to the Summer Jams CD - We're 2 Legit 2 Quit!  LOL

I surprised Mads with our main activity for the day - a trip to Olbrich Gardens!  Neither of us had been there before!  We started with a stroll around the grounds, the flowers are just so gorgeous!

 Mads asked for a picture of her standing on the rock!  :)

 Such beautiful colors!

 Stepping stones in the Japanese pond:

 Mads and I both agree that we think lilypads are pretty cool!

Me and my gorgeous daughter!

 A perfect picture spot!

 We crossed the bridge and found some elephant statues welcoming us to the Thai pavillion:

 How fantastic!

 A rare opportunity to catch a picture of just Mads and I!

 A wonderful pavillion!

 We saw more interesting flowers as we walked the gardens:

 Love the light pink color:

 The special surprise for Mads was that the Blooming Butterflies exhibit was open!  We were able to walk through the conservatory and see butterflies flying all around us!

 What an interesting tree!

 My favorite picture of the butterflies - just resting on a flower:

 Such neat varieties of plants!

Mads loved seeing the butterflies and asked if we could come back to see them again. 

Next it was our traditional lunch date at Noodles!

Shorty McShort-pants couldn't reach the soda dispenser!  ;)

LOVE Noodles!!

Mads requested a stop at her favorite place - Barnes & Noble!  We found Fraggles there!  :)

After a stop at Target it was off to head back home!  We rounded out the day with a trip to the pool (with Dad & brother too!)  We had another fabulous Girl's Day!!