K is for Kelly: Homeward Bound

OK, well it's not really our home anymore, and Madison never actually was my home. I'm referring more to the Midwest in general... you know the place where people actually smile and say hello to you on the street... and where the high and low temperatures of the day can be 50 degrees apart... where there's 4 real seasons and not an empty seat to be found at a Hawkeye (or insert your favorite Big Ten team here) football game. Aahhh, the Midwest, we miss you!

We had a great trip to Madison over Labor Day weekend (yes, this post is a little late... still getting used to this motherhood and blogging thing)! Kiera was a trooper on the plane. We flew Southwest and learned to ask ahead of time how many open seats there were; that way if we knew there were going to be open seats we would just let Kiera chill in the open seat so no one would sit there. We had the whole row to ourselves and Kiera even napped laid out across the middle seat between us. She also practiced sitting up in the seat and even tried out her seatbelt. : )

The wedding was great and I am so sad to report that I have no pictures of the lovely bride and groom! Oops! It was on their land out in the country and turned out beautifully. They had a big white tent and all sorts of cute details like little birch tree stumps holding up the table numbers and the placecards hung on a mini clothesline with little clothespins! I love weddings!! It was definitely a bit challenging to have Kiera with us at the wedding reception though. My back was very sore after holding her most of the night. We took her out on the dance floor for a couple songs when she was fast asleep... isn't it amazing how babies can sleep in the strangest/loudest places?

We stayed in downtown Madison on Sunday night and it was so much fun! Taste of Madison was going on so we walked around the Capital tasting some yummy food and drink before heading to the Union for a beer on the lake followed by dinner (a Gritty Burger and fried cheese curds!) at the Nitty Gritty! The house Joel grew up in is on the other side of Lake Mendota behind us in the lake picture (not that you can see it!).