Badger Saturday

Saturday marked my return to Camp Randall after taking a weekend off to celebrate the impending arrival of my new cousin, "Baby Malic".  Brian was out of town covering a climbing competition, so I invited some of my friends, Justin and Amanda, and my sister-in-law, Becky, to the game.  Lucky for us, it was an afternoon game, so we didn't have to get up too early or rush to Madison.

Regardless (and despite my desire to finally sleep in), I woke up early Saturday morning.  What I saw wasn't so exciting - I noticed flashes of light outside of my window; a storm was brewing and I was worried we would spend the day soaking wet and cold.  I immediately checked Madison's weather and was excited to see the forecast called for sun in Madison.  Though I didn't' really expect sunny conditions, I was hanging onto hope for the day to remain dry.

By the time everyone met at my house, it was pouring outside.  We rushed to the car and made an obligatory stop at Starbucks before departing (coffee was needed - it was chilly!).  The further west we drove, the better the weather was, and though we got to Madison a little later than intended, we still had enough time to enjoy the game day atmosphere.  We also ran into my Uncle Jeff, Aunt Mary Jo, Uncle John and Aunt Margaret, who all happened to be at the same bar we were at - thanks to Facebook, they knew were were all at the same place and called Becky to meet up.

Then, it was off to the stadium.  I don't like to miss kickoff, but we were having so much fun that we decided to hang out a bit longer; we got to our seats not long into first quarter, which was impressive considering bathroom breaks and snacks were needed along the way.  It was a great time and I loved watching the Badgers move to 3 - 0 on the season....we even got to see Melvin Gordon, a former Bradford High School student, score his first college touchdown...go Melvin!

After the game, we walked around on State Street looking for goodies and then made a dinner stop before calling it a day.  I am now the proud owner of a Bucky Bobble Head, something I've wanted for a while (a Badger pillow pet is next on my list).  It was a long day, and it got quite cold in Camp Randall, but we sure made the most of the day and had an absolute blast!

Photographic Evidence of Us Having Too Much Fun ...

how our drive started out

look what we can do - had to stop off at the park on the way to the game

King of the Mountain 

all of us atop the rope tower 

pregame fun

sisters!

Justin and me

BADGER!! 

honey badger doesn't give a ...

alright Bucky!

good guys WIN

5th Quarter 

Bucky as band director 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

AJ Runs Several Ks...and Writes About It

Image
On Saturday, May 6, I returned to half marathon racing. It had been quite a hiatus, and my previous half marathon, was completed with a blown out IT band, so I did have to balance high hopes and realistic expectations. After all, a lot has changed since that last race. They say that age is just a number, and by that logic, a half marathon is just miles. 13.1 long and hilly miles in this case, and now officially in the next decade of my life. Yeah, yeah, just a number. Last year, still in my 30s, I toyed with the idea of returning to racing and with running the Door County Half Marathon. We were in Peninsula State Park for our annual Mother’s Day weekend, and the race was taking place. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back to some really good training. Our plan - always - is to be in Door County for our Mother’s Day celebration, so why not sign up?! Well, back to numbers. Two children, one partner, too many hours at work each week, one bike ride/race to each weekend, an
Read more

My Dad, OUR Hero

Image
This past weekend, we celebrated my dad’s 30 years of service to and retirement from the Mukwonago Fire Department. As both a volunteer fire fighter and EMT, he has spent several decades in service of others. During what surely was one of their most trying times, it was my dad who was with people he’d never met and likely wouldn’t see again. To do that on top investing in full-time work, his family, and his other interests is simply remarkable. And that’s my dad: a driven, generous, passionate man. The Mukwonago Fire Department was a part of my youth. The men and women he served with became my dad’s second family, and thus they were there for many of my milestones. My weekends were were filled with various events hosted by MFD, including community events and that one family picnics that ended with Dad getting stitches. Sometimes my weekends - and weeknights - were also filled with quick goodbyes as another call pulled Dad away from our family plans. The sound of his pager and the
Read more

Milestone

Image
I mentioned, not too long ago, interest in a birthday trip to ATL. Michelle Obama would be there for her book tour, the weather is fall-like this time of year and perfect for a long run, and it’s a city I haven’t explored much of. My partner heard me. He showed up, like really showed up!   Just about a week ago, Harper brought me a birthday card and gift she and B had been working on. It was my own copy of  The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times , and a Happy Birthday picture of a plane, a peach, and a pink and purple suitcase (my favorite colors).     I had otherwise been planning a jaunt from home along the Glacial Drumlin Trail and snack day at H’s school. That would have been great. But Brian has been helping me work on prioritizing myself to maintain balance; time away was earned, needed, permissable. To say I was excited for the weekend was an understatement. B attended to all the details (also needed AND appreciated): flights, hotel accommodations, transportation,
Read more