Football and Campfires

November 07, 2011

I realize that my posts as of late have mostly involved talk of football games and all-too-short weekends. This post will be no different as my life in the fall boils down to the Badgers and climbing trips.

On Saturday, we were double booked. Aside from the Badger game, we also had an invitation to a must-attend event at the Nelesen household. Dawn and Chris are some of our favorite people and when we heard they would be having a pudgy pie party, we knew we had to be there; besides, it was also a bit of a surprise birthday gathering for Chris, and would couldn't miss that.

Being that we had to make our way from Madison to the party, we knew we had to choose just the right people to invite to the game - we decided to ask our buddies Andrew and Melissa, whom we have known since they were little kiddos we coached on the climbing team. Now they're Juniors and are thinking about college -where did the time go?

We picked up Andrew and Melissa and drove up to Madison. I brushed up on my cool-kid lingo, and we chatted about driving, college, football and climbing. Once in Madison, we decided to grab some lunch and went to the Nitty Gritty for burgers. Our tasty meal was the perfect fuel for the across-campus jaunt we made. Though a certain member of our group (Brian) doubted our ability to do so, we were able to make it to our seats before kickoff. We enjoyed a great game despite the frigid weather.

After we had our fill of Badger football, we drove back home to enjoy the already-underway festivities at the pudgy pie party. We spent the rest of our evening around the campfire sharing stories, laughing a whole lot and attempting to warm ourselves with wine and cider.

Brian and I were lucky enough to be overnight guests at the Nelesens' house and didn't have to make the long drive home at the end of the night. Instead, we got to spend the rest of our night relaxing with Dawn and Chris.

Sunday, we joined Dawn and Chris for breakfast at a local restaurant, which used to be an old train depot. Our meals was the perfect way to start day of climbing at Governor Dodge State Park. It was chilly while we were climbing, and I sure could have used a fire then, but I enjoyed the quiet time with my husband.

A special thanks to Dawn and Chris for hosting such a great party. Heading back from the game and warming up by the fire really made for a great evening. Andrew and Melissa, thanks for being two really awesome kids. We loved spending the day with you...and Melissa, I totally meant it; you + me and a college tour our two this spring, ha?!