Wisconsin

John, Anabelle, and I are up in Poynette, Wisconsin for a few days, about a half-hour north of Madison. John makes an annual trip up here with his guy friends from high school to watch the March Madness games and this year we decided to rent the "cabin" for a whole week and Anabelle and I would come up for the beginning of the week, leaving on Thursday when the guys arrive. I use the word cabin in quotes because really even though we call it a cabin, it's not. It is really a lake house, located on Lake Wisconsin. The house is pretty nice, and the only thing rustic about it is the wood paneling all over. They have a large hot tub on the deck, a fireplace, flat screen TVs in every room, and all new appliances in the kitchen. It is owned by an older couple, and I think the wife is my kindred spirit. She has EVERYTHING labeled and also has typed out instructions for anything you might possibly have even the slightest question about!!! (I wonder if she is a teacher?) The house is spotless, well organized, and has pretty much everything you could ever need. She even had a highchair for Anabelle. So we are enjoying a few days of R&R.

We arrived yesterday evening and we were surprised to see that they still had snow on the ground up here. The temps have been around 40 for a high, and the lake looks like it is beginning to get a little slushy. We unpacked and decided to head to the local place for some dinner. It was about 1 mile down the road and pretty much the only place around that served food. Even though we are pretty close to Madison, you get 25 miles out and it's like you're in the boonies. The restaurant was definitely the townie bar, and we felt a little out of place, especially with a baby in tow. Oh well, the food was edible and hot, but definitely not gourmet. We will be trying out a Mexican restaurant tonight that is a short drive away. After dinner last night we came back and let Anabelle run around for a while. She wasted no time in making herself at home. Unpacking all of her toys and making sure to feed her stuffed animals.

Soon it was bedtime for all little girls, and hot tub time for all big girls =) Add in a glass of wine and I was totally relaxed. I tried to convince John that we need a hot tub at home. He said they are too expensive, I am going to be doing a little research. I know how much he loves hot tubs too, something tells me it won't take too much convincing to get one eventually. =)

This morning we got up and headed into town to the grocery store to pick up a few things. Of course the only grocery store was a Piggly Wiggly, love that name!

On the way back to the house we passed a McDonald's and we decided we needed to stop for shakes. Now, I used to be a HUGE fan of Shamrock Shakes, and would be giddy like a kid when they started selling them each year. But then I had one while pregnant with Anabelle and it made me really feel sick. So I thought *OK, no more Shamrock Shakes while pregnant* But then, last year I tried to have one and it made me nauseous. I tried again today and it still tasted yucky. I think that pregnancy ruined Shamrock shakes for me. Well at least it didn't ruin bacon. So back to the shakes, John got a Shamrock shake and I got a vanilla one and we let Anabelle have a taste of her 1st Shamrock Shake. It was a big hit and she kept wanting more, glad to see that she can enjoy them =)

So now we've all had lunch and Anabelle is down for her nap, which sounds like a pretty good idea...