Winter Break - Part 1

Happy New Year!  

We had a blast over the two week break, but boy am I glad to be back into a routine again.  After a while I just start to crave it.  Keep reading to see what we were up to during our time off!

As soon as school was out we packed the car and headed to Wisconsin.  Luckily this year we only had a 13ish hour drive instead of 21...thank goodness. After driving through the night and having breakfast waiting for us at Mike's dad's house, we were ready to start our vacation.

We always stay with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and the kids love to get to have lots of play time with their cousins.  Here are some of our highlights:

  

Grandma Pam made her famous cutout cookies with them and there were plenty of smiles, and flour, to go around.

The weather was unseasonably warm while were were there and we actually had to go look for snow.  

Luckily we found some (man made) snow at Elver Park for an afternoon of sledding.  We all had a blast, and after starting about half way up, we eventually made it to the very top for a few runs.

We also had luck finding a new outdoor skating rink.  The Monona Bank River Rink was so cute and reasonable.  The kids picked up skating very quickly and we didn't have toooo many wipeouts!

One of our favorite things to do is to visit Cascade Mountain (about a 30 minutes drive from Madison) for night skiing.  

Night skiing can be a bit on the cold, icy side, but is usually not as crowded and has a cheaper price tag.  Luckily it was *only* about 36 degrees, so it definitely could have been worse!  We skied from about 4pm-9pm for half of the regular price.  Now that our son can go with us, any discounted ticket is right up our ally.

Spotted Cow for the win!

Christmas-eve morning we went on a small hike near Middleton just to get outside and log a few steps before all of the Christmas parties (and eating) started.  Pheasant Branch Conservatory is a great place to take the kids for a quick walkabout. 

Truth be told, after the hike we maaaay have made our way to Hurts Donuts for a little Christmas pre-gaming.  They are always delicious!

Some may have had more fun than others.

Most of the rest of our trip was full of family celebrations, yummy eating and present opening.  We are always so blessed to get to catch up with everyone.

Santa always seems to find his way to Wisconsin for our kiddos and they love opening presents with their cousins.

50 degrees calls for some backyard soccer!

The Cousin Crew in matching dresses and new dolls.

Our final day found us meeting up with friends at Henry Vilas Zoo.  This free zoo near UW Madison campus is a gem and always a hit with our kiddos.  We were so lucky to get a morning to spend with some of our faves.

Luckily our return trip home was very uneventful and we had a less than 24 hour turnaround before we hosted friends for New Years.  More on that soon!

Cheers to a wonderful 2020!