Our first Brewer game and tailgate party!

We ended up with great pictures from this weekend's Brewer game, so I'm posting a few right away!

The trip to Madison and Milwaukee was a lot of fun. We rode to Madison first with Bill and Jonathan, stopping along the way to have lunch with Laurie, Mark, John, and Mom and Dad as well. Of course we had to eat at the Great Dane, the wonderful bar/restaurant that Mark used to manage before becoming owner of his own restaurant. The Great Dane is very near the capitol building and John and Jim's condo apartment in the city center. Jon and Jonathan had never been to the condo before, so enjoyed being able to see it for themselves.

From there we met up with Jim and his family and friends. We were introduced to a few before joining the long caravan to Miller Park. It was already raining steady, but we had been forewarned (so came with umbrellas). We made our way to the parking lot and found Jim's family already setting up open-air tents and tables between the parked cars. You could tell his family knew how to tailgate! In no time at all there were brats on the grill and all kinds of salads, chips and treats spread out. John introduced us to more Houzners, and the time before the game went fast.

We were worried that Bob and Lisa wouldn't make it, but they arrived just in time to get their tickets and eat a plate of food before the game. Bob's a big Brewer fan and has been to lots of the games, so we were glad to be able to have him along as well.

We were glad the dome was covered, because it never stopped raining outside! But inside, the stadium experience was breathtaking-- very impressive. We were near the top, but our view was excellent. The lighting was good and everything looked sharp and clear. There were birds flying in the rafters overhead and so much to look at. Cheerleaders, someone singing the national anthem, a child throwing the first pitch; there were lots of little rituals to engage the audience and break things up. The kids loved the sausage race at the end of the sixth inning.

And we had a great game to watch! Not only did the Brewers win, but they dominated most of the game. We got to see home runs and lots of action. Every time the Brewers scored a run, their mascot (Bernie Brewer?) slid down the slide and fireworks went off. The whole thing was very entertaining and easy to follow. I liked that you didn't have to listen to a running commentary of the whole thing in the stands, but could still tell what was going on by the scoreboard, stats, and big screen close-ups of players as they came up to bat.

Michael was riveted, but Emma got kind of squirmy by the end. At one point I took her out into the lobby to get a snack and some exercise, and was impressed by how easy it was to leave the stands and find your way back again. The stands were broken up into lots of small parts with their own separate exits, so you weren't blocked in. And all the exits were numbered sequentially, so it was very easy to return. There were different concession stands and restrooms by each exit, so you never had to wander far. And there was a play-by-play of the game in the lobby so you could still keep track of what was going on.

The only chaos came after the game... leaving (or trying to leave!) the parking lot. Not so easily done. We had to wait quite awhile before we were no longer blocked in, and then we lost John (who's car we needed to follow to the motel) right away. I drove in a few useless circles around the parking lot, running over a bag of garbage as well, before John called us by cell and let us know he was waiting for us just ahead. Once we caught up with John we stayed on him like glue.

The rain never let up once. We were all pretty soaked by the time we checked in and found our rooms. The rooms weren't real large, but the motel had nice solid furniture and wonderful feather duvets on the beds. We changed into dry clothes and slept very well.

The next morning we enjoyed our continental breakfast in the lobby, and the kids spent a couple of hours in the pool. The pool room was actually another nice chance to visit with the Houzners. Several of Jim's siblings had young children there, and Mikey and Emma had a chance to swim and play with them. Jim and JoJo got right in the water with the kids and were very good sports about getting splashed.

All in all, it was a great trip, and we'd love to do it next year as well!

Lots going on!

It's been awhile since I've written, and lots has been going on-- most notably the birth of my brother Don's son, Stephen Charles Bragg. The baby was born a month early, emergency c-section, but weighed in at an amazing 11 pounds 4 ounces. He was over 23 inches long. Don reports that mother and child are in good health. For any Hurlburts checking in, Don and Hope live in Arkansas and have two other children as well.

Mom left yesterday afternoon, after staying with us for a 4 day, 3 night visit. Dad dropped her off on Thursday (along with our dog Coco), and the kids were very excited to have her here. We ate out a couple of times, did some school shopping, and went to north side Eau Claire's farmer's market in Phoenix Park. There we bought lots of heavy produce, including two watermelons, so I made several trips back and forth to load stuff up while Mom and the kids ate ice cream and listened to folk music.

Saturday afternoon we visited Aunt Margy. She is doing very well and was as warm and gracious as ever. I always think of her as the perfect hostess, because she seems to genuinely enjoy making guests in her home feel comfortable and at ease. Both kids like her a lot. We chatted for an hour or so and I was pleased when she gave me one of Grandma Bragg's hand-made braided rugs. Also she let me borrow her copy of the newest Harry Potter book. I have to admit it that I started that book yesterday afternoon and have already finished it. I found the ending very satisfying and liked the book a lot.

I will post a picture of my new haircut on the blog. I now have hilights and much shorter hair. The difference in length was shocking, at first, but we're getting used to it now and it is a lot more practical. Still, what a change!

Brother Bill will be coming Wednesday. He's going to stay over a couple of nights and visit before we all leave for Madison on Saturday. Bill and Jonathan will be riding with us when we meet up with John and Jim and convoy over to the Milwaukee Brewer game. Jon's sister Sally has generously agreed to watch Coco for us. We can't wait to experience our first big tailgate party and meet the Houzners. Wish everyone could make it there!