The third semester finished up well, and I flew off to Madison, WI to spend a week and a half with family. It was a wonderful, activity-packed break from school. I left Atlanta the morning after my practical exam and arrived in Madison in time to take an afternoon walk with Elizabeth and Enzo. I was also introduced to the 5 baby birds who were ensconced in a nest under the front door awning.
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| 5 baby birds under a small metal roof |
We walked to the nearby elementary school playground but couldn't go in, since school was in session. It then began to pour rain, so we took cover in the porch of a nearby shop. When the rain let up, we walked back toward the house. Here's a sample of Enzo's character:
Alan and I took Enzo back to the elementary school playground later that evening, and then our parents arrived late that night. We all got together the next morning, and we out-of-town visitors kept Enzo entertained while his parents attended a parent-teacher conference at his school.
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| enzo and his grandparents enjoying the school playground |
During the next few days, we kept busy with many activities, including Henry Vilas zoo, a nighttime walk to enjoy the full moon, a local Native American pow-wow, playgrounds, live music from Alan and friends at Brocach, and just playing at home.
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| elizabeth, grandma, and alan chatting above, enzo cleaning up spider webs below at olin park |
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| i'm telling you, this kid is brilliant! he did this himself! at olin park |
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| proof i was there - in a giant shoe in vilas park |
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| revving up at the park by the zoo |
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| my first time seeing red pandas - i think i want one! |
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lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!!
sad note: vilas, the lioness pictured above, recently passed away from cancer |
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| acrocats! ponyo and wabi-sabi demonstrating their skills |
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| enzo playing with a christmas present from grandma, supervised by stuffed toys from cousin queenie |
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| full moon shining on a pedestrian/ bike bridge and trees |
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| monkeyfish enjoying ice cream leftovers |
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| family pictures with entertainment/ interference from wabi-sabi |
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tiny native american dancers at a pow-wow
(incidentally. when did traditional native american costumes start adding neon colors?) |
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| west wind performing at brocach. |
The next day was Enzo's birthday which probably deserves a post to itself, so I'll stop there!
