'HHH' - Father's Day - Bluebird Trail - great Madison weekend

Wow, the traffic to Madison was wild but forgotten after the warm fuzzy, awesome weekend.  We had a lot on the docket and it was really nice.

Jason did the 200K 'Horribly Hilly Hundreds' on Saturday circa Blue Mounds/Mount Horeb.  He was happy about finishing and felt 'great'? the whole way.  Not sure how or why he does this but it's part of what makes him tick and he did it with some good friends.  Unique accomplishment - his third time, too!

We went out for pizza at Paisan's overlooking Lake Monona as seems to be the tradition after the Horribly Hilly.  Good pizza and better yet - good company - Jason's parents were down to spectate and their friends joined us, my cousin Brooke and also my Dad came.  Estelle walked back to the car all by herself - her solo walking confidence is getting there!

While Jason was biking up hills for 9 hours, the kids and I went with my Mom ('Nanny') on her bluebird trail.  It is just beyond terrific.  What an amazing yet calming thrill!  We find nests and eggs each exquisitely distinct to tree swallows, wrens and of course the beloved bluebirds.  There are 19 boxes to check and record.  My Mom has been doing this for years and feels soooo blessed to have the privilege.  She also feels my sis Robin lent a heavenly hand...

We went up to the farmer's market for a bit, too before Stelly's nap and then climbing the hill (in the car - hee hee) to watch Jason finish.
My aunt Kathy worked away while we were out and about to prepare for the triple birthday and father's day party on Sunday.  What a woman!  So Jason and I coaxed her into at least walking up to Barriques for a glass of wine to take a load off.  The neighborhood is so great by my Mom's and Dad and Kathy's.  Walking to the zoo, shops, restaurants - even a Trader Joe's!

And Sunday - Happy Father's Day!  Kathy puts on a great party and has an unbelievably awesome attitude through it all.  Doesn't miss a detail and the fare is always delicious.  Inspiring.

And one dinner feature from the last couple weeks - turkey burgers and grilled zucchini:

Check out the avocado!  Organic at Whole Foods - they've been beautiful lately.

Busy time of year...

Graham's last day of K4 is tomorrow!  Pretty neat...bittersweet for all of the obvious reasons.

Mem Day wkend in Eau Claire - it's no wonder that Graham had 4 ticks!

Estelle has just been dancing along her way and blooming and growing...

A few goodies from the past few weeks...

Jason makes a great breakfast at least once a weekend and blueberry waffles from his Grandma's recipe are a frequent.  We've been buying the huge bag of frozen blueberries from Costco.  [Hard to believe Stelly has fleece PJs on just a week or two ago and today it's hot and humid and she's in a swimming suit!]

We made spanikopita from Cooks Illustrated - the brilliant tip was using a cookie sheet versus a pan so the bottom doesn't get soggy.  A bit of tedious work with the roughly 20 brushed phyllo layers but soooo good/worth it!

And Jason picked up some tilapia one Friday and made Kale and a brown rice/goat cheese/spinach delight.  Healthy and tasty.