Fact: Day Twenty

This is the Day of Laura.

The day I was looking forward to as much as anything on this trip.

And it was just as fabulous as I could have hoped. Her kids are super, her house was awesome, the weather was perfect here in Madison, WI.

But who cares--it was all about me and Laura. We talked and laughed and talked and ate and talked and shopped. The shopping happened at the most amazing thrift store Madison has to offer...we'll call it the "Dive and Dash" (Laura--wouldn't that be a better name?! bawhahahah!) to protect its anonymity. You see, we don't want everyone showing up and taking all the good stuff. Here's how good it is: You dive into enormous 4-ft deep cardboard barrels to find all kinds of amazingness. While you're hunting and sorting and rearranging, the employees bring pallets of more boxes of more stuff and dump it on top of what's already there. Then when you're sufficiently drunk and overstimulated and you have as many treasures as possible, you drive your cart onto a huge scale and then pay. By the pound. Thirty-five cents per pound, to be exact.

Jamie, get your washing machine ready--I found some summer things for Jane. I also got 2 pair of pants for me, a pair of shorts for Jim, a shirt for me, a tub of legos for the kids, a plastic nativity from the 1950s, 4 old-time records with kid pictures for my preschool, and 2 transformers. For $5. I think I'm in love.

I can only say by way of rumor what everyone else did all day...but my kids said they wanted to move in to Laura's house, too. She has 2 cats (one slept right on Will's stomach--his dream come true), every bike and scooter in the world, a basement, and an awesome park right around the corner. Also, Rowan and Nathan are experts on every interesting computer game that my boys have not yet heard of.

Jim got to ride a recumbant bike. Which may have been the highlight of HIS trip.

Which means we think we're staying in Madison. Can someone please forward our mail?

Before I make it sound like there is nothing but rainbows and music in Madison, Rachel DID declare that she has never seen so many bugs in one place in her life. Spoilsport.

And the pictures for the day.

This morning before driving to Laura's...this is how it basically goes in our hotel room every night. Rachel, Jourdan, and Will have a complicated ballet for bed space (don't you think there'd be enough room if they all just laid side by side???)
And Matt's the smart one who takes the floor and sleeps like a log.
I have proven to be horrid at taking pictures when we're with friends on this trip. Here is the ONLY photo in the state of Wisconsin. Which goes to prove that number of pictures has no correlation on enjoyment in a state...

We're having a sleepover at Laura's and then heading tomorrow morning to South Dakota...hope Mt Rushmore is ready for us!