So Saturday was a day to remember. It was a day to achieve an item on the bucket list and better yet a day to share with my kids and my mom! The plan was to go on a bus trip to Madison, WI to watch the Blue Man Group perform as part of their world tour. I had seen them advertised and had seen them on TV, but wanted to experience them in person ... so, when I saw the poster to sign up for the trip, I jumped at the chance right away!
I also jumped just as quickly on Saturday morning when I heard my son come into my bedroom saying "Mom! It is almost 8am!" Let me tell you we all jumped quickly ... the bus we were supposed to be riding on was scheduled to leave at 8am and we live 10 minutes away and were still in bed!! Not a good way to start the morning!! Needless to say, I yelled to my children to get ready fast while I literally threw on the first articles of clothing that I saw in my room. In the few seconds it took me to run into the bathroom, I was praying that I would not find my hair in the "mohawk, bedhead hairdo" that often greeted me in the morning! Whew...praise the Lord, my hair looked almost as if I hadn't even slept
on it!! I ran a comb quickly threw my hair, brushed my teeth and swiped some eyeliner under each eye as I hoped the kids had listened to my cries to get ready. Luckily, I met them in the kitchen as I stepped into unlaced shoes, grabbed my purse and opted for the keys to my son's van that was warmly tucked in the garage rather than my snow covered van outside! We drove as quickly as we could on the slightly slick winter roads (just our luck) and made it to the parking lot in time to take off with the group! Thankfully, my mother had called our house that morning or we may not have woken up in time!
The bus ride was enjoyable -- time to bond with my mom and my kids and time to watch a movie as we drove by some local sights. We arrived in Madison around 11:30 a.m. The bus dropped us off on "State Street" where we could take in the sights of the Capital building as well as walk to a number of restaurants and stores. We decided to eat at Ian's Pizza and Salad. It was a great place to eat ... we all had pizza (huge slices) and we shared a salad. The kids were not very daring and they had sausage pizza and cheese pizza. I tried the spinach and asiago cheese pizza (it was very good -- I shared a bit with my mom). My mom had the macaroni and cheese pizza which they said was on the Food Network. The kids and I all tried a bite of her pizza and it was really good!
After we ate, we walked around outside a bit (despite the fact that it was a cold, January day in Wisconsin). We got a bit closer to the capital building and I took a picture ... we can now say we have seen the Wisconsin State Capital too. We also looked in some stores which had a number of neat items that we could have purchased. We did not purchase anything. As we were walking between stores, we couldn't help but notice a few homeless people sitting outside in the cold. One man was sitting on a bench with a number of bags near him and another man had claimed a little corner of an abandoned store on the street. He huddled in his blanket on the cold cement in the little alcove. It broke my heart a bit and also made me grateful for the fact that I had a home to return to and enough money to bring my kids on this excursion.
Eventually it was nearly time for the Blue Man Group performance. We headed into the Overture Center and found our seats. Our seats were in the "Circle Section". We were not on the floor and we were not so close that we needed to wear panchos like some, but we had a great view of the performance. The performance was not exactly what I had imagined, but it was awesome, just the same. I enjoyed the music, the colors, the "mime-type" acting and the comedy as well. It was an awesome performance and I was grateful to find that my children (even my teenage son) seemed to be enjoying themselves! My mother enjoyed herself as well and we danced along with the beat a bit when they instructed the crowd to do so.
After the performance ended, we headed outside (via a stop in the bathroom and a stop by the sign to take a picture) and waited for the bus. Once we boarded the bus, we had a snack and watched the movie "The Help" as we rode home. We also stopped at McDonald's half way home which was a nice little break from the traveling. Despite the fact that we had a great trip, the day ended about as well as it began. When we got home, both of my children crashed into bed not feeling well. They have both spent much of today in bed as well.
I guess I will take this opportunity to teach you today a little bit about looking at the bright side of things. Some people would be quick to point out the negatives of getting up late (and probably looking a bit harried all day) and the fact that the kids both ended up sick. Those people may not see the trip as a major success. I, on the other hand, am extremely grateful for the fact that I got to spend the day with my kids and my mom, got to see the Wisconsin Capital, eat a new version of pizza, and see the Blue Man Group in person!! To me, it was a perfect day!! I even got a little more sleep that morning than I had planned! :) I also am grateful that I had a home to return to and the opportunity to bond with my children the next day as they quietly rested away their illnesses!
I am happy today! :)
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