We have this yummy store called Whole Foods, that is the closest store for us to walk to. It is pretty expensive. Everything is organic and healthy.  But the store brand items are sometimes reasonable, and they have specials all the time. Plus they always have tasters. Sarah loves tasters. Ryan loves their cherries, and every time we go you can taste the strawberries and cherries!!! YUM! anyway they had this cupcake decorating activity that I took Sarah to, and she really enjoyed it. She loves being creative, being left to do whatever she wants. As you can see she had  a great time. I think she enjoyed the eating part even more. See the yummy selection of decorations.

Sarah's creation!

AAAAH!! I love those chocolate covered pretzels! We signed up for the store's kids club, and Sarah gets a free gift every month. plus something special on her birthday. and it's all free. She got some seeds today. We went to do 4th of July stuff, and ate some yummy food, and Sarah coloured and made strawberry shortcake... I think we'll go as often as we can. the activities they plan are fun! She got to paint on the window of the store too!

Back in green Madison! See what I mean about the green and trees everywhere?!

Doesn't it just look gorgeous? This is the view from a trail to picnic point, which is close to where we live. you can see the buildings of downtown Madison across the Lake.

This is the first puff pancake I made!! Doesn't it look great! We had it with fruit and honey on top. Yum!!! We 1st had it at our friend's house, and just had to make it ourselves. 

Sarah concentrating fiercely on riding her bike uphill. Thank you Craigslist, where we got her bike 2nd hand. It's great. She's still a little nervous of going downhill too fast, as she forgot to brake once and got a big fright (fortunately Ryan caught her before she went over the grass and into the street).

Sarah enjoying her bike again. We got the helmet for free on a Saturday when the police were handing them out as initiative for safe cyclists and pedestrians... She loves it! And wears it, because, even though she doesn't like the strap under her chin, the police man fitted it and showed her how to wear it.

I am for the most part enjoying being in Madison. it is gorgeous and warm. I am walking every day, and getting good exercise in. We have a garden plot that we share with another family, and they very generously planted stuff while we were away. It is great to see things grow and even to weed. It is good to be outside in the sun.


I am excessively tired. I am going to bed. Thank you for reading our blog, for commenting and for staying in touch with us. I am thinking of making our blog private... so don't be surprised if you get an email to that effect. It's really easy, you just have to have a yahoo or gmail email address, and those are easy to set up for free, even if you don't use it too often. So if you dont' have one, this is fair warning to set one up.

'night:-)