We heart Madison (Part One)

Meet the crew...Molly, Cat & I lived in the same dorm freshman year at Miami U (even though said dorm has now been bulldozed, RIP Reid Hall). Long story short, after years of "growing up" post-Miami we've all kept in touch & this weekend was the first official big reunion - in Madison, Wisconsin where these two girls currently live. It's really not possible to summarize all that this circle of friends means to us, but I'll just say this - we've visited our Molly all over the world (you may remember NYC pics from around J's first year) & I've come to rely on Cat as a like-minded Mama who has offered lots of support during J's first two years.  Cat and her now husband Brandon and Louie & I all lived together 'Above Bagel & Deli' in college and later ended up getting married a week apart from each other. Now we have kids less than a week apart in age. And it gets even funnier - Lou & Brandon drive the same car and until recently so did Cat & I.  Anyway, suffice it to say, this reunion was looooong overdue.  Add to this that Miss Molly Moore is now engaged to the super-wonderful Mr. Dave Hamm and this was a weekend destined to be fantastic! Here are some of our fave photos from the weekend. I have about 50 "favorites" so bare with me.

I gotta say - the best part was that Josie & Ronan finally got to meet!!!!  And they really hit it off. They were so cute together (as dozens of photos will soon confirm as you scroll down) and one of our favorite moments was Josie going in for a smooch.  Really, as you scan through the photos take notice of the little looks they are giving each other. Adorable! 

 

 

And before I get too much further, I can't forget the gorgeous Miss Isla - Ronan's little sister - who we were also super excited to meet. She's an angel & always has this same sweet little look on her face. 

It was a gorgeous 70 degree day in Madison and we had a blast exploring downtown, campus & the Farmers Market. What a city! Truly a liberal-family's dream!

 

 

After a busy day, hanging out at Chez Runyan couldn't have been a better way to relax and catch -up. And it made for some great moments watching Josie & Ronan together - like sharing their favorite youtube videos -

And books -

Really, Ronan is one of the sweetest little boys I've ever met. We couldn't believe how good he was about sharing his toys and how gentle & kind he was with Josie. He even let her wear is boots (above). He's a total "go with the flow" HAPPY kid and just so much fun to be around!

On Sunday morning we headed to "Lazy Jane's" for breakfast which is pretty much heaven on earth - awesome scones, hot coffee, couches & tables to dine AND tons of cute toys, books, and games to entertain the kiddos while you eat.  They even had a big trunk of dress-up clothes, which you can see kept Josie busy - although Ronan clearly thought she was just a little bit crazy.  All in all - who knew breakfast with a big group and a bunch of kids could actually be enjoyable and not insane? The rest of these are from "Lazy Jane's"- almost worth the 8 hour drive itself. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed Round One.  Even better than these are Round Two - which includes an absolutely beautiful lake-side afternoon and lots of "Awwww" photos of Josie & her future husband. I'll try to get those up tonight!