It is officially the start of the college football season. We attended our first Badger game of the season in our brand new seats. We finally broke down this year and purchased season tickets to the Badgers so we don't have to always scramble for tickets. We managed to get pretty good seats around the 25 yard line with a nice view of the field (in other words, not too low and not too high). We met the season ticket holders next to us who have been sitting in their seats for 30 some years. For those who chose not to spend their Friday night glued to the TV, the Badgers looked a little rough in the first half, but managed to pull it together and have a spectacular second half to win the game easily. Jo and I were certainly wondering about the wisdom of committing to season tickets through most of the first half. We did have a beautiful night for the game (although, I'm old fashioned enough to feel that college football should be played during the day on Saturday's - enough of these night games just to gain TV revenue - ok, I'm done now) with cool but not cold temperatures and not a drop of rain in sight.
Saturday, after a tasty breakfast with Kathy and John at a local cafe (definitely not a diner, since they had salad as a side) we got a tour of John's home away from home for the first time. We have known John for around 15 years, but this is the first time we ever got the official tour. He has a lovely ranch home with enough pieces of his family's history to start his own museum. Afterwards, it was time to head home and catch up on a few chores around here - like getting to the gym.
Sunday morning we lazed around in the morning - especially since we hit the gym yesterday - and then pumped up the bike tires to head over to the Brewer's stadium. Jo was hosting some of her team at the Legends Club at the stadium, while we watched the Brewer's defeat the division leading Nationals. Two for two on wins for the home teams this weekend! We certainly enjoyed the warm chocolate chip cookies they distribute during the 5th inning at the Legends Club.
Monday morning we hauled ourselves from bed early to get out for a bike ride before the traffic got bad and then headed over to the gym to continue to feel virtuous for the weekend. We spent the rest of the day curled up with a backlog of newspapers and books to read.
Once again, we were in Madison for the weekend working on our condo selections and attending some sporting events. We scooted out of town quickly on Thursday so that we could see the Wisconsin women's volleyball team play Marquette. Very close games with our Badgers finally winning in the fourth set. During the game, Jo made a new friend, but then mascots are always hanging around her (as evidenced by a picture we have of her and the Phillie Phanatic from years ago). We had a great time watching the game and afterwards enjoyed a nice stroll home with near perfect temperatures.
Jo headed off on Friday for a Chemistry board meeting while I held down the fort with our contractor selecting such fun things as grout colors and carpet underlayments. Yep, I'm living the large life. Afterwards we tucked into some homemade pizza before walking over to Union South to watch the movie, "The Big Sick". Great movie and we both highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fun romantic comedy. Saturday we picked up a few things at the Farmer's market and then took our morning constitutional out to Picnic Point, before meeting Kathy and John at the Memorial Union for lunch. After lunch it was time to watch the Badger's football team play Brigham Young and decided to do it at the Union. It was a lot fun watching with a crowd and a pitcher of beer. It helped the fun that our team won (but it also could have just been the pitcher of beer). We then decided to simply get some burgers for dinner before traipsing over to the UW Field House for another volleyball match (yes, our lives are now spent watching sports since we are getting too creaky to actually do them anymore). 
We then decided to drive home after the game, so we could wake up in our own beds Sunday morning. Sunday consisted of getting a bike ride in before heading to the gym and then some quality nap time in the afternoon. Later that night we caught up with our CT friends, Bruno and Sheri, via Facetime and found that they are only one peak away from hiking all the 4,000 foot peaks in NH - yes they have way too much energy.
