Each fall, we try to make it to at least one of Thomas's football games. Each year, we also try to do something fun with Jackson for his birthday in lieu of tangible gifts. This year, those two things collided! The closest BYU came to us was Madison, Wisconsin, so we made a trip of it.
We drove to Wisconsin Dells first, where we stayed in a resort with an on-site water park and amusement park. Jackson loves water slides and roller coasters, so he was in heaven. You know what else he loves? Bunk beds. So he was pretty pumped to have his own bunk bed, too. He took the top bunk and gave his toys the bottom bunk. Brandon and I, on the other hand, had a regular bed with a headboard screen-printed on the wall. :)
We hit up the water park the afternoon we got there, then the amusement park the next morning. I didn't get any pictures at the water park because my phone was in a locker, but I snapped a few at the amusement park on our second day. Jackson was so excited that he was finally tall enough to ride all the rides! I was done after the first one - I'm not so into rollercoasters these days - but Brandon took him on a few more.
We did have a few cutthroat go-kart races, though. Turns out they mostly just go the same speed, so whoever started first always wins.
After a morning at the amusement park, we had lunch at Culver's, a Wisconsin original, then headed to the football game in Madison.
This was Jackson's first college football game, so he thought the stadium was pretty cool.
My mom and dad drove up the night before and stayed in Madison, so it was fun to meet up with them at the game.
It was SO HOT. Seriously miserable. And we were in the direct sun for the whole game up until the last few minutes. Once the sun finally went down below the stadium on the other side, we finally got some sweet relief.
Wisconsin was ranked #6 in the country at the time, so we weren't really expecting much - just to hopefully make a few good plays so we had something to cheer for. We had no idea we were in for the game of games - it all came down to a missed field goal by Wisconsin which happened right in front of us. It took a second to realize they'd missed it, and then our little section exploded. As you can tell from all the red, BYU fans were in the minority, but we were flipping out in our little corner. The most fun I've ever had at a football game. We beat Wisconsin!! And my streak continues - BYU has never lost a game I've attended in person. I think I'm the good luck charm!
We stayed for a minute afterwards and got to say hi to Thomas down on the field. Thanks, BYU, for paying for Thomas to come see us!
We drove back home after the game, which made for a very late night. Jackson went straight to sleep, of course, and I slept quite a bit, too, but Brandon rocked it as he always does. I think we got home at about 3 am. I had to speak in church the next morning, but it was all worth it!
