Madison, Wisconsin

Friday
Knit a few rectangles of Lady Eleanor while waiting for our flight to board in DC. We arrived in Madison around noon. Kristina's cousin Vanessa and Aunt Debbie picked us up at the airport. Knit a bit more after lunch. We had dinner with my friend Ray Hsu and his girlfriend Nikki at a Nepalese place, Chautara Restaurant. The food was really good (I had the shrimp and scallop special) and we had a good time hanging out. It's been a long time since I've seen Ray and Nikki was great. They both know Peter and Katie. Ray signed my copy of his book, Anthropy.



Later that night, I finally met Kristina's boyfriend, Bruce. He's funny, generous, understanding, intelligent and I completely approve.

Saturday
The weather that morning was not promising but by noon when Peter and Katie's wedding ceremony started, it was beautiful, warm, and sunny. I almost cried the entire time. Along with the Hylands, Anna Clark and Ben Rimes were there from St. Joe. I met Ben's wife Nikki and his daughter Ella.



Edited to add: Photos from the photographer can be viewed here

We were all seated together for lunch and it was nice to be able to catch up with Ben since I haven't seen him in years. Ella was adorable and charming. The wedding ended sometime in the afternoon. For dinner, Max and I went out with Kristina and Bruce and a few of Bruce's friends. We ate at a place that Ray had recommended, the Kabul Mediterranean Restaurant. The food was good. I had the Duck Strudel special.

Sunday
Breakfast was a big Hyland meal at the Cracker Barrel with Kristina, Bruce, Andy, his fiancee Jackie, Kristina's Mom, Aunt Debbie, her husband Dave, and Kristina's Uncle Peter. Afterwards a bunch of us were leaving and Aunt Debbie started crying, which got me crying, and almost Jackie too I think. Which is funny because we're all going to see each other in three weeks at Andy and Jackie's wedding. It's been a long time since I've spent time with so many Hylands. They're a wonderful family (sometimes I think I love them more than my own) and they're so very lucky that everyone gets along so well. Kristina and Bruce took me and Max to the airport. I knit some more while we waited for our flight to board. Almost finished the second ball of yarn!