Some photos

I now present a series of random photos from recent days. Enjoy!

Have you fed the fish today?

Let me tell you about life in Wisconsin so far. It's freaking cold. I've been told the rest of the country is experiencing a meteorological phenomenon known as summer. I have merely experienced a couple of days where it was warm enough to take my jacket off. My dad keeps assuring me that it has been unusually cold. Ten to twelve degrees below normal he says. I'll believe it when I see it, I say.

Yesterday was the first day that I began to believe. Temperatures were in the mid 70s so we headed out to the park for a picnic. That's the other thing I've learned about Wisconsin. They don't waste a minute of any warm weather they might get. All sunny days must be spent outside, preferably drinking.

Having just procured a Wisconsin fishing license, I was ready to bring the pain to the fish of the Wisconsin river. Now I've been told that the shallow, snag prone river is not the best place to fish, but just look at what I caught:

Behold the mighty catfish! It took hours of expert angling to reel in the sucker, but state regulations said I had to return it to the river. That's too bad, because I think it was the perfect size for a Tippy snack. He really likes fish.

In which my mom becomes addicted to Bananagrams

It all started innocently enough. I went over to Madison to spend the weekend with Josh and Kelly and check out all the amazing cheeses and lakes the area has to offer. You can read all about it here because I was too busy eating milk products to blog about it.

Anyway, one night that weekend Kelly busted out the Bananagrams so we could play a game. Considering I've tried to live a Scrabble free life, I was really no competition for Kelly and her ruthless wordsmithing. I liked the game, though, and thought it might be something fun to play with my parents. I'm always trying to find activities for them these days. You know how it is. I don't want them out on the streets all day getting into trouble.

I found the game on sale at Target one day so that sealed the deal. That evening I showed my mom how to play and a Banagrams monster was created. Now we spend part of each evening locked in vicious competition and looking up obscure words (dui, anyone?). We're closely matched so it usually comes down to the last tile or two. I'm also pretty sure I could give Kelly a better run for her money these days. After all, I have a lot of practice.

I try not to contemplate that this is what my life has come to - sitting around all evening playing word games. I try to focus on all the good I'm doing ion the world, like keeping my parents out of gangs.