Weekend Recap: Triple Date & Shoe Shopping

Our (super amazing 3-day) weekend was so jam-packed that I'm going to break it into 2 posts.  As you may have guessed, we kicked off our weekend at the beer garden!  If it makes us seem any less crazy, we have gone with different friends every time, and every time fun is had by all.  It is seriously the best place to go for the babes and the adults!  My bff Sarah and her hubby and baby girl met us on Friday after work.  We always have a blast with them and the best part is that Ben gets to hang out with his girlfriend Maddie.  They unfortunately got off to a rough start when Ben greeted Maddie by knocking her down.  Instant tears for Maddie as I (unsuccessfully) tried to teach Ben how to be gentle.

Luckily, she was able to forgive him and they were able to smile at each other a few times.  They basically ran around while their dads chased them, but we are anxiously awaiting the day when they can play nicely with each other.  And of course the day they get married too.  ;)

I like to think that Ben and Madds are working on sharing.  Ben made sure that he had time to flirt with Maddie's mom for a bit and to make sure that he was still on her good side after invading Maddie's personal space.  I think it is safe to say that they will all be joining us at the beer garden in the near future.

On Saturday, Andy had a kickball tournament, so it was girls + Ben day.  My mom, Auntie Anna, and and I headed to Madison to visit our super cool aunt.  We had big plans of going to the farmer's market, out to lunch, and then shopping til we dropped, however we ended up only having time to head to one of our favorite stores---The Shoe Box!  It has been a tradition for the past several years to go "back to school" and shoe shopping, but since no one is going back to school, we had to settle for shoes only.  :)  We all, Ben included, found a couple pairs of shoes.  Believe it or not, Ben slept through the first half of shopping before waking up to find this train set.  He seemed to be more into the trains than the shoes.  So much to learn, my little guy.

We were home in time for dinner and we decided to go eat outside somewhere because it was BEAUTIFUL out!  We made a last minute decision to check out Zoo a la Carte, and we are so glad we did!  It was totally packed, which I usual don't like, but the weather was so nice that we didn't want to leave.  While eating outside was awesome, the best part of our night was watching Ben check out the animals. He has paid attention in the past, but he was REALLY paying attention this time around.  He was grinning from ear to ear every time one of the animals would move.   Bears seemed to be his favorite.

Although he was acting like he owned the place while walking around in his new shoes, when push comes to shove, this boy loves to be carried.  We didn't mind.  We even let him stay up past his bedtime he was having so much fun.  We didn't want him to get too off of his schedule because Sunday was Nana sleepover day!  More to come on my birthday celebration soon!

Pointing...always pointing!