Blast from the Past

This fall I had a blast from the past when I attended a conference at Epic! 

 

They held an event for clinics who don't use Epic but who work closely with hospital/clinics who do have Epic as their electronic health record. 

 

 

 

Here I am standing in front of the Borealis building ~13 years after I started my career at Epic in that very same office space!

 

 

And here is my old office! This is the very place where I started having contractions when I was in early labor with Lucy all those years ago. :)

 

 

One of the new additions to the Epic campus since I left was all of stuff that they acquired from Ella's Deli. Ella's Deli was an East side of Madison landmark for ages until it closed a couple of years ago. Ella's had an old timey carousel outside and tons of fun stuff inside for décor. Everything now has a new home at Epic.   

 

Here is the carousel today.

 

 

Here is that same carousel back in 2010 or 2011 when Paul was just a little guy visiting his Auntie and Uncle in Madison.

 

 

I mean, just look at this over-the-top kiddie cocktail at Ella's Deli! Who wouldn't love a drink with a giant cotton candy garnish? Haha!

 

 

Ella's had all kinds of decorations from various movies, books, and songs. :) Here is their Beatle's yellow submarine which now hangs from the ceiling at Epic.   

 

 

Do you spy that same yellow submarine floating over little Paul's head? How fun!

 

 

I met up with my dear co-worker and friend Jessica at the conference. It was her first time on the Epic campus and she loved it! It is kind of magical. ;)

 

Here is Jess riding the big banana in the lobby of the training center.  

 Everyone needs to ride a big banana at some point in their life. Haha! 

 All of these years later, the biggest thing that I miss about working at Epic is the cafeteria! Dang - their food is awesome! This conference did not disappoint. 

 

Look at their new construction, the castle office buildings were beautiful!

 

 

As always, a trip to the Epic campus is amazing. What a trip down memory lane; I feel really fortunate that I was able to stop by and explore it again!

 

October Happenings

October flew by with school in full swing for my 2nd grader and kindergartener. :)

 

 

Sometimes this sweet little man would join the bigs on their walks to the bus stop. As you can see, we sometimes struggle with finding matching socks (and shoes!) at our household! Haha!

 

 

We prepped for Halloween by digging through the dress up big. Lucy channeled her best white tiger, Laura Ingalls Wilder look.

 

 

Roman worked on some spooky artwork - this kid can create some pretty intricate scenes.

 

Lucy baked some peanut butter cookies on a rainy afternoon.

 

Leo played with his favorites toys, his brother's flipflop, and, the ultimate prize ...

 

 

the remote control! His biggest treasure! Hah!

 

 

We visited the dog park!

 

 

Roman absolutely loves tossing the ball to Ranger.

 

 

Our big kids started Sunday School and sang with the children's choir at services.

 

 

Leo enjoyed some puffs in the church fellowship hall. I just wanted to draw you attention to the glorious Green Bay Packers quilt hanging behind him, lovingly handcrafted by church ladies.

Classic Wisconsin!

 

 

Grammy Sharon came to visit us in October. The kids absolutely love reading and snuggling with her.

 

 

During her visit we attended a performance of Spookley the Square Pumpkin at the Children's Theater.

 

 

The kids loved it and are now both wanting a career in musical theater which Dan is thrilled about - Hah!

 

 

 

It was a very cute little show and the anti-bullying message was awesome.

 

 

After the show we headed over to the Classic Garage to eat lunch. This is one of Roman's most favorite places in the world - you get to eat diner style food in an old-timey restaurant with classic cars parked inside. Can't beat it!

 

 

 

While Mom was in town we invited Uncle Glen and Sydney over for Sunday dinner. We love the fact that he lives just down the road from us in Eau Claire! The kids were so excited to have a new audience for their antics. :)

 

 

Uncle Glen came bearing gifts - a puzzle, a rocket and some markers so Lucy and Roman were definitely entertained.  Thanks for the October visit Mom, Uncle Glen & Sydney! We love you guys.

 

 

Other than that, we spent early fall enjoying our final weeks with a 7 year old girl!! Lucy has her golden birthday this year and turns 8 on November 8.

 

 

Roman continued to burn off his excess energy in kyuki do class and on the basketball court.

 

 

Leo tried new finger foods and worked to expand his diet.

 

 And we started decorating the house for Halloween. Roman is going to be taller than our glow-in-the-dark skeleton before I know it!

 

 

Happy October!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

It wouldn't be October without a trip to the pumpkin patch! We put on our best Halloween clothes and headed out for a visit to Ferguson's Orchard on a crisp and sunny Saturday this fall.

 

I just love these little pumpkins of mine.:)

 

 

We found a ginormous pumpkin out front and a huge line to get into the festivities ...

 

 

The big kids were very antsy to get inside and couldn't wait to do things like visit the slightly scary haunted house. We zipped through this house more than once and it was definitely a favorite.

 

 

Next stop - a giant spinning apple to make everyone dizzy!

 

 

Lucy and Roman zipped around on pedal tractors.

 

 

Honestly, they were a little bit too short for the tractors this season! Once they grow a couple of inches taller, Roman and Lucy are going to be able to pedal like crazy. Next year!

 

 

Baby Leo was content to sit and observe from a cow.

 

 

Next year he will be big enough to ride the cow train with the rest of our crew.

 

 

We saw some farm animals and jumped on a giant, bouncy Jack-O-Lantern.

 

 

Leo was getting tired of being held and we lucked out by finding this Taxi stroller situation on the grounds.

 

 

Happy First Halloween to our sweet baby Leo!

 

 

We will have many more pumpkin patch adventures with you!

 

 

The weather was perfect - a cool and crisp afternoon! Just look at those clouds in the sky.

 

 



Until next year Ferguson's! We love you!  ~The Storm Family