Or maybe that’s HIP-perdrive… my hip replacement surgery date is looming and, apparently, I’m getting all my summertime stuff (and them some) done in June!

I’ve been trying to write a post about “last weekend,” which is actually the weekend-before-last because… HYPERDRIVE! Time is flying.

Rusty & I went to DC for a few days! We visited the Renwick Gallery & the National Gallery & ate some great food & relaxed. I have the first post started but it may sit in “drafts” for a while longer, as I realized that I’ll have a bit of time on my hands post-surgery & can maybe get caught up then. It was a great trip!

LAST weekend, I took all the kiddos to the Green Bay Blizzard game. The “Blizz” are part of the professional Indoor Football League and, wow, that was something else! Short field, barely any sideline, lots of action — a cross between football & rugby, with a Nerf-ish football, and extracurricular antics that rival those at a softball game. So.much.going.on! The kids all stayed overnight!

The next day, I dropped everyone at home except Malina. She & I headed to Green Bay where she took part in a Blizzard Youth Camp. I was stunned (still am) that of 70-ish participants, SHE WAS THE ONLY GIRL!! She did great, too, for the first half — the second half got a little too technical & overwhelming (it may have been different if she’d started at another “station”)… so we went shopping at the Packers Pro Shop (she wanted a jersey) (and also got a cap) & out to lunch & stopped for some glorpy cookies to bring home for dessert. Then I kept her for a solo overnight, which was long overdue — we watched movies, she helped with dinner, and just hung out. Rusty took her on a hike to the studio & a park on Sunday morning. Ali picked her up at 11 & shared a photo of Malina completely zonked out in the car on the way home… “safe to say she had a great time!”

THIS weekend, on Sunday, I’m swinging down through Madison to pick up Annie & heading off to Viroqua where we’re having ourselves a short “Sister Weekend”! It starts on Sunday, so it still counts as the weekend.

In between all of the above: dentist appointment, surgery prep call, pre-op doc appointment + labs, locating & gathering equipment (cane, walker, etc.), jury duty, a run to Door County, and all the usual stuff!

I have my surgery date & all the PT appointments set for July… I’ll be working hard on recovery! Hopefully, things will really start moving along in August. I’m getting a little anxious & nervous about it all, but the pain & discomfort are increasing (regularly interrupting sleep now), so I’m also looking forward to just getting it done. I really can’t imagine how shitty this summer would be if I’d stuck to my original plan to wait until September.

Anyway, I’ll check in when I can… I’m not saying I won’t be posting until after surgery, but it definitely looks like posts will be more sporadic than usual.

I’m just not sure how it can be possible…

…that this tiny tiger is 21 years old today. My eldest “practice grandchild.”

Happy Birthday, Mack!!

Touchdown #1. Rusty didn’t waste any time getting to the beach yesterday; it’s only about a :10 minute walk from his Airbnb, and he said that it’s a really nice neighborhood. The Airbnb looked cute, too.

He’s heading to old haunts in the Seal Beach area today, hopefully doing some visiting, definitely some sketching.

(Seeing those toes in the sand would make me feel pretty jealous if we weren’t heading to DC for a long weekend in a couple of weeks!)

Touchdown #2. A perk of one of my credit cards is an InstaCart credit, which I don’t always take advantage of, but sometimes…

…the right thing comes along at the right time! It just so happens that I’m taking all the kids to a Green Bay Blizzard (indoor arena) football game in mid-June. And the next day, Malina will be attending their youth camp (she was the only one really interested). We sometimes refer to her as “Sporty Spice.” (And she’s in it for the fashion as much as anything else. haha.) Anyway, you can hardly live in NE Wisconsin and avoid football, but in reality — even though they’re aware, none of the kids really know how it works. ALDI just happened to have this amazing stadium rug yesterday, and I’ve been talking about getting out my mom’s “cheat sheet” football recipe cards… I just need to fashion some “players” and we’ll be ready for our own little training camp!

I was up an hour earlier than usual this morning to take Rusty to the airport. He’s on his way to SoCal for a week of walking on the beach, sketching waves, and visiting friends.

He was on the inaugural flight of Allegiant’s nonstop service from Appleton to Santa Ana! How cute is that?

Davy will be a kindergartener next year! Freakin’ adorable.