Go, Pack, Go

All of my life, I have been a die-hard Green Bay Packer fan.  It comes with the territory when your whole family is from Wisconsin.  And I am proud to be included in the group that Forbes has deemed the "NFL's Best Fans" for the 3rd year running.  You can read the whole article (click here) or you can just believe me when I say that no other fans in the NFL are as dedicated, or maybe as crazy (lining your coffin in green and gold, attending mass in the stadium parking lot while tailgating), as Packer fans are. 

And of course, I am raising my girls to be good and loyal Cheeseheads (with Nana and Grampa's help).  They have had Packers jerseys since before they could walk.  They have "watched" games on T.V. with Uncle Spike and Grampa whenever we are in the U.S.  They have lamented at the fact that they never get to go on the yearly trip to see the Pack at Lambeau because logistically it just didn't make sense.  But I made the girls a promise many years ago.  I told them that when we moved back to the U.S., we would go to the game no matter what.  And that is what we did last weekend.  Was it a whirlwind 44 hours - yes.  Was it totally worth it - yes!

It was a bit wet but nothing like what we were expecting as we drove through the downpour from Milwaukee to Green Bay.  Our ponchos kept us mostly dry, and I say mainly because any time something fabulous happened on the field, we stood, leaving our seats to get wet, and then we sat again...Let's just say our tushies took the brunt of the rain.  But it didn't stop us from cheering and singing and dancing our way through the game with 78,000+ of our fellow Cheeseheads (and a few Bronco fans).  And don't forget the snacks and sodas that my girls Stinkerbell devoured.  I think we have lifelong Lambeau converts.

The Packers beat the Broncos, keeping themselves undefeated with 3 wins in a row and we celebrated afterward with a tailgate at our rented parking spaces across the street.  Well, at least most of the family did.  It took Nana and me a while to get there because my sense of direction is not what it used to be, and it was never any good.  You can read about that here.  After walking around the stadium in its entirety, we got back to where we started and realized that the house we needed to get to was directly across the street.  We made it in time to have a brat, some cheese curds, a bite of Kringle, and a Spotted Cow...All Wisconsin made and tradition.

We would have stayed a bit longer but now that everyone had cleared the stadium, players included, we began the trek back to Milwaukee as we all had early flights out in the morning.  Whirlwind - I told you. 

Until next time Lambeau.

 She got into the spirit at the airport.

A late dinner the night before.

 Look who we ran into in the hotel Lobby - Aunt Jackie.

 Tickets in hand - All 19 of them!

Legendary Lambeau

Two greats - Coaches Lombardi and Curly.

 Heading in.

 Two rows of family

 

 The Tundra line getting things going.

Touchdown, Packers.

 Tailgating.  In someone's front yard. The stadium is just to the left outside the middle photo.

 The whole crew.

Bits and Bobs

We've been busy just being.  School, practice, homework, repeat daily.  But we have done a few things outside of those...

Our lake out back.  MadHatter spotted this in the water, and we had to try to catch a glimpse...

Designing and picking out materials for a built-in desk that is sorely needed.

Facetiming each other.  All within 50 feet of each other in the same house.

Every. Single. Walk.

I was getting ready to write in the monthly schedule and found this...

Someone is very sad we are not going this year for the first time in many years.

She decided to personalize her backpack.

I will take the snuggles from the MadHatter whenever I can get them.  They are fewer and farther between now that she is a Tween.

A Saturday sleepover includes painting.

This is her idea for her Halloween costume.  We shall see if it sticks.

A lazy Sunday in the pool with my Mermaid.

Labor Day and a Hurricane

When we moved to Florida, we knew that Hurricanes were going to become a part of our lives for about 6 months of the year.  Luckily, at the tail end of that season and didn't encounter any activity last year.  But this year has seen warm temperatures, low pressure, and very wet conditions all-around which is a trifecta of perfect storm conditions.  And of course, with a long weekend looming and plans to be out of town, Dorian reared his head.

Yep, we had made plans to head to Nana and Grampa's house for Labor Day weekend to spend some time and celebrate Nana's birthday a week late.  Which meant that I had to prepare the best I could in case Dorian decided to make landfall while we were gone.  On Friday morning, with Dorian heading straight for us, albeit, at a plodding pace, I cleaned off the outdoor furniture and brought it all inside. Then went back out for the pool toys, the decorative elements, and the pool cleaner.  Basically, anything that wasn't nailed down and could turn into a projectile was brought in to the garage or the living room.  It got a bit crowded...

 It was a bonus that all of the covers for the patio furniture got a proper washing.

 When we left, this was the view from my bedroom window.  It didn't look like a storm was coming, and now that I had spent a few hours cleaning everything out of my yard, I could almost guarantee that Dorian would not be visiting us.

 In the car on our way to Nana and Grampas.  Dulce is back there in her bed all snuggled in for the ride.  Pepper has assumed her usual place on MadHatter's lap.  That cat loves to look out the window as we ride.

Less than 2 hours later, we settled into the house and turned on the TV to see what was happening with the Hurricane.  And quickly found out.  Nothing.  Nothing was happening.  Dorian had to be the slowest, and most powerful storm, in history.  It slowed its forward motion to about 5 miles an hour, then sped up to 9 and then entirely stalled over the poor Bahamas for 24 hours straight.  At a category 5!  And then started its slow crawl toward Florida.  The projection of where it would hit changed almost hourly it seemed.  And when, and if, it would make landfall was a toss of the dice.  It was maddening.  And funny.  Oh, I don't mean that Hurricanes are funny.  I just say that my facebook feed with all of it's Dorian posts and memes were keeping me in stitches.  See for yourself; I copied a few of my favorites...

 We were on the other side of the state and out of Dorian path, so we just went about our business of having fun...

 MadHatters chalk flower on the driveway.

 

 A little too short for the wings at the movie theatre, but just right for the pig.

 A crazy round of mini-golf...

And then schools were closed for an extra day just in case, so we also added some shopping to the mix.  And then Dorian decided that he would finally start moving again, this time North.  I make light of it, but we were fortunate to have dodged this one.  As I said, he was a Category 5 storm and inflicted damage beyond belief on the places he hit.  As I write this, he is still making his way up the eastern seaboard and just continues to cause destruction.

Suddenly, the weekend was over, and the girls had school on Wednesday, so we said our goodbyes, packed all of my creatures into the car and set off for home.  Where I got to put everything back outside again.  Well, until the next hurricane comes along...

 This time they shared Dulce's bed.  And she isn't mad, just talking to MadHatter as always.