Modern Day Mama: Night Before Vacation ... And I Am Exhausted!

Before I whine about being bone-dead tired, let me first say Happy Father's Day to my dad, Kevin, to my grandpas, Pud and Keith, to my father-in-law Dwayne, and to my dear hubbie Shawn, who is the best damn dad around!

It was a warm but beautiful day to celebrate the good men in our lives. Poor Shawn spent his entire day helping to clean and pack, and coach Mazy's football team. And he is now sweeping the porch and changing the kitty litter at 10:30 p.m. at night.... But I am taking the children for three days and he will have the house to himself, so that will be a nice post-Father's Day present.

AND

AND!

AND !!!!!!

I bought him the BEST Father's Day present ever!!!!! Last Thursday morning, as I realized I had once again let time slip by and had no present for him, I had a crazy idea that I should get him a really, really, really good gift. Like, best ever gift. Like a once-in-a-decade crazy expensive gift that he really deserves after all this house stuff.

So with 45 minutes before my next meeting, I got online and looked up Green Bay Packers tickets. And not just tickets, but a bus trip as well so he doesn't have to worry about driving up there, finding parking and getting out of town.

And I found some. And it sounded really fun! And he can stay in Beloit and a bus will take him all the way to Green Bay. And I decided what the hell, let's do it. So I took half the money I've been saving for our 15th anniversary trip and I used it to buy three tickets to the Packers! Shawn, Mazy and Bo will enjoy a Lambeau Field experience on Oct. 11 when the Packers play the St. Louis Rams.

I was debating spending about double the money to send them to the Chicago Bears game but geez, that's so much money on a football game. And what if they lost!!! What if their first Lambeau experience was a loss to the Bears?!?!?! Good grief, I would never hear the end of it. So I looked for a date when I thought it would still be warm, but not too warm for Shawn, and that coincides with Mazy's October break. And I did it. I ordered the tickets before I could talk myself out of it.

And I'm so glad I did! Shawn was pretty surprised and excited, and already worrying about that game... Mazy and Bo were ecstatic! They can't wait to go. I think the three of them will have a fabulous time experiencing Lambeau for the first time together. It's going to be great!

And then in another year or so, Violet and I will spend the same amount of money to go to Chicago to the American Girl store and have a fabulous Chicago girl's weekend. :)

In other news, Mazy had his final flag football game of the season. They lost. Boo. He was bummed, but I purposefully waited to give Shawn his gift until after Mazy's game, knowing it would be a nice distraction if they lost. (This mama is always thinking ahead.)

I have been cooking, baking, packing, folding clothes, organizing, cleaning and now doing some work for my employer before I go to bed. We'll wake up in the morning, pack the food in the cooler and hit the road for Spirit Lake! Whoohooo!

Have a great week, everybody. Check Facebook for some pics from our trip.