While my hip stories have surely been enthralling, there’s nothing more exciting than the adventures of the two gorgeous girls you’ve all come here to read about. And on that topic, I’m way behind. The photo above should give you an indication of just how fun our summer has been.

At the risk of slipping right back into “mom” blog, let’s teleport back on May 23, when I turned 50. Yes, the big 5-0. I started to write a thought-provoking, retrospective blog post about it, but I never got past the title “I’m Fifty!” So we’ll keep it brief. The balloon they gave me says it all…

I was pampered and taken to Benihana (my choice), and instead of taking an OMGI’MFIFTY trip, I asked for a hot tub, which we ordered in May for a mid-June delivery. Spoiler alert: It showed up on August 24, one week after my hip replacement, after which I can’t get in a tub, pool or hot tub for 6 weeks. But that’s enough about me. On June 6 my sweet husband turned “more than 50”, and we celebrated by getting him the one thing he REALLY wants: A Dog.

Ok, so not an ACTUAL dog, but it sure was fun to tease him (and cruel, you might be thinking). You see, he really really really really really wants a Bernedoodle. That’s a cross between a Poodle and a Bernese Mountain Dog, a breeding experience I still can’t quite picture. In fact, the one he wants is the “small” one, which is bred with a toy poodle. How is that possible?! But anyway, we’re not quite ready for a dog (in my opinion), so we took Bart out to a cool downtown LA restaurant in a “glass house” instead.

And then, we did the unthinkable: We went to Vegas. If you know me, you already know that Las Vegas is not my favorite place, and in the middle of a pandemic, it might be my least favorite place on the planet. But it’s what Bart wanted; he agreed we would wear masks incessantly (even though Vegas was “open” and no longer requiring them), and three days in Vegas sounded better than committing to the lifetime of a dog.

I must admit, when I wasn’t cringing (we arrived and headed to a pool filled with drunk college age humans where NO ONE was wearing a mask), we had a lovely time. And it was great to NOT be stuck in our own home together for a few days. Oh, and we drove out vs. flying. On the way, we stopped at Peggy Sue’s diner, a throwback restaurant filled with memorabilia from the 1950’s, where the ladies restroom looked like this:

So classy (and for those concerned, he’s not real). Once we arrived in Vegas, we spent plenty of time in the Lazy River at our hotel, and one of the best things we did was watch the Guardians of the Galaxy movie on the rooftop of the Cosmopolitan hotel, also poolside.

Throughout the summer, Zoe continued to morph into what she doesn’t want us to call her: A Pre-Teen. Ella continues her incessantly cute as a button little girl look, losing and growing back her two front teeth and blessing us with mischievous smiles like this:

Meanwhile, Zoe started looking, and acting, more and more like a middle schooler.

Heaven help us. And that’s a wrap on June 2021, another wacky summer where the girls attended a crazy Summer Camp (with free COVID testing every week) and continued to grow, grow, grow. Thankfully, one thing Bart and I got plenty of in Las Vegas: piña coladas. And I’m pretty sure we’re going to need many more of those to survive these next years of a blossoming Zoe and a sassy pants Ella. Wish us luck!