Sunday morning I decided to get up and walk. I showered once I got home and we talked about going to church. Then we all decided to watch church on television. The church my parents attend when they live in Branson is called Woodland Hills and they do a live podcast each week. So we all settled in for an hour and a half and had church.
Once we finished, the kids, Stuart and myself headed to Ken and Maytee’s for the day. We stopped at Target and picked up some cheese and pork products, as well as a coconut cream pie. We spent the entire afternoon chatting, eating and drinking. The kids were in and out of the pool, and generally had a wonderful time together.
We got home around 5:30 pm. The kids headed off to take a shower and were then fed supper. There was a lot of chilling the rest of the evening and the kids went to bed early, which turned out to be a bad idea for Jack since he woke up at 2:30 am and proceeded to turn on the hall light and the living room light to find his iPad. I was quickly up to tell him he was to go back to bed. Then, of course, I stayed awake for another hour and a half.
My alarm went off at 5:30 am and the kids were dressed and ready to go walking with me. As much as I love that time to myself, I hate to discourage them if they want to exercise with me. Stuart went as well so he could relieve me by taking the kids home if they decided they didn’t want to walk the full three miles. Millie made it 2.5 miles and Jack made it the entire 3 miles in 45 minutes. When I was their age my folks MADE me get up every morning to run/walk at an indoor track in my home town. I hated it! But, now look who still exercises. And I’m convinced the reason my parents can still hike in Sedona at the ages of 76 and 80 is because of that healthy living throughout their lives. So I suppose I should thank them for making me do some things I didn’t want to do.
My dad had a doctor appointment that would last the entire morning. So I went to have coffee with my former principal, Diane, and a teacher friend, Lisa. We didn’t get to be together that long, but it was quality time catching up. Unfortunately, because this time in Arizona is so short for us, I have really not planned any get togethers with friends unless they have initiated the contact. Because we are having my 50th birthday celebration on Friday, I have invited everyone to that evening. At least I will get to see those who are able to come.
After coffee I came back to the house and picked up Stuart and the kids. We headed to our storage unit to put in a bag of things we had brought home specifically to store. We then made our way to Ross and TJ Maxx, as well as Famous Footwear. We were in search of trainers for Jack for the coming school year. The mission was accomplished and then some.
We hit Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, before heading to Millie’s 6 year appointment. I realize she is almost 7, but we didn’t go to her6 year appointment last year because we didn’t come home last summer. She had asked me if she was going to get shots. I told her ‘no’ and that her next shot would be when she was 11. Well, I was wrong. It seems she was going to need a Hepatitis B booster. Oops! She was a trooper and didn’t even whence when she got jabbed. After the doctor we hit Dairy Queen on the way home.
At her appointment we discovered, as we have always know, that she will always be a petite little girl with a huge personality. If trends continue, she will only be about 5 feet 2 inches when she is grown.
We got home and my dad was napping and my mom had gone to the grocery store. The kids played on their electronics while Stuart and I sorted out the shopping. Then we played on our electronics as well. Ha! We had a gorgeous dinner of salmon, potatoes, wild rice and a green bean concoction that was delightful. The kids were then ushered to showers. We were going to play Old Maid, which is always a riot with Millie, but then she fell asleep on the sofa, so instead we attempted to teach Jack to play Pitch. Stuart and I killed my mom and dad. Jack went to bed and we rounded off our night with Family Feud in television. It’s a nightly ritual at my parent’s house.
I got up early and went for a walk with my dear friend Sue. The kids walked with my parents and it rained in their walk. I hit Wal Mart on my way back to the house. I bought some adorable fabric for my classroom for next year. I showered and then we headed to Arizona Mills Mall, an outlet mall across town. We were still in search of dress shirts for Stuart. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe, which is too expensive, but someone has to pay for those animated gorillas I suppose. We ended our shopping trip at the Dillard’s outlet, where Stuart got new dress shirts for the new school year.
We didn’t get back to the house until after 4 pm, just in time for Stuart and I to get spruced up to go to sushi with my friend Liz. We met her just after 5 pm and had a lovely catch up. She had just been on a mission trip to South Africa and brought me this gorgeous glass necklace. We made another Wal Mart run and Liz was with us. She pointed out some new protein bars and I stocked up. We ended our evening at Starbucks, as you do. When we got home we watched Family Feud!
Wednesday morning I woke up at 4:30 am, read some messages from some of my teachers and a Head of Faculty that was reassigned to my old school, then decided to just get up and do my run/walk for the day. No kid was with me. I think they have had their fill of walking. When I got back, Stuart had made a grocery list for Sam’s Club. The party was quickly approaching and the shopping had to be completed.
I sat on the porch and drank my coffee while Stuart went for a run. When he returned we cleaned up and got ready for our Sam’s run. Grammie made the kids waffles and I had one of my new protein bars, Glazed Donut. It was yummy!
We did our Sam’s run which was not cheap, but it would be worth it. After all, it was for my 50th birthday. We got home and unloaded the car. We headed out again for some items we couldn’t get at Sam’s. We went to a place called Sprouts, we also hit Target and Wal Mart, again.
In the afternoon Jack, Dad, Stuart and myself went to play golf. There was a monsoon that was rolling in, but it ended up going around us. We only made it nine holes, but we all had fun, despite the heat and aggravating shots. Millie and Grammie took a trip to Jake’s Unlimited, an entertainment place with rides and games. They ended up eating there. So once they were home, Millie just needed a shower and she was ready for bed.
Jack loved driving the cart.
The evening provided a little nap for all of us and then some leftovers for everyone. We had a bit of a chilled evening. The kids had showers and everyone ate leftovers. It was a relatively uneventful evening.
I got up at 5:30 am on Thursday to walk. When I got home I jumped in the shower and got ready to go to Vicki’s house. Jack was so excited to see Gavin. Unfortunately, Maddax, her youngest had been sick and that tummy bug had lingered. So we had to cancel that visit. It’s tough to see everyone when we are only here for 9 days.
Once everyone had eaten breakfast, Stuart and I snuck off to Target for some spices and a few more items, such as headphones for the kids. They would need those for the car journey cross country with Grammie and Pop.
When we got back, we decided to repack our bags. As always, our bags were starting to fill up quickly with things that are much cheaper here than in the UAE. We were trying to pack the kids’ stuff to go with Grammie and Pop, as well as packing our things for Chicago. The struggle was real.
We had lunch at MOD pizza with our friend Brian. He is one of my oldest friends in Arizona. It’s always such fun to see him. When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw a Tesla car. Stuart said, ‘I bet that’s Brian’s car’. I giggled. Well, wouldn’t you know, when we came out after eating lunch, Brian announced that he was driving that Tesla. He took us for a ride. It was such a cool car. It was a wonderful lunch with a fun car ride at the end.
We got home and watched some television before getting ready to go to dinner with our friends John and Jenny. We picked them up around 6:30 and headed to Scottsdale to a Thai restaurant. We had some very delicious food and wonderful company.
I got up to walk and then went to Wal Mart to get some milk. Between Jack and Pop we could hardly keep the milk supply up at the house. I packed and tried to get the kids packed for their road trip with Grammie and Pop.
At 9:30 I went to a drumming class. It was such a laugh. I went with my friend Sue. It was so much fun! I really wish they had a class like this in Al Ain. I may figure out a way to start one.
I stopped at Walgreens on the way home to get Jack some plantar wart medication and some little gifts for Grammie to give the kids on their road trip. I then returned home. Stuart was cooking like a fool for my birthday party.
We both showered and got ready for the party. Guests started arriving and the fun began. I saw friends I hadn’t seen in a long while. One of my guests, Krys, brought his guitar. Christian, Maytee, Ken and I sang and he played his guitar. It was a very pleasant surprise. I had such a fantastic evening. I think I’m going to like 50! It was an epic night.
Saturday I slept in until almost 8 am. We spent most of the day getting ready to leave Arizona. My mom and I took some beer and food back to Sam’s Club, Target and Wal Mart. We got back to the house around 11:00. We had a Christmas and birthday celebration where we all received season passes to Silver Dollar City, an amusement park in Branson. So in the two weeks we will be there we will be able to go as much as we like. The kids are very excited.
I spent the afternoon with my bunco babes, which was full of laughter! I don’t know that I’ve ever had a more unique group of women as friends. They are different from one another, but like minded in so many ways, and boy do they make me laugh! Stuart had dropped me off at the party and then he came back to pick me up at 6:30. When we got home, it was time for Millie to go to bed. Jack followed shortly after and was a bit weepy saying, ‘I’ll see you in three days, Mama’. Oh, he is his mother’s child. Bless him. We put our last load of laundry in the dryer and hit the sack. Arizona did not disappoint. See you in a few years!
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