After my plasma donation, I headed to Costco for some needed items. Why can you never go into Costco and only get what you need? Oh, because most of the stuff in there is what someone would WANT, not necessarily what someone would NEED.
Stuart went to pick up Jack from his sleepover. As always, Jack came back exhausted and useless for the rest of the day. When I got home I made some lunch and had a sit down. Stuart and I started watching the series A Handmade’s Tale. Oh, yikes! That series is heavy. We had a relatively lazy afternoon. At 3:30 pm I took Jack to his first workout with Uncle Russ. He also had a teammate that came for the workout. I guess I didn’t irritate that family with my comment on the team chat. After the workout, we drove home and picked up Stuart and Millie to go to dinner. Millie didn’t want to go. It was an epic meltdown in the end. Although these episodes are less and less, when they occur they are monstrous.
Monday we got up and Stuart was approached by our pool guy saying our back gate was not going to pass the inspection. So Stuart, irritated, fixed it quickly. My mom was at the house for the inspection but it didn’t pass. Stuart and I were beyond angry. Our pool guy has done an incredible job on the workmanship. However, his lack of communication has been beyond frustrating.
Sue substituted for my teammate on Monday so we were able to have lunch together. It was so fun to be on campus with her and be able to have time together at ‘work’. To think we are such good friends, having never taught at the same site, still baffles me sometimes.
Stuart brought the kids up after school and I took them to the dentist. While I waited for them, I got caught up with my reading of Danger in the Desert, the book study my class was doing. I had fallen behind and realized I couldn’t grade some of their work until I knew the answers. Oops! Jack had a good report. However, Millie had a cavity. So we had to schedule an appointment to have that filled and it was recommended she have the back molars sealed to help prevent cavities in those teeth. When we got home we did a whole lot of nothing. We tried to sort out what we were supposed to do about the pool issue, but weren’t exactly sure how to begin. We knew we would need an automatic door closet, but the companies that install them were booked out until the end of May.
Tuesday school passed slowly. I had my Dean interview and then returned to school to work on our core values team. I got home at 6 pm. Stuart and I sat on the back porch for a while. The weather was lovely. We just stared at our cement pond.
Wednesday I walked with Sue. When I got home, I tried to wake Millie to take her pill. She refused and became defiant. Then we lost our cool. We canceled gymnastics for her that evening, which made it worse, of course. She insisted she could control her anger without the medication. Then she cried. I told her she needed her medication to help her just like daddy needed his to control his blood pressure. She apologized to Stuart and then all was right with the world again.
After school I headed to give plasma while Stuart took Millie to gymnastics. Since she had righted everything, and some of her meltdowns are out of her control, we decided taking the only thing she loves may be more crushing than we know. After he dropped her off he went to get the RV. We decided we knew what to try to pass our pool inspection. Since the door companies I contacted were about three weeks out, we would have to attempt to fix it on our own.
Before I went to pick up Millie, I went to get Teacher Appreciation gifts for the kids’ teachers and a Mother’s Day gift for my mom. I failed to find anything for my mom. What do you buy the woman who could buy whatever she wants or needs? I don’t know.
I picked Millie up and we stopped at McDonalds for her dinner. She was thrilled to see that their slushies were back. When we got home the RV was there and Stuart was getting it prepared for our trip to Yuma. The kids were to put in their clothes, and I started putting my clothes in, as well as the food. I was going to make the beds but opted to do it Thursday morning because it would be cooler. We really can’t turn the AC on when it’s hooked up to our house electricity because it blows a fuse, so we have to take advantage of the cooler times of the day. After the RV was locked for the night, Stuart and I watched some television and then it was time to hit the sack.
Thursday, I took Stuart and the kids to school so that I could come back and get them as quickly after school as I could. I cleaned out my desk while my students were working on their district assessment. Sue was subbing for me on Friday and I didn’t want her to see the state of my desk. Oh goodness. The rest of the room was trashy as well, but at least I could blame the kids for that.
We got home about 3:40 and got everything ready. My dad and mom had gone to Arizona Pool Fence to pick up an automatic closer for our sliding glass door. It seemed as if we were going to have to do the work ourselves. I was beyond irritated at our pool guy. Dang! I know a year from now it won’t matter, but right now it’s frustrating to have been told the pool would take around 12 weeks and what that really meant was more like about 20 weeks.
We left the house just before 4 pm. I had brought my ukulele and decided I would play some music. One of my students had bought me a music book of 50 easy ukulele songs to play. It was so awesome and thoughtful.
Both kids were not interested in a picture, nor were they terribly interested in my sing along.
We got to Yuma, set up the RV, and Morgan and Donavin brought spaghetti. They stayed and chatted until after midnight. It was a good first evening for sure.
I got up Friday morning and took a shower after a cup of coffee. The bath house was a bit of a trek from our site, so I rode my bike. I was so glad we had put our bikes on the back of the RV. I really have to give it to Stuart. If all of this was up to me we would never get where we were going, and we certainly wouldn’t be towing bikes. We had breakfast of egg and bacon scramble, then sat around for most of the morning. Donavin came around 10:30 and took us on a tour of Yuma. We saw the lettuce fields he works on and he gave us a bit of a lesson as to how they harvest the seeds. I never knew any of that and it was truly interesting. Then we came back and decided to play corn hole. Morgan had gotten off work by then and joined us. We had sandwiches for lunch and then Morgan and Donavin decided to go home and get their suits.
The kids, Morgan and Donavin decided to swim in the Colorado River. Donavin had actually found us this site and it was perfect. 
We had burgers for dinner and just sat and enjoyed the cooler temperatures at night.
Saturday we got up and had breakfast. We then went to the pool and the kids swam for a while.
Around noon we headed to Donavin and Morgan’s and went to eat at Chili Peppers, a local Mexican favorite.
We laid around Morgan’s house until about 3 pm, went back to the campsite and had a play in the Colorado River again. We then came up and played corn hole. Around 5 pm we met Donavin and Morgan at El Charro’s, another local favorite, and had dinner. To say we were full of food was an understatement.
Then the main event for the evening was going to the dirt track to watch cars race. It was so redneck, white trash and we loved every minute of it. Jack and Millie were totally into it.
These little cars had kids in them, ages 5 to 8. It was hilarious. They went 20 laps and it took them forever because they kept crashing or going off the track. So the race marshalls would have to line everyone up each time this happened. We got a kick out of these little kids.
The races didn’t end until nearly midnight. The kids had a blast. We got back to the RV and just went to bed. The good thing about camping is you can be a little dirtier than you would be at home.
Sunday morning we got up and packed up. We had taken Morgan’s car back to the campsite so she and Donavin came out and picked that up. It was a successful weekend, even though the RV only gets 7 miles to the gallon. Ugh!
When we got home, Stuart did his job on the outside of the camper while I worked on clearing the inside and starting the laundry. Any idea how many loads of laundry are produced from one weekend away? Wow!
I had a load in the washer and had to go get some laundry detergent and milk. When I returned I showered and left to meet up with some people I knew in the UAE. Cammie actually works in Chandler schools and Katie was here visiting from Montana. We met at San Tan Flat and had a wonderful time. I brought ribs home to Stuart and went up to tell Jack good night. At 10:20 Millie cascaded down the stairs saying her throat hurt and she had a headache. I gave her some Tylenol and reminded her she needed to get rest in order to recite her poem the following day at school. Stuart and I were in bed by 11 pm. It had been a wonderful weekend, and a great Mother’s Day, and sleep wasn’t our priority at all. We were sure to be dragging on Monday.
I got to school Monday, after a bit of a battle with Millie, and got the call that I had not been selected for a Dean position. I clearly am not as good in an interview as I think I am. The Director of Elementary Education said I could call him for feedback, so I did. He said my answers were just not as in depth as the other candidates. He said I wasn’t familiar with many of the principals and so they wouldn’t know of my successes. So basically my experience was good for nothing I suppose. I’m at a loss at this point.
My niece, Emily, and her boyfriend, Ryan, arrived in Arizona on Monday morning. So we went to see them after school on Monday. We ended up eating at Grammie and Pop’s house. Then the kids wanted to go and play at the park. Stuart had a meeting with his new position in the evening, so he didn’t go to the park with us. They all came back to our house after the park and saw our very empty pool.
Tuesday I took the day off. Millie had her doctor appointment and then I ran her to school. For the morning, after taking Millie to school, I got my tire fixed and ran some other errands. Our pool inspector came back and he finally passed us. So maybe we would have a pool before summer holidays. I picked Jack up early from school for a doctor appointment. He had discovered, what we found out later, swollen lymph nodes. Blood work was ordered and they also ordered an ultrasound.
Tuesday evening we had a Bunco reunion. I saw a few people I hadn’t seen in years. Liz went as one of my subs. I had such a wonderful time, maybe a bit too much fun. I wasn’t terribly chipper the following day. Oops!
Wednesday morning Sue and I walked. The geese and ducks were in full force. We think they have mistaken us for people that feed them and like them, which is furthest from the truth. Once I was home from my therapy, I showered, got ready and took Jack for bloodwork. I was late to schools d missed an IEP. I was frazzled once I got there as I was worried about Jack and being late to school is not a nice feeling. It wasn’t the best of mornings.
After school Stuart and I had meetings so Grammie and Pop picked up the kids. Millie was delivered to gymnastics while Jack was taken to their house. After my meeting I went shopping for a bit and then picked Millie up from gymnastics. She’s so excited because this summer she is going to start practicing with the bronze team, which is the lowest level of competition. She will be going for 12 hours a week, which I find to be a lot, but she loves it and seems to have a knack for it.
Thursday Jack had his ultra sound. Stuart took the day off and after his ultra sound he went to get his COVID 19 vaccine.
We then met Sue at Arizona Mills for some Nike shopping. Jack and I got new tennis shoes, which were long overdue.
The savings was amazing.
Friday after school we met at Costco and did a bit of shopping. Then we came home and slumped into the furniture. I’m not sure why, but the last few weeks of school are so exhausting. The pebble sheen for the pool had been poured and it was actually looking as if we would have a useable pool very soon. Saturday Millie didn’t go to gymnastics as she had an epic meltdown the previous night. She just couldn’t keep it together. I cleaned the house a bit, but also Stuart and I sorted out the garage and took a ton of stuff to Goodwill. We reorganized the shelves and finally had our garage back to a reasonable looking garage.
The pool was acid washed in the morning and the filling began. Around 2:00 we headed to the Casteel High championship men’s volleyball game. It was so exciting. It was after the match that Jack decided maybe it would be more beneficial for him to enroll in Casteel for this next school year as the consistency of being in a 7-12 grade school would be best. So, we saw my old Dean, Ron Tanner who is now the Assistant Principal of the High school. He said to email him and he would give Jack a tour of the school.
Gavin came home with us for a sleepover. When we got home the pool was half full. So naturally the kids decided to get in. Gavin forgot he had his phone in his pocket. Another one bites the dust.
The dogs got in as well.
We decided to order McDonalds for delivery.
I am so excited to have this pool and the deck we have. I can’t wait until this is a daily thing this summer.
Ryan and Vicki dropped by to bring Gavin some clothes and they stayed for a bit. After the left and the kids were inside, Millie went to bed and the boys stayed up until silly o’clock, as you do when you have a sleepover. I set my alarm for 3 am to turn off the water in case the pool was full. Wouldn’t you know? It wasn’t quite full so I went back to sleep and set the alarm for 4 am. Lovely! I got up and stayed up when the 4 am alarm went off.
We finished cleaning the house on Sunday. We also took a trip to the grocery store. When we returned we let the kids get in the pool. The dogs got in as well, again. Chloe hates it, but Bailey kind of likes it. He only gets on the Baja deck, but that’s fine with me. We just have to watch him and remember to close the dog door so he doesn’t go into the house all wet.
In the afternoon we went to training with Russ. Austyn, the boy who joined us the first time, Kyle Daniels and his buddy, joined the fun. The four of them, we discovered, would all be going to Casteel as 7th graders next year. I think we have our very own Bad News Bears basketball team. It would be so much fun to form a team outside of the club scene and just join in for tournaments. Nothing would make me happier. They all had a great workout and all committed to the regular weekly training.
Monday was another day at school. But I woke up with my shoulder still hurting and my arm was starting to go numb. I called the doctor in a panic. I took a half day off school and all was well in the end. It seems I’m just old and have tendinitis. After school was out, we went to happy hour to celebrate Skip’s new job.
Tuesday I was in a good mood. My new job was confirmed. I am going to be the new Opportunity classroom teachers. There will be 4 students with me and 2 full time paraprofessionals. The behavior is shocking at times, but manageable. After school I took Milie to the dentist. We went to pick up her medication then saw a doctor because we suspected she had pink eye, and she did. Turns out swimming in. Pool with no chemicals isn’t the best idea. We got home after 6. Grammie, Pop and Russ came down for a bit and we sat on the back patio. The evenings are still so lovely. Millie went to bed very nicely, which makes us all happy.
Wednesday morning wasn’t as easy one, but she sorted herself out in the end. At school I observed my new classroom. It was terribly uneventful, but I got to go to two other classes that are very similar to what I will be dealing with next year. It was interesting, but not shocking, scary or enough to put me off.
I went shopping for end of year teacher gifts and actually got them this time. I then picked Millie up from gymnastics while on an HOA board meeting on Zoom. I had written a letter to the board complaining about getting a letter about having our RV on our driveway for more than 5 hours in a 24 hour period. I was seriously miffed. After all the business was discussed, and I had thrown in my two cents about the common areas in our neighborhood looking shocking, there was one last ‘does anyone else have anything to say’, which I did. I explained that for a family to take their RV away for the weekend, it had to be on the drive overnight to get everything sorted and stay plugged in to cool off. They agreed that there needed to be a bit more leniency. So, I felt proud of myself for writing the letter. I hate HOAs. I will definitely attend another meeting. It’s so easy when it’s virtual. Millie ate when we got home, then went upstairs to take a shower all by herself. Because of this, she was allowed to stay up a bit past her bedtime. I stayed up past my bedtime as well. When I did decide to go to bed, I also read an email from my principal saying that we had a first grader at our school drown that evening. What devastating news to our community that was.
Thursday morning we had to deal with the death at school. Their was a crisis team at school all day. We all had to read a statement to the class and then allow them to talk and ask questions if they wanted to do so. It was a very sad day. After school I took Jack for a tour at Casteel High School. He was able to meet the head basketball coach so I think he was encouraged about his decision.
Friday we had gift of time and were able to finish some last minute things to wrap up the end of the year. I finished my writing scoring and report card comments. After school I picked up the kids and we went to Fat Cats. We played miniature golf and then bowled. We got home and the loungers were at the house. I started putting them together. Stuart showed up shortly after I began and he finished them. The kids were going to go in the pool but it was cooler so the pool was out.
Saturday morning I fought with Millie to take her pill. She was convinced she could deal with her challenges without the medication, but that truly is not possible because of the chemical imbalance in her body due to prenatal care. I kept telling her this was not her fault. She continued to say it was, until finally I told her that the lady who gave birth to her was to blame. I told her that woman did some bad things while she was pregnant and that is what has caused these challenges. I don’t know if that was the thing to say, but there is no way it’s okay for her to think her ADHD and her lack of being able to control her emotions is her fault. It breaks my heart every day. In the end she took the medication and went to gymnastics and then I went to give plasma. Afterwards I went to Costco to get food for our cookout on Sunday. When I got home I decided to get in the pool. It really was still too cold for me, but I did it.
Millie insisted on helping me get in. We are very pleased with the pool even though it is too cold for me at the moment.
The loungers add a touch of resot feeling.
Under the porch you can just relax and stay out of the sun. And the retro fridge is there for a cool beverage. I got that for Mother’s Day.
Saturday evening we went to dinner with the Tawneys and Reynolds. Grammie and Pop kept Millie while Jack had a sleepover with his buddy Gavin from his class.
Sunday Ken and Maytee came over for a cookout. We had burgers and sat with our feet in the pool. Lexi and Millie kind of got in the pool, but it was still cold.
Monday began our last week of school. After school we went to Grammie and Pop’s to see my Aunt Sue who had come to visit. She wasn’t feeling very well so we didn’t stay long. We went home and crashed.
Tuesday after school was Diane Wells’ retirement celebration. I had made her a video that made me cry when I watched the final product. I saw a few people I hadn’t seen in years. And then I saw some people that if I didn’t see them for many more years it would have been fine. Ha! It was a great celebration. I have so much respect for Diane and am so thrilled Stuart was able to work for her this year.
Wednesday Russ came down to work with Jack for a bit. Grammie, Pop and Aunt Sue came down for a visit as well. We then took our maniac dogs to dog training. What a disaster! We were kicked out. It seems our dogs aren’t able to play nice with others. So we would wait for the trainer to call and set up something for individual training for them. Dang dogs!
Thursday we went to get the RV for our trip to San Diego. Just because Jack wasn’t going to a basketball tournament didn’t mean we had to cancel our RV plans. We decided to kick off the summer right. While Stuart got the outside of the RV ready, I worked on the inside. Millie had gone home from school with Grammie and Pop because she had a half day. The 6th graders had a Clap Out and Grammie and Pop went to that as well. They brought Millie home just before 7 pm.
The Clap Out!
The boys!
I am so glad Grammie and Pop are able to share in these events with the kids.
Jack had gone home with his friend Jaxon after school, as they were going to a couple of celebration parties. The first one is where they caught the sun terribly. Jack was so ill prepared. We told him to have his back packed before he went to school. Clearly I should have checked it. He didn’t have sunscreen nor did he have any water shoes. He sometimes doesn’t think things completely through. When I picked the boys up at 9 pm, it was obvious they were exhausted. Once I dropped Jaxon and Gavin at Jacob’s house I took Jack to get some aloe vera. I rubbed it on him once he had showered. He hated it, but I know it helped him.
Friday morning we got up and Millie went to Grammie and Pop’s while Jack went to Gavin Meyn’s house. The boys were going to help her move to a new classroom. I’m not sure how much they helped, but they got paid $20, which pleased Jack to death. The plan was to meet back at the house before noon, even though we were really supposed to be at school the full day. Well, as all good plans go, I wasn’t able to leave until just before 12:30 pm. I went to pick up Jack and then headed home to a very frustrated husband who had been home since a bit after 11 am. Millie was brought home by Grammie and Pop. They gave Jack his ‘promotion’ card and money and then we were off.
The drive was long, but fine. Jack slept for part of it, which made me know he was still exhausted from his previous evening’s activities.
We ran across a truck fire on the way, which was exciting but scare all at the same time.
I think we may have managed to get 2 miles to the gallon once we started over the mountains. Stuart was a bit concerned at the sounds of the RV, but then we just figured that was normal considering the size and weight of the vehicle. We arrived a bit later at the campground than was the intention. I convinced Stuart to take the highway I thought we should be on. He argued it was the other highway. I won the argument because he did what I told him to do......and it was wrong. Will he EVER learn that I am NEVER right when it comes to directions. Because we’ve had this conversation a ton of times, I couldn’t let his frustration toward me even bother me. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. We arrived safely and backed the RV into our designated spot. Stuart backed it in like a pro. It only took about 5 minutes to get it level and then we started the other set up. It actually takes us longer to get things organized when we first get it out of storage and on our driveway than it does when we get it to a campground site. We sat out and had a drink and then decided everyone needed a shower. We all walked up to the showers and then the kids headed to their beds. We were in bed by about 11 pm, which is pretty early for us, especially when we have nothing to do the following day.
I slept horribly. This shoulder may be the death of me. However, once I was up, at 7 am, I sat outside and had some coffee while Stuart headed to the airport to pick up our rental car. We still need to sort out a car to tow behind our RV, but until that time, when we go to places like San Diego, we will have to pick up a rental car. This way of travel is still way cheaper than flying and staying in a hotel room, believe it or not.
Because we arrived after the office was closed, I went to check us in just after 8 am. Stuart returned before 9 am and we had breakfast of egg, onion, bacon, pepper scramble. Jack had two egg scramble sandwiches, while Millie at nothing. We then got ready for our day out. We were meeting Helen, Glyn and the girls at the Southwestern Yacht Club in Point Loma. Helen is Grandpa’s niece. They have lived in San Diego for years. We came to see them the summer before we moved to the UAE. At that time they were living on their boat in Point Loma. Prior to meeting up with them we decided to make a stop in the Mission Bay area. We had stopped at Target to get some rash guards should the kids decide to boogie board at some stage. There was no way I was getting in the ocean. The high was only to be 63 degrees each day. Too cold for my blood.
While at Target we also bought a $1 nerf basketball so that when we went to the park we could play catch. The kids enjoyed it.
We met Glyn, Helen and their three girls at the Southwestern Yacht Club around 1pm for lunch. It was amazing and so much fun. Lunch was amazing and the company was delightful. The kids played in the ocean and then went to the playground. Their daughter, Millie, and our daughter, Millie, had a lot in common. They are both August babies and both left handed. Their Millie’s first name is actually Amelia, though, and she’s 5 years older than our Millie. But they got on like a house on fire. It was cute to see.
I forced them to take this picture before everyone arrived at the yacht club.
We left the yacht club and returned to the campsite. We were going to swim and get in the hot tub, but when we got to the pool the hot tub was closed due to Covid and the pool, although heated, was no heated enough to combat the outside air. So instead we decided to take showers and get cozy for the evening. The kids sat inside the RV and Stuart and I sat outside. We had another relatively early night in RV terms. It was so cold, I needed a few blankets sitting outside.
I’m a wimp!
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