Stuart went to get our RV filled with gas at Costco. I came home and helped Millie make her baby Bundt cakes. I then did some laundry and relaxed. Stuart and I took Millie to a birthday party and Fat Cats and decided to stop by Creekside Taco for a beer. Stuart and I love to just go and talk outside of our house. I feel it is how we reconnect each week.
Grammie and Pop came down to see our new vegetables and then I went to pick Millie up. Elise and the kids came over in the evening. She had ordered pizza and wings for the kids and we had a baked chicken with veggies and mashed potatoes. Also, that evening I received a text from my friend Sherry Bollard, telling me she supported my decision to resign. That meant the world to me. First, it reiterated that she is a faithful reader (hee, hee), and secondly, it reassures me that I have done the right thing. As scary as this may be, I know I have to do what is right by my family at this stage. It was a day of positive vibes sent my way, for sure.
Monday morning Stuart didn’t have to get up as early as he was having an evening presentation so he left at 5:30 am. I snoozed my alarm three times, which is never good. The kids got up fine and we got off to school on time. The day was relatively quiet at school. My students are phasing a lot and my biggest challenge was not at school that day. We had a substitute for our vacant paraprofessional job and to be honest it’s easier to have no one than someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.
Monday after school I ran to the store for some things, headed to pick Millie up and take her to gymnastics, then picked Jack up from Rockpoint, the church across from Casteel High School. The kids go there after school as there is a little snack bar set up. It’s open until 4 pm, so it helps those of us who need a bit of time to pick our kids up. Once the season of sports is over, the last week of the quarter can be quite challenging with transportation. Once Jack was home I headed to my friend Heather’s to get together with Melinda and Lauren also. We hadn’t seen each other since before Christmas, so it was time. We had a great time griping about what was wrong with Arizona education. It’s such a shame! I then headed to get Millie and ran through McDonald’s to get both of the kids food. Millie ended up going to bed a bit later than normal for a Monday, but she handled it well. She really has been getting up and going to bed a lot more easily lately. Jack followed at 9:30 pm and I should have, but instead I stayed up and watched the Bachelor. I really need to focus my energy on other things. Geez!
Tuesday morning found me pressing snooze another three times. I needed to make waffles as I had promised the kids, so I started that process. We left the house on time even though I was the lazy one who had difficulty getting all my stuff together for the morning. School was another successful day. I had an elderly substitute for my vacant paraprofessional job. She was such a sweet dear, but she wouldn’t stop talking. I wondered if this was the only social interaction she ever got. My current paras talk a lot, but she took the cake. I had sent her to help in another room. That teacher asked me to take her back because she was talking in spite of the chaos that was happening in the room. When Mrs.K got back to my room, she quietly walked around the room. She was walking about 4 feet from me and I heard ‘bruu’, and then I heard her say, ‘Sorry,’. She had just farted and it stunk. I was plugging in data on the computer for one of my students. I had no other choice than to pretend as if I hadn’t heard anything. It was classic!
After school I had a meeting about testing. Consequently, I had to have my dad pick Jack up from school to bring him to me so we could shoot to the orthodontist right after my meeting. Jack was a bit anxious as he is so over his braces. He so wanted them a little over two years ago, and he needed them desperately, but once he had them he decided he wasn’t as keen about getting them. However, when I show him the before pictures he decides he will just endure it. He was told he would be getting them off at the end of April. He was so excited. After we got home, I went to pick Millie up and then went home. Elise and her son Blake came over and the boys played Oculus Quest, as they got the same game system before we did.
Wednesday school was quiet again. It was so weird to not have the kids kick off. Maybe my stress level has lessened as I know I’m nearly finished with this class. After school I picked Millie up to take her to gymnastics and then headed to get Jack. Once we were home, I sat down to relax for a bit before meeting my friend Debi for dinner. We hadn’t seen each other for months so it was nice to catch up with her. I then rushed to get Millie. On the way home, she ate the food I had ordered her from Buffalo Wild Wings. When I got home, Elise came over. Millie and Jack stayed up too late but I wasn’t terribly worried as this was our last week of school before spring break. I’ve decided that with the gas prices the way they are, it’s probably best if our social activities consist of walking next door to the neighbor’s house rather than driving to a restaurant. Fortunately, our neighbors have become very good friends.
Thursday morning I hit my snooze as I often do. Once I was up and around I got ready for the day. This was the last day of our Biggest Loser challenge at my school. When I got to school I weighed in. Since January 13, I am pleased to report that I have lost 24.9 pounds. I want to lose 24 more, but would be happy with 19 more. I’m so happy I started this club at school. We are planning to do it again in 4th quarter. The school day was a bit boring as most of my kids are out of the room now. I did have two in-school suspension kids in my room, but they were quiet and really no trouble. As soon as the buses pulled away from my school I headed to get Millie. I stopping at the bank beforehand to get money out for our Mexico trip. Then Millie and I went to her therapy session. She met with Mr. Sean on her own this time. She and I have gotten along so much better since our first meeting with him. She hasn’t had an epic meltdown since our first meeting. We are both being very conscience about how we approach each other. I’m starting to enjoy her a lot more. It warms my heart.
Friday was our last day of school for the quarter. It flew by. When I got home Stuart had already collected the RV and was beginning to prepare it for our Mexico trip. He had decided to go down on Sunday instead of Monday. Todd Daniels and his son Kyle would join Jack and Stuart, while Millie and I were at a gymnastics meet. Then Millie and I would drive to Mexico on Monday morning. Mitch and Elise came over Friday and we had a good time chatting. We did our best to convince Elise that she should bring the boys to Mexico at the end of the following week. They were on spring break as well and the kids would enjoy being together. She was seriously considering it.
Saturday Millie had gymnastics and Stuart and I went to breakfast before picking up the Jeep from the RV storage. We then took his car to Kia to get his big service and buy new tires. Why do all of our cars need tires at the same time? We continued to get the Rv ready for Mexico. We picked Millie up from gym and on the way home, Sue messaged you ask if we would, by chance, want to meet them at Creekside Taco. I love random meet ups with friends, so we dropped Millie at home and headed to see Tim and Sue for a bit. They had been hiking in the San Tan mountains and decided on our local restaurant as a lunch venue. It was so fun!
When we got home from our time with Sue and Tim, we got ready to go to dinner at North Italia for our neighbor Mitch’s 40th birthday. It was just the four of us. Stuart and I had never been there so we were anxious to try this new restaurant. It did not disappoint. We left the 5 kids home watching television, playing Oculus and just hanging out. We had ordered them pizza for dinner.
Millie cut her shirt.
Sunday morning I was up at 4:25 to tell Jack, Stuart and the dogs goodbye. They were going to Mexico a day before Millie and myself. Todd and Kyle joined them. Millie had a gymnastics meet. Grammie and Pop went with us and then we went to eat at Oreganos.
Stuart sent a picture to rub it in that they had set up camp and were eating at Manny’s.
We went to get pedicures and then home to finish cleaning the house before heading to Mexico the following day.
Living her best life!
Polka dot Easter eggs!
No big toe is complete without a flower!
The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent at home getting ready to leave the next morning for Rocky Point to join Stuart, Jack, Todd and Kyle.
I got up at 4:30 and loaded the car. I threw Millie in the car and we headed to Mexico. We crossed the border with little issues. They checked the back of my car and saw the cases of beer, but made no issue of it. We arrived in Rocky Point around 9 am and met the gang at Al Capone’s.
After breakfast, Todd took us into a different part of Rocky Point we hadn’t seen before. We went to eat lunch at a place called Birriella, which was a taco, soup type, local place. It was delicious. We can always be assured with Todd around we will find local places to enjoy. He is an explorer and tries to make sure he gets the most authentic experience in any country. He also knows good food. We decided to then go get Thrifty ice cream and walk on Sandy Beach.
After exploring for a bit, we went back to the camp and decided to go down to the bar. The kids wanted their hair braided so we let them do that and saw Manuela, our local vendor of choice.
Millie’s hair was so cute.
Jack’s hair was a bit less tidy.
When we got back to our RV we chilled for a bit and then Todd and I had booked massages. It turns out that Todd didn't give any specifications so it was more like a couples massage. When we walked into the room and saw the two beds, I totally cracked up. Fortunately there was a curtain between us that we could draw in order to get ‘prepared’ for the massage. It was one of the best massages I’ve had, for sure. Todd wasn’t as impressed.
When we got back to camp, Stuart made spaghetti bolognese for dinner. We sat around the fire pit for the rest of the evening and then around 10 pm Todd and I decided to go for tacos. We drove into town and got some tacos at a street vendor. They were delicious. Once we were back, it was time for a sleep.
Stuart and I got up on Tuesday morning and I decided to work on my Empower project as it was due on March 21. It was warming up to be a great day even at 8 am. I thought through things and then decided to wait until the following morning to get started on the work I needed done on Monday, March 21. Nothing like waiting until the end to get your work done.
We came to the beach for most of the morning and then decided to go get lunch. The kids ate in the camper and we went to Luca, a local chicken place. It was delicious.
Playing in the sand was epic. Millie buried the boys.
When we got back to camp, we decided to go back down to the beach. Todd and Kyle left around 3 pm. We stayed at the beach until about 5 pm and decided we didn’t need to fix dinner after all. We just snacked for dinner.
I ended up going to bed just before 9 pm. I think I got sun poison. I just became so tired so quickly. It was so weird. Of course I kept waking up thinking about the work I needed to do. Ugh! I’m so happy for this opportunity, but it’s a lot to take in. When I did finally get up, I got after the work I needed to finish. I tackled one item and submitted it. We then went for breakfast at Manny’s. We had breakfast margaritas.
We then found out Elise and her boys would be joining us on Thursday or Friday. Jack and Millie were so excited.
Once back at the RV we played a couple of hands of Uno Flip, then proceeded to go down to the beach. The dogs have been a bit less stressed than the first time we came with them in November. They were much better behaved than some of the other dogs down there, which is nice.
The dogs were anxious to get into the sea.
The time we spent on the beach on Wednesday was so fun. We had the dogs down at the beach for part of the day and then they were put back in their cage. The kids rode the banana boat while Stuart and I sat in the shade. I had burned my legs the day before so needed a shade day on Wednesday.
Millie actually met a friend on Tuesday evening. Her name was Z and she was also adopted. Her parents were so nice. They were camped right next to us.
Wednesday night we decided not to make a full meal again, so just snacked. Elise and her boys were coming on Thursday. The kids were really excited.
We got up Thursday morning and I continued working on my new project with Empower. Elise and the boys headed to Mexico around midday. She was a bit nervous to come down by herself. Initially Stuart was going to meet her at the border, but in the end she decided she could do it on her own. Well, wouldn’t you know it, she got pulled over by the police. After a phone call with her husband who speaks fluent Spanish, the police let her go with a $50 fine. What a mess. I felt so badly for her, but once they got to the camp, they set up the tent and then we could start having fun. We took the kids to the beach for the afternoon.
That evening we had chicken, mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets and tater tots. Sadly, when the dogs were taken on their walk before bed, one had pooped and left a dangly on her butt. So of course, the dog came in the camper and spread it everywhere. I was no help and Stuart got frustrated with me. Not my dogs, I announced. Ha! We ended up having to wash blankets and sheets the following morning because of the poop incident.
Friday morning we got up and went to Capone’s for breakfast. I had the Mexican lasagna. I worked for a couple of hours and then headed to the beach with the rest of the people in our group. We spent the afternoon on the beach, playing corn hole, digging sand figures and playing in the water. Friday evening we ate dinner and sat around the camp for a while before turning in. A lazy day in the sun is always okay with me.
Saturday morning Mitch drove down to Mexico to meet us. We spent the morning at the beach and then went into town for lunch at Boo Bar. We decided to get Thrifty ice cream afterwards. Once we had ice cream we headed back to the camp. Shortly after we got there, Mitch arrived and we headed back to the beach for the afternoon.
The beach is our happy place.
This chair sits right behind our canopy.
We went to Manny’s for dinner at 7 pm. There was live music and we had a kids’ table and an adult table. It was a good evening. When we left I tripped over the plank walkway just outside the restaurant and fell to the ground, scraping the top layer of skin off my forearm. I love that I have paper-thin skin. Ugh! Once we were back at camp and I had taken a shower, Stuart bandaged me up. Falling is not as easy as it used to be. The damage can be so much worse at my age.
Sunday morning we got up and Mitch was called back to Arizona to go to work. Elise and I headed to the fish market to get frozen grouper and tuna steaks. Yum! When we got back the kids had taken most of the beach stuff down to the beach.
I got a message to say that part of my work for Empower needed to be talked about. I fretted about it all day. Then got an email later in the day telling me that the team had decided to review all the work and get back with us all later.
We decided to go to Manny’s for lunch. We sat there for a while and as there was a live band again. The kids enjoyed their time there and then walked back to the beach while we drove the car back. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach. We had to move all our things further up the beach as the tide was going to come up pretty high. When we did this we decided to fold up the canopy. It was a windy day and a bit chilly in the shade so there was no need to have the shade structure up. Plus, it would be one less thing we would have to deal with later that evening as we sadly prepared to go home.
When we got back to our RV we tidied up a bit before having dinner of bag tacos. They are easy and delicious. We all enjoyed the food and company around the fire.
Monday morning we didn’t rush out of camp. Because Elise and her boys were with us, we felt is a bit silly to think we could be out before sun up. So we took our time, got everything packed up and were driving toward home around 9 am. The wind was horrible on the way home and Elise reported they thought our RV was going to tip over a time or two. Glad it didn’t.
We only stopped for gas and then forged onward to Queen Creek. I dreaded the amount of laundry that needed to be done, especially because the kids and I were to fly out the next day to see my niece Morgan, her husband and my new great niece, Hallie. I also had to pack us for much cooler weather than Mexico as they live in Pasco, Washington.
Once we were home the real work began. The kids helped get out all the dirty laundry. I had actually cleaned the inside of the van before we left Mexico. I started laundry and then continued to get food, clean clothes, and the refrigerated things out of the RV. Stuart and I went to get his car, which had been serviced and the tires replaced the previous week. When we got back my parents came over and brought their big ladder because one of our top shudders was nearly hanging off our house. They stayed for a while and tried to talk to the kids. The kids just wanted to get back to their friends’ house. It’s so hard when your kids start to get older. They don’t realize that Grammie and Pop won’t be around forever.
When my parents left, I finished doing laundry and completed the formative test for Empower. I spent the rest of the evening working on the project from Empower, keeping the laundry going, and catching up on my trashy shows.
I set my alarm for 7 am on Tuesday. Stuart had gotten up to take the RV for its emission test. Only after we returned the RV to our storage place did we realize that we could have taken my Ford Flex to get the emissions done as well. Ugh!
Stuart took the kids and I to the airport around noon and then he headed on to Gallup for the rest of the week. Our flight was uneventful. It was a bit longer than was planned. Morgan picked us up at the airport and we finally got to meet Hallie. She looked exactly like Morgan. We fell in love instantly. Millie was so happy to be with her. We went back to Morgan’s house and settled in.
I imagined Millie trying to snuggle Hallie back with us on the airplane.
Jack wasn’t as sure about her, but when she gets older he is going to have so much fun with her.
Once Donivan was home, we went to get some dinner. We went to a Chinese and Japanese place they had never been. It was really good. We had a lovely evening and got back to their house just around 9 pm. The kids took showers while Morgan and I talked about everything under the sun. She really is like my first born child in so many ways. We have a very special bond. She stayed up until midnight to feed Hallie and then she went to bed, as did I.
Wednesday morning we got up and really just lazed around the house. Donivan came home just after 1 pm. The kids played their electronics throughout the day and watched Disney movies.
We all got our baby snuggles in throughout the day.
We decided to go to a park down by the Colombia River. When we got there, Jack was so irritated with me as he thought we were going to a play park and initially it appeared to just be a state park. We then went for a walk and ran into a play park. He then decided he was too old for it. We finally convinced him to go and play with Millie, as her keeper. He so wants to be grown, but also wants to be a little kid. These teen years are strange to say the least.
Here we are on the banks of the Columbia River.
Once we had finished our park time, we decided to go eat at a place called Tomotias. I had ceviche, as I normally do at a Mexican restaurant, Jack had fajitas and Millie surprised us all by ordering chicken tenders. Ha! We are hopeful that one day she will actually expand her palette. For as culturally sound as she is, it’s strange she won’t even try different foods. Oh well!
We stopped by target to get some popcorn and snacks because Millie wanted to have a movie night at the house. Once we were at home the kids showered and we got settled in for the movie Incredibles 2. Millie took a pillow and laid on the floor and as you would guess fell asleep rather quickly. I picked her up and took her to the bed. I return to watch the rest of the movie and then got ready for bed myself.
We got up on Thursday morning and sat around the house. I got a hold of Hallie for quite some time. She really is a good baby. I feel badly for Morgan because I think Morgan thinks she’s not doing a good job. I guess it’s just what all first-time mothers go through. The previous night Ali had cried for a few minutes. It wasn’t long enough to upset anyone, unless you were her mother. I tried to reassure Morgan that that was very normal and there really wasn’t anything wrong with her other than she was trying to express either she was hungry or tired or wet. It’s hard to be prepared for such a big event in your life. But Morgan and Donivan are doing a wonderful job.
I was messaging back and forth with my neighbor about the local elementary school school she had contacted on my behalf. She asked if they had called me for an interview. I told her ‘no’ and she said she would call them again. Well, wouldn’t you know, just before 11, they called and scheduled an interview with the principal for Monday at 3:30 pm. I was beyond excited. It felt good to be excited about a teaching job again. It would be ideal, so I really pray it works out. I messaged my neighbor and thanked her again and again. We all know that when principals look at the many applicants they have for one job, if they don’t recognize names or don’t get recommendations from others, the likelihood of getting an interview is very slim. I’ve always said, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Then once you get the interview, it’s what you know. So hopefully I know all the things to get this job.
Later in the morning, we decided to have an outing at target again. We shopped around for a few things and I bought a diaper genie for the house. I told Morgan it was one thing that saved me from the stink of a baby diaper. We ended up buying millie a few clothes because according to her Washington has better clothes than Arizona. We then decided to go through Crumbl cookie to treat everyone. Panda Express was our lunch that we got in the drive-through and then went home to eat while we watched another movie. Our movie theme this week has been Disney, so we watched the newest Aladdin.
Donivan got home from work and finished up some Panda Express food we had left over. The kids then went outside with Donivan and played a game with golf clubs and whiffle golf balls. They had so much fun.
Their back yard is quite long so it was the perfect place for this made-up game.
We decided, once again, to have a movie night. This time we chose Parent Trap. Our new baby Hallie is named after the Hallie in Parent Trap, as it is Morgan’s all time favorite movie. Once again, Millie fell asleep. She’s had some very late nights in Washington, but I guess it doesn’t really matter as she is on vacation, and with a new baby there is really no urgency in getting out and about each day. It’s been nice and relaxing. Jack has been a bit bored, but I let him bring his Oculus Quest, the virtual reality game system, so that has helped him keep occupied. Donivan and Morgan have enjoyed his game system as well.
In the middle of the night, it was confirmed that the blow up mattress I was sleeping on was no longer holding air, so I went to sleep on the sofa. Each night here, I have heard Hallie wake up, but it’s always been very brief. They have been really quiet, which I told them was totally unnecessary. I’m know they are glad we came for a visit, but I’m sure they will be relieved to get back to their own space by themselves.
Friday morning I was up just before 8 am. Donivan and Morgan were already gone to a doctor’s appointment for Hallie. Jack woke up shortly after I did and he started playing his Oculus. I made some coffee and sat on the freezing porch writing this blog. My thinned blood can’t handle cold weather anymore. And by cold, I mean it was 43 degrees. I’m a wuss.
My brother Russ called and we caught up on the latest in each of our lives. Morgan and Donivan came home around 10 am with the report that Hallie had grown an inch since birth and gained nearly 2 pounds. She’s a healthy little girl.
I asked Morgan if there was anything she wanted to do while we were there and able to help. I suggested the grocery store and she was all up for that. She made a list and off we went. Jack and Millie were a great help for sure. One of them would push Hallie in the stroller so Morgan could do groceries. We were in and out of the store in about 30 minutes. It was great.
Once back at home the kids decided to have some chill time. Donivan went off to deliver some seed to a customer and Morgan and Hallie napped and I caught up on social media and played some games on my phone. Jack and Millie were so good on this trip to not be demanding that we do something outside of the house every day. They just rolled with the punches.
Tired little girls!
When Donivan got back, Morgan had just woken from her two hour, much needed snooze. The kids went outside with Donivan to play their golf game again while Morgan and I solved the problems of the world in the house. Around 6 pm we decided to go get some dinner. I told Jack on the way out of the house that he might need a sweatshirt. He told me he knew what he needed and he could make his own decision. I hoped it would be freezing and that we would decide to eat outside. We didn’t sit outside in the end, but I do think he was cold. I tried to explain that he would be better off to have a sweatshirt and not need it, then to need one and not have it. But what do I know? Teenagers!!!
The restaurant we ate in was called the Bistro. I decided to have a curry dish, which wasn’t the greatest. I know better than to have curry in a restaurant that isn’t an Indian restaurant. When the waitress asked Jack what he wanted to eat, she addressed him as ‘little buddy’, which made all of us giggle later and continue to call him ‘little buddy’. When he ordered crab stuffed encrusted sole, the waitress commented, ‘Wow, you have a mature palette’. Morgan came to the rescue and said, ‘They are world travelers.’ We all had a good laugh about the entire situation.
We went back to the house and decided to watch Encanto and once again Millie fell asleep before the end of the movie. I decided to roll up the blow up mattress and just put it away, resigning myself to sleep on the sofa for my last night there. It wasn’t my best night’s sleep, but it certainly wasn’t my worst.
I woke up to Hallie crying, which was about 15 minutes before my alarm went off. Once I was up and dressed, I began to clean the bathroom and finish sorting out our suitcase. Millie and Jack got up and I stripped their bed. They dressed, ate breakfast, and got their things together. We left for the airport around 8 am. We went into Morgan’s room to tell her and Hallie goodbye. I nearly cried as I am so proud of the woman my little niece has become. And seeing her as a mama makes me so happy.
Once at the airport, despite me packing exactly everything in my bag the same as when we brought it out, my bag was three pounds over the 40 pound limit. I could hardly believe it. So I had to step out of the check-in line and take out three pounds of something. I took out our trash bag that had some of our dirty laundry in it. It weighed exactly 3 pounds, so we were now set.
The flight was boarding when we got to the gate. The flight was uneventful. Once we landed and got our bags we were on our way to the house. Once I had unpacked, I fixed the errors I had been asked to fix in my project with Empower. When that was finished and turned in, Stuart and I went to Uncle Bear’s for a beer and to catch up on life. When we got back to the house we chilled out for a while in the backyard before our neighbors came over. I had on jeans and started to feel like I was burning up from the inside out. I went upstairs and changed into shorts. I started to feel really nauseous. It was so weird. I suppose I just overheated. We ordered pizza for the kids and Pita Jungle for the adults. I didn’t eat my food, but did start feeling a bit better as the night went on. We sat out back for several hours, but it was too warm to use the fire pit. I think fire pit nights are done until next winter. It will now be time for pool nights.
We woke up Sunday morning and went to Mitch and Elise’s for breakfast. We had French toast, bacon and eggs. It was delicious. We came home around 10:30 am and Stuart started fixing our Sunday lunch. Now that the clocks have changed Stuart is back to leaving on Sunday afternoons instead of Monday mornings. It kind of sucks, but it just makes the weekends and vacations more precious. My parents came down for lunch. We had roasted chicken, cauliflower cheese, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and roasted potatoes. It was a wonderful meal. My mom made a chocolate cake with marshmallow cream icing. We used to have that cake all the time when I was growing up.
My parents left around 2 pm and then Stuart left around 3 pm. The kids spent the rest of the day playing with the neighbors. They decided to come to our house around 4 pm and swim. The pool is still really cold, in my opinion, but kids don’t care. They had a great time.
Fun in the sun!
I also discovered that our little vegetable garden is really growing. This is our yellow squash!!!! I’m so excited!
The kids and I did relatively nothing in the late afternoon. Elise came over and we decided to do Taco Bell for everyone for dinner. Blake came back over after his brothers were in bed. I allowed Millie and Jack to stay up a bit later since they didn’t have school on Monday.
Monday morning I was up and out of the house at 7:30 am. Neither kid was awake when I left, which didn’t surprise me. I had left instructions with them to make their beds and go to Grammie’s for lunch. They did both things, so I felt the day was a success. We were given time to work in our rooms on Monday since we had no students at school. I realized that I would have a relatively empty room this quarter, which was fine by me. I had three students who, by Wednesday, would be totally phased, one who would be out of the room for the entire afternoon, and then my 6th grader who would just spend her last quarter of elementary school hanging out with me and my two paras. She’s actually a good kid, so I don’t mind.
I left school just before 2 pm to get home to change for my interview. I wasn’t really nervous, but more excited. The thought of teaching that close to my house and having everything more convenient for me when dealing with the kids made me very happy. On my way to the interview I was called about the things I had done wrong with this project I was working on. It about sent me over the edge. I’m not sure why I answered the call. It was kind of stupid of me. It threw me a bit off, but as I walked into Desert Mountain Elementary School I tried to refocus. I sat in the front office for a little bit and waited for the interview committee to call me back. They asked me the usual questions about discipline, lesson planning, and community. I felt I connected with the two teachers and the principal that were in the interview. They asked if I had any questions and the only one I had was asking when they were going to fill the position. The principal told me she would call me no later than Wednesday morning to let me know. I felt like I did well and probably got the job. But then again, I always feel like I probably got the job. I don’t know if that’s arrogance or stupidity.
Once I was home I fixed Jack some dinner and then relaxed and watch some television. I also made Millie pasta with butter and put it in her hot pot to take it with me when I picked her up from gymnastics. Elise came over so I could tell her about my interview. I really think the only reason I got the interview is because she called the office to tell them about me. So I felt I needed to let her know how things went. Regardless of whether I get the job or not, I am appreciative of the fact that she would speak up for me . Often times people don’t want to stick their neck out for other people for fear of being burned, even if they know the person they’re sticking their neck out for is a worthy candidate for a position.
Once I had picked Millie up from gymnastics, she ate in the car on the way home. When she got home she took a shower and went to bed around 8:30 PM. Elise came over after Millie was in bed and we had a chat on the back patio. Is there to get windy and rain and it was feeling cooler than it had the previous day. Elise went home about the time Jack went to bed. I set up for a little longer and watched television and then decided it was time to go to sleep.
We got up on Tuesday morning and the kids did their jobs they needed to do. They got dressed, ate breakfast, made their beds, and brush their teeth. It was a very easy morning for me. I like mornings like that. I took kids to school and then headed to school myself. My day was quiet and very uneventful. After school I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some bread before heading to get Millie from school and go with her to counseling. The counselor seems to think that we’re making great headway and that possibly counseling won’t have to last much longer. Millie is very willing to talk to him and we have both been able to work on ourselves and compromising for each other. When we got home Millie took a shower and Jack took a shower and I had a meeting with Empower, my most recent employer. Stuart happen to be in the same meaning as he was doing the same work that I am currently doing. We all went to bed at a reasonable time and got ready for the next day.
Wednesday morning I got up in anticipation that I would hear from the school about my job interview. I did not hear in the morning and decided that maybe I hadn’t done as well as I thought. But I called my administrative assistant about an email she had sent out and she told me that my principal got a reference call from the school. So I found that to be a positive indicator. School was as usual, very quiet, and pretty uneventful. At the end of the day I went down to pick Millie up and on my way I got a call from the principal at Desert Mountain Elementary school telling me she was recommending me for hire with the board of Queen Creek unified school district. I was beyond excited. I told Millie that she would be going to the school as well and she was excited too.
Wednesday evening my sister in law who lives in Australia messaged me asking if she and the kids could come and see us. Naturally, I said they could and started to get excited about the possibility. I heard from her again at 3:45 am. They got negative Covid tests and were heading our way. They were due to arrive Saturday morning. We had decided we wouldn’t tell Stuart or the kids as I wanted it to be a surprise. James, Stuart’s brother, wasn’t coming, so that was disappointing, but I was so thrilled Louise and the kids were coming.
Thursday school was uneventful. Since now most of my kids are phasing all day, it’s a little bit boring in my classroom. But I’ll take boredom over chair throwing any all day. I left school right after kids were dismissed. I was supposed to have my permanent crown fitted. However the crowns that were fitted a little less than a month ago or bothering me. It turns out that they were a little too high, so she drilled those to fit my bite and decided to wait on the crown on my right side. Once I was finished at the dentist, I went home and Millie was brought back to my house by my dad. He had picked her up from school. Jack had stayed after volleyball practice and was going to watch the high school varsity volleyball team. Millie and I decided to go as well. I then took Jack to basketball practice and Millie and I went out to eat at Oregano’s. Once we were home Millie and I took a shower. Millie went to bed shortly after we got home. Jack got home and showered. He went to bed at 10:30 pm and I followed shortly after.
Friday I had one of my students that had to come back to my classroom just before lunchtime because of his behavior. But other than that my students were all out of the room. So once again school was uneventful. Jack rode home with Kyle after volleyball tryouts because I needed to do a grocery run prior to Louise and the kids getting here. I picked up Millie later than normal from Kids Express, which she was fine with. Once we were home and the groceries were unpacked, Millie dusted the house and Jack vacuumed while I tidied up the rest of the house.
Jack and his buddies made the volleyball team. They were so excited.
Friday evening we took the kids to Elevate, a trampoline facility not far from our house. The neighbors came as well. Afterwards we sat out on the back porch with Mitch and Elise while the kids played inside. We went to bed way too late, but we always do.
Saturday morning I could hardly contain myself. As soon as Stuart and I dropped Millie at gymnastics I told him I had to run an errand at about 10:30 AM. For some reason he asked me if I was going to get a cat? I started laughing and said no I have to go pick up somebody and then I couldn’t stand it I had to tell him. I knew he would probably want to take days off work the following week, so I felt like I should probably prepare him before they got here. He was a bit flustered initially, but then very excited. We ended up going to breakfast and then we went home for a bit to do some more tidying up. Jack was still at home when we got there but we still didn’t tell him or Millie. We got to the airport at about 1030 and waited for them to come to baggage claim. Stuart stayed in the car and circle the airport. Once they were in the car we headed to get some lunch. We went to Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. We then headed to pick Millie up from gymnastics. I knew Millie would cry once she saw Auntie Lou, Billy and Zoe, and she did.
She was so surprised.
We immediately headed to Jack’s basketball game. He was too cool for all of us, but after the game he was speechless. He kept asking why they were there. It didn’t take long for he and Billy to break the ice and get on like a house on fire. After the game, Louise and I went to Dutch Bros. to get the kids drinks. Millie had a friend from gymnastics who had come home with her for a play date so there were 8 drinks we lugged back to the house. Once back at the house, chaos ensued. The kids were wild and crazy, but we’re having so much fun.
Around 5 pm, Millie, Zoe and I took Ella back to her house. When we got home, Gina was at the house and we headed to Skip and Sherry’s for Supper Club. They were hosting a Mexican Fiesta. Louise was our special guest. It was an awesome night. At the end of the night some music came on and Todd, Stuart and Skip danced and revealed their speedos to the gang. Their grand finale was jumping in the pool. It was hilarious. Everyone enjoyed meeting Louise as she is such a lovely person. We were sure to enjoy the next few days with her and the kids.
Louise and I are true sisters. I love her dearly.
