October 2024

These moments are few and far between these days. As the kids get older, their social lives are way more important than their families, so we were so thrilled when Jack joined us for a night of cards early in October. 

For Jack's birthday, Tatum, his girlfriend, bought him a zip lining experience. Because Tatum is only 15, an adult had to go with her. Well, I couldn't be left out, so both her mom and I went along. It was so fun!

Beach volleyball came into our lives this October. It was the inaugural year for all of the 6A teams. Jack and his partner, Will, had great success. Jack dreams of playing on the beach professional circuit at some stage. We shall see.  

This beauty third from the left is growing up too fast. This was her first junior high dance. She got ready at her friend Andie's house and then had a sleepover. It was reported that she had a blast. The following day Jack had a club tournament. I got a call in the middle of the tournament from Millie. She said that she and Andie were talking the previous night. She said Andie asked her if there was ever anything Millie hadn't told her. Millie said 'yep'. Andie proceeded to ask what it was. Millie said, 'Well, it starts with an 'a'.' Andie the said, 'Did Gia (Andie's cousin) tell you?'  Millie said, 'tell me what?' And then Andie said, 'that I am adopted'. Millie said, 'I'm adopted!' I guess from then on they just solidified their bond, and I think her mom and I did the same. What an amazing experience for her, to have a friend who is also adopted. Wow!

Ken turned 60 this year. For his birthday, we went to the Game Show Room in Tempe, which was a blast. Then we went to dinner at Smokin' Fins. Yummy!

Stuart came to visit my school and read my book to my book to my second graders. They loved it and he loved my school. 

Did we sneak off for a beer while Millie was at a volleyball clinic? We sure did. And how cute are my new specs? I got them from Pair Eye Wear, online. 

Did my Frankenstein and his wife and kid blow-up die the afternoon it rained? Yep. But Stuart ordered the sliders, the web and the ghoul and put them up the same day. 

We watched Beetlejuice, the original, one Sunday night in the middle of the month. Just after the movie, we made Jack go to Tatum's to tell her why he broke up with her via text. Dang this was a rough lesson and a very emotional weekend for sure. 

Vero's pizza night. We decided to go here for dinner one Friday night when both kids were out. 

This is Jack's club coach. We were twinning. This seemed to bind us, which was good because the way he spoke to the team the previous tournament was less than impressive. 

Chris, Kristi, Vicki and myself went to the Basha by Casteel for a meal prep class with Citrus Pear. There is no skill involved, you just fill your ziploc bags with ingredients and take them home to freezer for later meals in the crock pot. It's a beautiful thing. 

Jack's team dressed as the Minions for Halloween. 

My neighbor Elise and I dressed as witches and had very little traffic. I had so much candy left over. 

Here is a never before seen photo of the legal marriage Stuart and I had 18 years ago, on Halloween. We have told some people throughout the years, but kept it a secret from most. We had an actually ceremony 5 months later. But to be honest, he needed to get a job for his own self-worth, and this was the easiest way to do it. Surprise! Liz and Vicki were our witnesses. My family still doesn't know we did this. I think we will tell them in two years when it's our 20th anniversary. 

Millie went trick or treating with her bestie Andie and their 'friends' Walker and Beckham. 

Naturally, the day after Halloween you get out your Christmas decorations. And although I was due to leave for New York City for an impromptu trip with my sister in law Louise, it still had to happen. 

Saturday morning Millie had tryouts for her club team. There weren't enough 13s to have two teams, so they took a few girls from the 13s and a few from the 14s and made a 14-2s team. Well, Millie's friend Andie didn't make the 1s team, but Millie did. I cried because I wanted them to be on the same team. On the way home I asked Millie if she still would have wanted to play had she been put on that team instead of Andie. She said, 'I would, because I just want to play and get better.' Up until that moment I wasn't entirely sure she was convinced that volleyball was her sport, but those words changed my mind. 

We got home, I did some things around the house and then headed to the airport. My sister in law, Louise, had invited me to meet her in New York City for two days, actually more like 40 hours, so I jumped at the chance. Here's to two incredible days of adventure. 

September 2024

Well, I'm restarting this month's blog as I went in to edit and lost it all. So the details could be a bit sketchy. 

On Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we were still without children. We spent the day doing a few things around the house, but mostly just enjoyed the quiet. 

Monday was a lot of the same. We kind of waited around for the kids to get back home. Millie flew in after 9 pm so I went to pick her up. Because she was considered an unaccompanied minor, I got to go to the gate to get her. Stuart picked Jack up at the Hurley house and we were all home by about 10 pm. The next day was sure to be an exhausting day, but we would deal with it as best as possible. 

Stuart worked in town for Tuesday and Wednesday, so it was nice for him to be at home when the kids got up. To think I only have three more weeks to drive the kids to school freaks me out. After school on Tuesday, Jack went down to mow my parents' lawn while Stuart and I went to watch Millie's volleyball team. Jack had club practice on Tuesday evening, so was picked up and taken there. 

Wednesday after school Stuart stopped by the house and then headed to Gallup. The girls (Sherry, Mary, Gina and Elise) were to come over so we could celebrate Gina and Elisa's birthdays. Sadly, Sherry's mom had passed away a few days before so we had to reschedule. Gina had decided she needed to spend the evening with her dad as it was his birthday. However, I decided that shouldn't prevent Elisa, Mary and I from getting together. Mary had missed the July birthday celebration as her sister was not well and has since passed as well. So the three of us met at Barrio Queen and had a laugh for sure! 

Thursday was Millie's last regular season match. I am so proud of how she has competed this season. The season is so fast in junior high, but it gives the kids a taste of the sport, so for Millie that was very important. 

Friday was a hectic day, as always for me. After school I picked Millie up from practice and Jack went home with Carter to celebrate his 16th birthday. They were going to sleep over. Coming up to 16 is starting to get real. Jack is around way less than normal, which is weird for all of us. Millie is especially jealous as we don't let her have the freedom he has, which isn't surprising. 

Saturday Stuart was working in Gallup for new teacher orientation while the kids and I were here. I had my friend Debi over for some girl time. Debi left rather early. Millie hung out with Andie for the day and Jack was out with friends. 

Sunday was a relatively lonely day. Stuart was in Gallup and the kids and I were at home. Boring! 

Monday was another boring day. Stuart was still in Gallup and the kids and I were home. We did nothing Monday evening. At least when we are busy, it makes time go faster and Stuart being gone is not as noticeable. 

Tuesday the kids both had things going on after school. I picked Millie up from practice and then waited around for Jack to go for his road test. The instructor called and said he would be about a half hour late. Since Jack had club practice and was going to be late anyway, we agreed to meet at the office in Tempe. This way Jack could be at practice for at least an hour. Of course he passed with flying colors. 

Wednesday Millie had a playoff game. She didn't play, and was a bit disappointed, but stayed enthusiastic on the sidelines, which I loved. After her game, we went to the district office and the board of education recognized the Casteel volleyball team as they had been named the 5A champions after months of controversy. It was a weird situation, but the character the boys showed was to be respected and recognized. 

This award was definitely a bittersweet moment. 

Thursday, after going back and forth with Jack's AP English teacher about an essay score that caused him to have a C in her class, he was allowed to revise the essay. Do I think he gave it his all? No! Do I think she made it clear the kids could revise their essay? Nope! It was a bit of a shit show, to be honest. If there wasn't college credit at stake here, I would have let him handle it on his own, but not happening. I also find these high school teachers that are a hot minute over the age of 22 to be unnerving at times. Jack had practice at Brophy and Millie and I watched Dancing with the Stars. It's something that bonds us. 

Friday Stuart was home because one of his schools had closed due to a covid outbreak. We decided to go ahead and meet with the AP teacher after school, even though Jack had gone in to talk to her regarding the revision. I just wanted to make sure he was in full understanding of the expectations. I also wanted the teacher to know we supported her, but also wanted to support our kid in his endeavors. And although we don't use ADD as a crutch, it really does play into the lack of attention to detail from time to time. We asked Jack if we embarrassed him. He said, 'No, actually having you come to the school is the main reason I think she allowed me to revise the paper'. Ha! 

Friday evening the kids both went to the varsity football game. Stuart and I went to eat at Vero's, which was a new place for us. I picked them up after the game and we all came home for a sleep! 

Saturday I ran around getting all the things for Homecoming and a birthday party Millie was going to that afternoon. We took Millie to her party at 3:45 pm and then went to pick Tatum up at 4:45 to go take pictures at Veteran's Park. Jack, Tatum, Carter and Alex were going to Cooper's Hawk for dinner and then to the dance. The plan was for Tatum's parents to pick them up from the dance and let them come back to their house until midnight. I'm not ready for this! It's a good thing we love Tatum. 

Who are the couples? Ha! What beautiful children we all have!

Sunday Millie had a volleyball clinic. It seems her coach wanted to talk to her about a situation that happened with another player. It seems another player had gotten mad at Millie over a boy and sent her some scathing texts with some choice words in them. Thank goodness Millie did not respond the same way. Fortunately for her, I had caught her using some similar language with someone the previous week and had taken her phone as a result. So she knew better than to get caught in that trap again. I told her the words didn't bother me as much as the fact that it was in writing. I explained the importance of not sending words in texts or pictures that could be considered naughty! Stuart and I went to lunch during her clinic and then came back to a conversation from the coach. Coach Tracy said she was sorry she hadn't been told about the other girl's treatment of Millie because she would have addressed it. Millie later asked if she was in trouble. We assured her that she was not in trouble, but wanted her to know that the treatment she received from this girl was never to be tolerated. I'm hoping she got the message. 

Monday was the semi-finals of the volleyball season. Millie didn't play again, and she was the only one for the last two games. It made me sad for her, but she seemed fine, so that was good enough for me. Stuart was able to be at the match and although she didn't play, we were proud of her being willing to step out and try something new. She did improve a great deal and has decided she is going to go out for club volleyball. We shall see how that plays out. They ended up losing in the semi-finals, but had a great season. 

Tuesday Stuart was still working in southern Arizona. We took the boys to Inspire and went to a pub quiz close by. Tom and Chris met us there. It was fun! It would be the last time I would drive Jack to Inspire for practice. So surreal!

Wednesday after school I met with my former teammates, Shelby and Alyssa, for dinner. I hadn't seen them in over a year. It was great to catch up with both of them. Stuart headed to Gallup once his day in southern Arizona was finished. He loves being able to come home at the end of a work day several days a month, but the days he has to drive to Gallup after a days work in San Simone are not fun days. 

Thursday, Stuart ended coming back home. He decided to work a half day from home on Friday. It was great to have him back home. 

So this was September 19th, but this mouse saga had been going on for over a week. We discovered some droppings and I freaked out. Stuart stopped to get traps earlier in the week and the killings began. 

Friday the kids went to a football game again. Stuart and I went to dinner while the kids were at the football game. We have started to have a lot more free time for us. The kids are busy and really don't want to hang out with us. 

Saturday was a full day of volleyball. It was the first volleyball tournament of the club season. Here we go. Jack's team is really good and moved up a division after their 4-0 record on Saturday. They were playing 17 and 18 year olds. He was pretty pumped by the entire day. 

He is quite the jumper and the hitter. 

After the tournament, all the boys came over for a sleepover. The next day was Jack's 16th birthday. He only asked to have all his buddies and their families over for lunch and swimming. 

The day of celebrating Jack was so much fun. We got to know Will's and Asher's families so much better. He has such a great group of friends and their families are equally amazing. 

Monday, Stuart had taken the day off to take Jack to get his license. I can't believe it is time for this. 

His first trip on his own was to take Millie to Target. We had sat him down to talk to him about his new responsibilities. So scary! 

By Tuesday, Jack had his keys taken away for a short while. It seems that he wants to argue with me via text about spending time with his girlfriend at her house without an adult there. Stupid! So, he didn't get to go pick her up on that day. There are more days ahead, thank goodness. I am hoping he fixes his stupidity. Also, on Tuesday, since I was still working and the kids were on break, I made a list of chores for them to have completed by the end of the day. Well, the 16 year old who thinks he's grown now, didn't do his chores. He is clearly not skilled at the 'kiss ass' behavior that should follow a major mess up. Hoping he learns soon. 

Wednesday chores were completed once I got home from work. Millie and I went to her end of season celebration. She was awarded the most improved player. Her coach said such wonderful things about her. She was so proud and so was I. 

My little volleyball star!

Thursday I met the kids at the doctor for their med checks. I had a covid and flu shot the previous day so woke up feeling like crap. I struggled through and then decided the kids would just get a flu shot and not a covid shot. Jack had another tournament on Saturday, so I didn't want him feeling horrible. They were both mad enough about the flu shot. It's just how I handle it. Don't tell and they won't be able to be mad prior to. 

Stuart got home early on Friday and we decided to go to dinner and then to a cross country meet close to the Mesa airport. I have never seen so many runners in my life. One of the schools Stuart works at in Gallup had runners there. We met up with Todd as well, as his team was there. I really wish Millie would run cross country. I think she would be good. She has no interest, though. 

Jack went to the football game in Mesa. There was controversy around it as he hadn't done his chores. Seems he is having difficulty keeping in mind that his family obligations come first. He will learn, I hope. 

Saturday he had his second tournament. Millie decided to go with us this time as the previous Saturday she was bored to death all day. They didn't do as well as the week before, but they still moved up a division, so they are close to the top now. After the tournament, Jack came home and showered and then was out the door again. He went to have a sleepover at Will's. 

What a month!

August 2024

Jack's day was spent at the GCU camp. Chris rode with me to take the boys to GCU then we met Tom and Stuart at a cute little restaurant a few miles from the university. After camp we came home, Jack showered and I took him to Tatum's grandpa's birthday party. Her grandparents love Jack. I came to the conclusion that I do too much for my children. I have also decided that they are very ungrateful. Not one time when I took Jack to Tatum's or when I brought him home did he say thank you. It makes me nuts!

And if that wasn't enough, even less gratitude came from my daughter on Monday morning when I got up 30 minutes early in order to clean her cat litter box as well as prepare the snacks for her volleyball team for their game. I walked into her room to ask her a question and her response was beyond sassy. I didn't even say anything and her comment was "what?", With absolutely nothing but sass. Once we arrived at school, she helped me take the things into the front office. Again, not saying thank you one time. I don't do all these things for my kids in order to get a thank you, but it would be nice once in a while.  I don't know if they understand that I really don't enjoy driving them all over the place. And I really don't enjoy taking time out of my day to buy Gatorade, uncrustables, applesauce, granola, bars, and chips, but I do it because that's what you do. And a little appreciation would go along way. Okay, enough griping from me.

When I left dropping them at school, I went to Walmart to pick up my grocery order. I then came home and helped Stuart put some sliders on the bottom of our stove. Then I met my friend Lisa Reynolds for coffee. I got home and started getting the upstairs ready for painting on Wednesday. The baseboards had arrived but I would likely not be able to paint them until the weekend. 

This arrived and Stuart was super happy. I foresee this being a focal point in our house for years to come. 

We went to Uncle Bears for lunch and then came home to change clothes for Millie's first volleyball match. 

She played the last bit of the second set, but she looked like she was having fun the entire time. That was the important part for me at this stage. We got home and just chilled out for the rest of the evening. Jack watch Volleyball on the Olympics with us and we had some good conversation. Millie was just focused on being up in her room and doing her homework.

Tuesday morning we got up a little bit early so Millie could open her presents. She officially became a teenager. She was very excited. I took the kids to school and when I got back, Stuart had decided to pull the dishwasher out in order to take the tile up and put down flooring. He started to unhook the dishwasher by taking the pipes off, not realizing he had to actually shut the water off. So we had a little bit of a mini flood. Prior to that I asked him if he was okay and could I leave for work. He said that was fine, but by the time I got to the car, he was at the front door  in a panic because he had flooded the kitchen again. I moved into operation 'fix this' mode and went out to the cabinet that holds the pool towels and brought them all in and started moving them around the water on the floor. Stuart used some very inappropriate words, which is very unlike him. I realized how frustrated he was and was thrilled that I was going to work. So I left him to it and headed to school. We had meetings in the morning and then met with the people that I would be working with in the afternoon. I left around 3:30 to go get donuts for Millie's volleyball team because it was her birthday.  She may be a teenager but she still likes treats for her friends. Millie and I got back to the house. She took a shower and we headed to an escape room. Millie loves these, and I felt like it would be a great surprise for her. Jack arranged for Tatum to come with us as well. He claims he asked me if she could go to dinner with us, but I don't recall him doing so. Unfortunately, he and I are both very ADD, so it's likely he didn't. Also likely that I didn't hear. It was fine, I just had to add another person to the escape room. And in all fairness to Jack, he didn't even know that we were going to an escape room before dinner. 

We escaped in less than an hour. 

Wednesday we got up and I took the kids to school and came back and had another cup of coffee and then headed off to school myself. Stuart finished up the floor on Wednesday, which was epic. Edgar came and started painting upstairs, which was also epic. Our house is starting to get back together, which is very exciting. I picked Millie up from practice Wednesday afternoon and Jack had volleyball open house on Wednesday evening. He had gone home with Carter and then I picked him up from Starbucks. Prior to picking him up, we asked Millie if she wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings, and she did not. So we ended up going to Barrio Queen for dinner. 

Thursday morning Stuart was off to the southern part of Arizona to work. He is going to be able to work a few days in Arizona each month this year, which will mean he is home in the evening. That will be a nice change for us. I was off to school and did a lot of things for the teacher I am assisting. I did most of that work in the morning and then she showed up in the afternoon. We had a meeting about the students in our class. We have 19 students in each of our classes. They switch for language arts and social studies, and then the students go to math and science. After I left work, I got home and discovered that Edgar was nearly finished with the upstairs paint. Edgar then gave me his card and said he was available to paint the baseboards and install them for a minimal price. Of course I took advantage of that because I didn't want to do it. I am so over the redecorating stuff. We did a chunk of it on our own, but I am finished now. Do anything left, I am hiring someone. 

Friday work was uneventful and I left early. We went to Kristi and Bob's for dinner. Two other teachers were there with their husbands. I am a co-teacher at some stage during the week with those two teachers. Millie had a team bonding activity and Jack had his last volleyball open house. 

Saturday was club tryouts for Jack. He made the 1s team, which we expected. It's nerve wracking for us, but only because we know he would like to pick his teammates. They all went to lunch. I took Millie to a volleyball clinic. Her friend Andie came home with her for a sleepover. Jack went to Will's for a sleepover. Will is a new kid from Minnesota who plays volleyball on Jack's club team and goes to Casteel. 

Sunday Jack was picked up by Tatum's parents from Will's house and went to her house for the day. Stuart left for Gallup around noon and Andie's parents picked her up shortly after that. Millie and I just lazed around. 

Monday was meet the teacher at my school. It was a bit hectic as I was trying to be in three places at once. After school I made a Costco run and then headed to Millie's volleyball game at Queen Creek Junior High, where she saw some of her classmates from last year. Before I left the house I crawled all over Jack for not going down to mow Grammie and Pop's lawn. Also, he didn't bring in the trash cans. He had been home for an hour and a half, and when I went in his room he was on his phone. It's infuriating!

Tuesday I took the kids to school. I had time so I went by Santan Ford to book my car in to get the side chrome replaced. I got a call from the assistant principal at Casteel to inform me that they were alerted from their school software of an issue with Jack's search history. Apparently, Jack had just finished a culinary test and Google searched an answer he thought he got wrong. It was 'how to properly carry a knife', of course that got flagged. He had to have a conversation with the assistant principal. Ugh!

After school, I headed home and loaded up my truck with some Goodwill items. I stopped at Kohl's to do a couple of returns and then headed to Goodwill. I then headed to target to get Jack some poster board for his invitation for Tatum to HoCo (abbreviation for Homecoming). I spent the rest of the evening trying to get our guest room put back together but it proves to be continually challenging.

Wednesday was my first day with students. I spent the day in the 3rd-6th grade music teacher's classroom. We will call her Music Maggie, but plain she is not. She's 76 years old and hilarious, though I don't think she knows I see her as hilarious. It was quite the day. Im not sure how emotionally stable she is, which makes me a bit sad. 

I picked Millie and Jack up once I was finished with school and we headed to the dentist for our six month clean. I got Panda Express for the kids for dinner and headed to meet Kristi at Skippy's for dinner. I told her of my day with Music Maggie and she was cracking up. Stuart joined us for a bit and then headed home as he had come straight from Gallup. 

I woke up with a sick stomach on Thursday morning. Fortunately it improved during the day. I spent my first day as a co-teacher in my 5th grade class. I taught a social studies lesson to four groups of students. By the forth time I was a bit bored. When I left school, I went by the doctor's office to drop off a paper so Millie could get her meds at school while she was on a sports team. I then headed to pick up Jack from the high school. His volleyball team was designing their state championship rings. The court finally made a decision about the championship game against Williamsfield. They ruled that their breaking of the rules was in fact a violation so they awarded the state championship to Casteel. Jack went with Stuart and myself to watch Millie's volleyball game against Newell Barney College Prep, which is where a lot of my students from last year attend. So I got to see about six of my students. Millie's team killed them, and Millie scored 9 points on serves. She was so excited. 

Friday school was amazing. I taught music all morning and one class in the afternoon. Then I taught social studies to a second grade class. It was so fun, but I was wiped out by 3 pm. I headed home to find this happening!

Look at my 5 1/4 inch baseboards. I love them! 

Millie had her fundraiser celebration until 6:30. I picked her up and took her friend Andie home. Stuart had taken Jack to Gilbert Regional to play sand volleyball. Jack went to Will's for a sleepover after volleyball. Will seems to fit in nicely with their friend group. We had the neighbors over. They stayed for a while and then it was time to go to bed. 

Saturday Stuart and I sorted out my mom and dad's yard. We also took our 58 boxes from our flooring and started breaking them down to put them in their recycling. I helped sort out Millie's room so we could switch her queen bed with the day bed in the guest room. She just wanted more space. The crap she threw away filled a kitchen sized trash bag. The things she gave away filled another trash bag. She fought me all day to clean it up. She finally just stuffed a ton of stuff in her closet. Out of sight, out of mind. We cleaned out a lot of drawers and threw things away. I was prompted to do this because after I picked up a small foot stool I bought on Marketplace, I stopped at an estate sale. The mess that was that house made me itchy to clean out unnecessary crap from our house. In the evening the neighbors came over for pork belly. It was delightful. They left early as everyone was exhausted. 

Sunday I got up and headed to pick up a side chair for our living room. It really was about the last thing that room needed. In total, since we started this remodel adventure, off of Facebook Marketplace, I have purchased 2 sectional sofas, a hide away coffee table, a console for under our television, 2 large area rugs, 3 side chairs, a shuffleboard table, 2 footstools, and 2 side tables. All of this only cost me $1145. All of the furniture is relatively new, so I feel terribly accomplished. 

We went to Tatum's house for Jack to invite her to homecoming. He dressed in one of her dance outfits and the song she danced to was 'Knock 'Em Out', so he created a poster that had that title on it. It was quite cute!

She came back to our house with us and we also picked up Millie's friend Brinley to hang out for the day. Stuart left just after 1 o'clock. I took Tatum and Jack to the movies and after the movies they went to eat dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. Brinley got picked up around 5 o'clock and I picked up Jack and Tatum around 6:30. Then we drove Tatum back to her house and Jack decided that he wanted to have a big birthday party with all the families on his actual birthday, which is September 22., so I started planning that. 

Monday morning I got up and made pancakes. It then dawned on me that I would not have a vehicle that could carry a 16 foot piece of wood. So I had to start thinking about how I was going to get the extra baseboard that I needed back to our house. Because wouldn't you know we were one board short. Once I left school I picked up the baseboard, headed home and then to Millie's volleyball game. 

She was featured in their instagram post. 

Tuesday was a very full day. Kristi had asked me to switch days with her for carpool as her youngest was in the hospital. He is in a wheel chair and has a number of disabilities, so the hospital is common for him. So my day was taking kids to school, dropping by the doctor's office to pick up a letter so Millie could get her medication given to her at school before practice, then to work, then to 84 lumber to pick up the baseboard I ordered because we were one board short, then home, then to pick Millie up at practice, then to drop Stuart's car at the shop, then to take Jack and his buddies to practice, then home. What a long day that was. It worked out nicely for me to do that carpool as I met Ken and had dinner with him while the boys practiced. 

Wednesday my back was totally whacked out of alignment. I wore heating pads all day, but I'm not sure how much good it did. I was in music all day and must have heard 'don't sing'  about 30 times. This will be a tolerating year with Music Maggie for sure. I went and had a bite to eat after school and then headed to Santan Junior High to watch Millie play volleyball. Edgar had finished our baseboards so just the front door and some little finishing up bits and we would have our house back to normal. 

Thursday morning my back wasn't much better. I had gotten the heat pads and put one on. I didn't feel great, but I carried on. I spent the day in fifth grade and actually taught a little bit. After school, I ran home and fed Jack and then took him to Owen's house. He had club practice, and Jeremy was going to pick him up from Owen's house. I picked Millie up from volleyball practice and took her home and then went to meet Kristi for dinner. Stuart informed me that the school he was supposed to work at on Friday had come down with Covid and closed so he was coming home on that night. 

Friday was an exhausting day. 1st and 2nd graders are tiring. I got home and Stuart had put all the door hardware on the doors upstairs. We hung around the house and then went to pick Russ up at the airport. He was in town for just a day to go a memorial service for a big ASU basketball supporter he knew when he coached at ASU. 

Saturday we were up and took my car to get the chrome piece fixed at the dealership. A car wash had ripped it off the first week I had the car. We decided to have some breakfast and then went to pick up a sofa. I think I have furnished all of the house now. I took Millie to get new knee pads and she threw a fit. She is chronic for using a tone with me when things don't go the way she thinks they should. This afternoon was no exception.  So I told her on the way home that from then on, until she was able to stop being so sassy and using a tone with me, she would have to ask her dad to do things for her. I told her I was tired of doing all the things for her and getting grief. It just wasn't fair and I would not tolerate it any longer. We didn't get her knee pads and because she couldn't decide whether she wanted me to order her the same ones I had before, they didn't get ordered. So since she didn't order them on Saturday, they certainly wouldn't be there by Monday. Her problem! We didn't do much the rest of the day. Stuart took Jack to Carter's after we had lunch with my brother. We picked him up around 6, and then Stuart and I went with Russ for ice cream. That was our dinner. 

Sunday morning I was up at 4 am to drive Russ back to the airport. His flight was at 6:30 am. I got back to the house and Stuart and I watched Formila 1, not my favorite. We then went to Walmart for our weekly shop. When we got home we finished hanging pictures. We then started watching Ted Lasso. We might be the only people on earth to have not yet seen this series. We spent most of the afternoon watching season one. We then went to get gas for Stuart's car. We dropped in to Home Goods to try to find a basket like thing to put in our pantry to hold onions and potatoes. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything so Stuart order something from Amazon. What would we do without Amazon?

Monday is by far the easiest day I have in the week. After school I headed to Millie's volleyball game at Casteel. Stuart was home this week and working in southern Arizona. He made it to the game as well. They played Payne and got beat in two sets, but it was very close. 

Mallory, her bestie who used to do gymnastics with Millie, played for Payne. We got a picture of them at the end of the game. Mallory's little sister Charlie was there as well. After the volleyball was over, we headed home and Stuart was supposed to take Millie to get a second piercing for her ears, but she got shitty with him and he canceled the appointment. 

Tuesday I did testing with the students in the morning. I then went back to my 5th grade class and corrected a writing assignment. After school, I went to Millie's volleyball game. They won in two sets. She didn't play a lot but she did hit the ball a couple of times and did well while she was in the game. After Millie's game, we came home and had dinner. Then Millie did homework and hung out in her room while Stuart and I watched tv downstairs. Jack didn't go to volleyball because he went with Tatum's family to a Dbacks game. Her sister, Camden, was singing the national anthem with her choir. He had a great time. 

Wednesday was my Music Maggie day. She was in a sad way. When I first got to school that day I indicated to Kristi that I felt being an 'assistant' all day for this music teacher was maybe a waste on money. Then when Music Maggie started to cry in front of me and tell me she wasn't sure she was going to make it through the day because she felt she was going to have a panic attack, I messaged Kristi and told her maybe I was meant to stay in there. Eek!  I met Kristi for a beer before I picked Millie up from volleyball practice. Once again, Jack went to a Dback's game. This time Tatum's youngest sister was singing with her school choir. Stuart and I went to see a dog kennel that resembled a piece of furniture and we bought it. If the dogs must stay and sleep in crates in the house, at least they can be a little bit hidden. I mean the crate is huge, but it looks like a console, so it's not as ridiculous as the wire crates we used to have. 

Thursday I helped do more testing at school. The rest of my day was spent marking writing. Stuart had taken the day off as he was going with Millie to the airport so she could fly to Branson to spend the long weekend with my parents, brothers and sister-in-law. When I left school, I picked Jack up from home and took him to get a haircut. I picked up In and Out for Jack for dinner. I then got worried about Millie's flight to see my parents. She was due to leave at 3:30, but her flight was delayed, which meant she would miss her connection in Dallas. So it turns out the policy they have to not book unaccompanied minors on the last flight of the day is a good one. Well, at least it is a good policy until the agent on the other end of the phone states they can't assure me they will get Millie on the last flight. I lost my shit! This agent was clearly not a parent and did not assure me of anything that made me feel comfortable. In the end I asked to speak to a supervisor and wouldn't you know, when the agent came back they had booked Millie on the next flight out of Dallas. Rest assured, there would be an email sent the following day to customer service regarding this situation. I waited up until after 11 pm and fretted over Millie until my dad messaged that she was save and sound in their house. She wasn't worried at all. She handled it like a pro. 

Friday, instead of Jack going to school, he went on a boys' trip to California. All but one of these boys turns 16 this month so Chris, Owen's mom, and Vicki, Gavin's mom, took them on a birthday trip. Jack sensibly took a rash guard for the boogie boards. I think he is the only one that didn't get a rash on his chest as a result. Stuart worked in southern Arizona again on Friday. I had my usual exhausting, but super fun Friday. Once I was home, Stuart and I went to dinner at High Tide. We then decided to go to the casino. We were up for a while. Then we decided to leave once we had broken even. It was actually quite an early night. I was wiped out from the week. But I still love my job. 

Saturday we got up and sorted some stuff out around the house. Stuart did a great deal of yard work and I continued to work on the inside. We finally got our dining room table cleared off. Our guest room has become a little bit of a storage room again, but hopefully that will all get sorted out in the next couple of weeks. Stuart started slow cooking the ribs that we were going to have for lunch with my old teammate Merkel and her husband. They got to house around 12:30 and we ate shortly after that. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the pool. Stuart must have gotten a bit of sun stroke as he disappeared as soon as we came back inside. I found him upstairs asleep on our bed. Our guests left and then he woke up and came downstairs. He was so upset as he was embarrassed that he disappeared on all of us. I told him it was no big deal, but he was still upset with himself. It had to have been his time in the sun as he really hadn't drank that much beer. Poor guy. Elise came over for about an hour and then we called it a night. 

In other news, Millie was living her best life being spoiled by her uncles at Silver Dollar City, the amusement park in Branson. 

It looks to be a short line for this ride. 

Jack was also living his best life. I'm so glad the kids had these adventures without us. I think it's important. 

July 2024

We got up Sunday morning and took the shaggin' wagon to drive Chris and Tom to the convention center to watch Hayden play volleyball. Stuart and I went to the grocery store to buy a few things and then came back and picked up the kids to go on a kayak adventure.

There were no alligators on the lake where we were, which was a bummer, but we still had a great time. It was hot and our butts were wet when we got done, but we had fun and created memories. 

We went to the outlets of Orlando when we finished our kayaking. Stuart bought some shoes, Jack bought some cologne, Millie also bought some shoes and I bought a $5 pair of shorts in order to get out of my wet ones. That was the best money I have spent in a while. Soggy shorts and humidity do not go together. 

We ate lunch at the outlets and then headed to buy beer at Publix, the local grocery store. We went to the accommodations and dropped off our groceries. It was pouring on us. Hayden played volleyball all day and we picked them up after his third match. We then went back to the Hurley room and had some snacks. We made our way to the pool bar to play trivia and have a few beers. 

We were contemplating going to a Puerto Rican restaurant about a half hour away, but instead we did Uber Eats from that restaurant. It was delightful. We played cards for a while and then called it a night. 

Monday morning I got up around 7:45 am. Stuart had already taken Tom to the convention center and was back to get ready to go to Volcano Bay, a Universal Studio water park. 

Chris and Owen went with us. It was muggy outside so it was nice to be in the lazy river. Stuart, Chris and I did a family ride and got soaked. Millie's day was a bit tragic as, even though I was sure five days was enough for her period, she was not finished and was actually bleeding at the water park. She was embarrassed and sad. Chris helped a lot as she talked her through how to handle things. This was a bit excessive for a first period. Poor kid! Having a daughter who has her first period reminds a woman of the injustices of being a woman. 

After the water park the kids settled in and played Mario Cart with Millie's Nintendo switch. 

Stuart and I went to the Hurleys to do some laundry and ended up watching Beverly Hills Cop. They had gone to Hayden's team dinner and we had their suite to ourselves. Once they were home, we finished our card game from the previous night and then went back to our room, through torrential rain! We were soaked by the time we got back to our room. 

Thank goodness Millie had stayed in the room. She would have been super irritated had she come with us and ended up sopping wet and then had to be in a cold room. 

 

We checked out of our hotel Tuesday morning and headed toward Wild Willy's Airboat Tours. We were hopeful that on this adventure we would see alligators, since our kayak event proved to be void of alligators. 

We saw a number of female alligators protecting their nest. 

They blended in and we could only see her head. 

We got to hold this little guy at the end of our airboat ride. 

We headed back to the resort to pick the Hurleys up. We dropped Hayden at the convention center. We then headed to Sam's Club, where 6 of the 7 of us had lunch for a total of $8.88. We spent nearly $700 and then another $300 at Walmart. But we were sure that $250 per family was way less than we would have spent had we eaten out every meal of the week. 

We got to the airbnb at 2 pm and what a place it was. There were two bedrooms on the ground floor, which were taken by the Holmes parents and the Telford parents. There was also a theater and game room downstairs. Upstairs there was another common area with game tables. Off the common area was 4 bedrooms with either king or queen beds as well as two bunk bed rooms that were epically decorated. The kids were in heaven. 

Once the van was unloaded, Stuart took Chris and Tom to watch Hayden play. He then went to get Vicki and her boys from the airport. In the meantime, I put away the groceries where I thought was best. Naturally, Chris rearranged everything when she got back to the house. 

The theater. 

Game room. 

Mario Cart. 

When Vicki and the boys got to the house we did a whole lot of nothing. The boys swam. The Hurleys returned around 9 pm. Apparently there was a big kerfuffle at Hayden's last game. It is such a shame when adults don't act accordingly. 

We spent the rest of the evening watching volleyball on Baller TV. 

The kids were digging the pool for sure. 

The following day, the Holmes family arrived. We had dinner prepared when they got there. Dinner of steak, chicken, potatoes and salad. The rest of the evening was spent chatting. 

We were up at 5:30 am making snack bags, breakfast, sandwiches and getting kids ready for their first day of tournament play. 

We spent most of the day at the convention center. They didn't get the result they wanted as they went 1 and 2 on the day. Jack was disappointed for sure. 

When we got back from the convention center the boys all had an ice bath. 

Jack struggled to stay in for 10 minutes. But he did it. 

Chris, Vicki and I also got in, but not completely. 

Hear no, see no, speak no evil! That ice was cold. 

It rained for a while in the evening and because it wasn't lightning, we let the kids swim. 

Friday we had a tough day at the courts. They won the first one and lost the other two. We ended up going to the grocery store and then going back to the house. 

Dinner of leftovers after a swim. 

Saturday morning we were back at the conference center and nearly got into a fight with the Puerto Rican team. They wouldn't leave the court, even though their kids weren't playing. It was terrible. They only won one of their matches. They got into the Flight 3 pool for the following day, which just meant they were basically in the middle of all the teams in the tournament. 

Saturday evening we went to BJ's Brewery for dinner. We then came back and put on our matching jammies. 

Sunday morning we were up and rushing around to get everything to our hotel. We were staying an extra night. Everyone else was flying out that evening. Vicki ended up staying as well because there was a threat of a hurricane in Texas and her flight was to have a layover in Austin. 

The boys ended up winning Flight 3. 

We went to the Yard House for lunch and Christie and Jeremy left for the airport. We went to check in at our hotel. The Hurleys and Ryan left for the airport around 5 pm. The rest of us sat around in a daze. We were all exhausted. We Uber Eats food and ate in the lobby. Stuart and I did our best to drink the rest of the beer leftover from the Airbnb. 

We had to wake up at 4 am to head to the airport. Millie was so difficult to get up. We had yet another conversation about how she was putting other people out due to her behavior. I'm hoping one of the these days she will actually think of others before herself.  Once at the airport, all was very uneventful. Our plane was completely filled. 

Once we were in Arizona, we shuttled to our car. Once home, Jennifer Harley had stayed and the house was as if we hadn't left, which was a bit depressing as it is in such disarray. I had told the kids if they would get their things unpacked we would take them to their friends' houses. We were home at 10:42 am and back out the door at 11:31 am, having put all things away and a load of laundry started. 

After we delivered the kids, we headed to lunch at Old Chicago. We then hit the grocery store for some needed items. We spent the rest of the day trying to figure out our plan of attack for the following day. Millie went to gymnastics with her friend Brinley. I picked her up after gym and she said it was good. This was her first day back since the last of May. We shall see if she changes her mind once school starts. Jack got home around 9 pm from Tatum's. We were all in bed early as our internal clocks were a bit screwed up. 

Tuesday Stuart and I headed to Home Depot early in the morning. Then at 10 am, Jack and I went to Dick's to get him a new pair of volleyball shoes. Brinley had spent the night, so the girls swam and played all day while Stuart and I worked on the house. The guy coming to do our pantry was due to start on Thursday, so we had to empty those cabinets he was removing. What a great mess our guest room is. 

All the food that was in those cabinets is now in the guest room. 

We covered everything in the house and Stuart started spraying the ceiling. When he finished mid afternoon there was a fine layer of paint dust everywhere, even upstairs. But we will keep plugging away. 

Our dining room leaves a bit to be desired at the moment. 

The kitchen is difficult to use. 

Everything is piled in the middle of the living room. This too shall pass. 

After a great deal of work, we got into the pool. I was sure to be sore the next day. Stuart made breaded pork chops with a mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes for dinner. I guess our kitchen is not as unusable as I thought it was. I picked Millie up from gymnastics and home we went. It was an early bedtime for all of us, yet again. 

Wednesday Jack was supposed to have practice for his USA All-Star Championship team, but it seems they had difficulty reserving court space, so they would postpone until Thursday. I think he was relieved to have another day to rest and this meant he could have Tatum over for the day. 

Stuart and I were up at 5 am, coffee flowing. We started the wall paint. I started trimming as did Stuart. Millie had an orthodontist appointment, so Jack went with me. She had a great report about her teeth, so since this has been an ongoing battle, I had promised her she could get acrylic nails. Once her appointment was over, we went to pick up Tatum. We went to get Chipotle for lunch. When we got back to the house, Stuart was in the middle of spraying the walls. We decided to go down to my mom and dad's house to eat our lunch. Tatum stayed all day. 

Thursday I was up again at 5 am but didn't get started with painting until almost 7:30 am. Millie and Weston had Colt Days around 1 pm. Elise and I took the kids so they could walk their class schedule and feel relaxed about their upcoming first day of junior high. Jack had a buddy come back from volleyball practice with him. They went to Carter's and I picked them up after I collected Millie from gymnastics. David stayed the night. 

Friday I took the boys to volleyball practice, but not before painting the second coat of trim downstairs, which took me nearly 2 hours. I hopped in the shower and was out in time to take them to practice. 

Millie messaged me and told me she had decided she was going to play volleyball and not do gymnastics anymore. Needless to say, I was shocked a bit. 

Tony removed the cabinets. 

Then it was framed. He planned to come back on Monday to finish the sheet rock and texture. Then he will put in the wire shelves and then the door. Although we have run out of money and have to wait on our flooring, it is going to be great and I can't wait until it is completely done. 

We left to take Millie to gymnastics and then met Bob and Kristi for a drink at Skippy's. We got home and Stuart started tidying up the house. I went to get Millie at gymnastics, carting rice with butter with me. Since her orthodontist appointment on Wednesday she has had trouble chewing. Her teeth have been very sore. When we got home, the house was pretty much put together, except for the flooring. We had removed our old sofa in hopes that it had been sold, but it turns out that was not the case. 

Saturday morning I was up and walking four miles. Chris, Vicki and I had decided we were going to start making goals for ourselves to live a more productive life. We planned to make two new goals every two weeks, but sticking to the original goals each two week cycle. My two goals were to not drink any alcohol on days that didn't start with Fri or Sat, as well as walking two miles per day. Well, on Friday, I didn't walk so I decided I had to make up for that on Saturday. Boy, was it hot! 

After my walk, I drank water and had coffee. Stuart took Jack to the carpool spot and then we took Millie to her counseling appointment. While she was meeting with Aimee, we grabbed a bean and cheese burrito from Los Favoritos and then did a shop at Wal Mart. We were having a cookout with Tatum's family the next day. It makes total sense that this is what I would orchestrate in the midst of our chaos! Ha!

Once we were home and groceries were unpacked, Stuart headed to Costco to get ribs! I had promised Millie acrylic nails for being so good about taking care of her teeth, so this was the day. 

This is what she chose. After nails, we went to Target and did some school shopping for supplies. When we got home, I took a shower and Stu and I got ready to go to a birthday party of one of his colleagues. Brandy and Brad, some friends of ours, came to pick us up and we headed out East. It was passed where Mary & Mack lived. We didn't stay terribly long. When we got home, Millie had cleaned up the kitchen. Sometimes she does that to make up for being a stinker during the day.

The theme of the party was 'white'. 

Sunday morning I was supposed to get up to go walk and I slept through my alarm. We didn't do any work on the house other than tidying up the rooms in order to have Tatum's family over for a cookout.

Jack helped with cleaning up the back porch and around the pool. Stuart and I worked on the inside and Millie vacuumed upstairs. Both kids stripped their beds and we washed those. Then around 3 o'clock, Tatum's family came through the door. They are both hard-working people who are trying to make ends meet just like we are. So having them over was such a delight. They are a lot like us, but a lot younger. We had a great afternoon. We swam for a while and then we ate ribs and chicken. They made dessert and brought over brownies and chocolate chip cookies. They left around 7:30 PM and we counted that as a successful interaction. We really are so thankful for Tatum and her family because she and Jack are the best of friends. We like that part about the relationship. 

Monday morning I woke up at five to go walking. I had attempted to walk on Sunday evening after the Kahler family left, but it started storming so I couldn't. So Monday morning I would have to make up for it by walking 4 miles instead of two. It was much cooler at 5:30 AM than it was at 7 AM one of the previous mornings that I've walked this month. 

We spent the rest of the day getting all of our food out of the guestroom because it seems that we had a little visitor in there. We chased him out of the house and are hoping he doesn't come back. Tony, the guy remodeling our kitchen, or rather adding a pantry, came around 12:30 and finished putting all the drywall on. He's not the fastest worker in the world, but he's very nice and he seems very efficient. So we can be patient for a few more days. 

Jack had his last practice with his high-performance team and then went to Owen's to swim until around 3:30. I went to pick him up and when we got home, Stuart and I went to Costco to buy snacks for Jack's tournament. We were going to have very little interaction with him while he was in Iowa, even though Stuart would be there. We were told the parents are to be seen and not heard. It's a way of them teaching the boys how to bond as a team and also grow up a little bit. The problem with this team is that the communication leaves a lot to be desired. At about 7 PM on Monday night, the evening before they leave, we get a message from their chaperone that says she's planning to go to Costco when they get there and buy a lot of snacks and breakfast food and then use the remaining of the money that we are all to donate to her for dinners. She said it would be easier than having each of the boys be in charge of their own money. However, one of the directives we were given was that we were to teach our children how to tip a waiter or waitress so that when they did go out to eat, the team didn't look cheap. So, although we had bought all the snacks for Jack, we contributed the $150 towards the food. These organizations are frustrating when you're a teacher and you've traveled with students before and it's so disorganized, which I never was. 

Jack and Millie both went to bed just before 10 o'clock. Jack would be up at 3:30 AM to head off to Iowa and Millie was going to be up at 6 AM because she was going to school from 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM as kind of a trial day in junior high. I think both kids were equally nervous, but were ready for the challenge.

I woke up at 3 AM because I just couldn't sleep. I went downstairs and made sure that Jack had some cold medicine because he was starting to feel a bit under the weather. This was not surprising to me as he almost always gets sick before he goes on these tournaments. I decided since I was up anyway I would get my 2 mile walk and so I headed out on the street after Stuart and Jack left for the airport.

Elise and I took Millie and Weston to school for their mock day in junior high. Jack arrived in Des Moines and we were sent this team photo. 

Jack got a hair cut when he got there. He's such a nut. 

Millie went to gymnastics, even though her foot was still hurting. I dropped off teacher supplies to Jennifer, Tatum's mom. When I got back to the house Stuart and I went to eat sushi. Stuart went and picked up Millie from gymnastics and she showered when she got home.  She ended up falling asleep on the sofa at about 9:30 so I had to wake her up to go to bed.

Wednesday morning I got up at five to go for my walk and when I got back, I had some coffee and then I took my baby girl to her first day of junior high.

I'm not the mom that takes photos with a chalk board stating her grade and dreams. I'm the mom holding my cup of coffee in parent drop off, realizing I didn't take a picture of my daughter's first day of junior high. And then I'm yelling out the window, 'I love you! Have a great first day! You got this!' Always doing my best to embarrass her. 

Jack's team had practice and a team photo on Wednesday. Jack is number 2 and looks angry. 

The progress of the house helped to give us a little bit of hope!

Before on the right and almost after on the left. I am so pleased we decided to put a pantry in that corner. 

Thursday was another day of painting. I ran out of wall paint so had to head back to Home Depot. Stuart was in Iowa, living his best life. Although he was there with Jack, he wasn't really responsible for Jack. So he and the other dads got to have a bit of a boys' weekend. Prior to painting, I went to Chris' house to tread in the pool for a while. It was surprisingly good exercise. Once I was home, the painting commenced and I was able to watch Jack's games. Jack's team won both of their matches on day one of the tournament. 

Friday was my birthday and I went to coffee with Elise after we dropped the kids at school.  

Then I went to a drumming class and brunch with Sue. I think drumming is an annual thing for me with Sue when drumming was over we headed to eat, but discovered that the internet outage had closed the restaurant we had planned to eat at, so we headed south to a different location. They gave us a buy one get one free coupon, so that was a win. Sue paid for breakfast, as well as my drumming class, so I was getting to do all the free things. 

In the late afternoon, I met Kristi at Skippy's. Seems to be 'our place'. This was also my birthday treat. My birthday was completed by a visit from Elise, my neighbor. 

Saturday I got up and decided that painting was a big fat 'no' for me for the day. I truly lazed around all day. It was delightful. Jack only had one game and they lost it. In spite of that, they were going to the gold bracket. 

Vicki and Chris picked me up at 4 PM and took me to a surprise location. It turns out they planned for us to play bingo at the casino. Once we were there, it was so crowded that we decided maybe we would just play slots. After one round of slots, Chris and I decided to play roulette. I ended up coming away $10 ahead, which never happens. We then went to dinner at Humble Bistro. It was delightful! We had a fantastic evening. 

These ladies know how to treat a birthday girl. When I got home, Elise came over for a little bit.

I got up on Sunday morning and watched Jack play his first match of the gold bracket. They won the first two sets and then lost the last three sets so they were done for the tournament. He was disappointed, but he did have a great tournament.

I spent the rest of the day painting woodwork. When I first started, I shook my gallon of paint and then dropped it. Bummer!

So I finished the woodwork and decided to rest for the remainder of the day. I watched stupid, sappy movies until the late evening, then retired around 10 pm because my plan was to get up at 4 am to walk 6 miles. I had skipped Saturday and Sunday, so needed to make it up to fulfill my goal of walking 2 miles per day, or at least exercising the equivalent of that each day. In true form, I woke up at 1 am and felt I had had a full nights sleep. Stupid internal clock. It really proves I only need about 4 hours of sleep each night. 

When I did actually get up, I only had time for 5 miles instead of six. I took the kids to school and then picked up Stuart from the airport after that. We spent the entire day painting. It was exhausting and I can honestly say I hate painting now more than ever. 

Millie had volleyball tryouts at the end of the school day, which made her late to gymnastics. When we got her there I went in and spoke with her coach, telling him that she would not be returning in August. He didn't seem surprised. I got a text from her female coach that pissed me off and confirmed that her quitting gymnastics was the right decision. Her female is mean to kids who don't fit her mold. It's horrible. 

I picked Jack up from the airport. What a kerfuffle that was. Stuart picked Millie up from gymnastics. When we got home, Jack put laundry in the washing machine. Tatum stopped by to say a quick hello as they hadn't seen each other for an entire week. Jack would be overwhelmed with school this week, but that is the price you pay when you want to be involved in something like high performance. 

Tuesday I got up and walked three miles. My sciatica was killing me. We painted the pantry and got it ready for the shelves to be put in the following day. Our house was finally coming together. Millie went to gymnastics and Jack spent the entire evening getting caught up from the days of school he had missed. 

Wednesday we did some more work, but Tony did not show up to finish the pantry. Millie had her last tryout day and we took the boys to Brophy to open gym. We ate dinner with Chris and Tom at sushi vibe. In the middle of dinner Millie found out that she made the seventh grade volleyball team. She was so excited. She was only one of three girls that made the team that are not currently on a club team. But guess who will likely start club in November?

Thursday, we got up and took the kids to school and then went and collected a coffee table that I had purchased off of marketplace. We then went to Home Depot to try to sort out our blinds for our downstairs windows. When we got back to the house and Tony was there to finish our pantry. In the afternoon, we went to pick up a rug that I bought off of marketplace as well. We had lunch at Olive Mill which we had not done in years. We got home and started sorting things out in the pantry. We had very different ideas as of what was supposed to go where. We may have gotten into a little tiff. I decided to take a shower after making a dessert which Stuart was monitoring.  I ended up leaving the house to get Millie and take her to gymnastics, and then went to Sherry's house for dinner for and Mary and my birthdays. The sad part was Mary wasn't able to make it due to her sister being very ill and getting ready to die. We missed her so. We had a wonderful meal, with everyone selecting a dish from a cookbook Sherry had bought each of us. It was such a wonderful concept. 

On Friday, I was supposed to go to hot yoga with Melinda after dropping the kids at school, but she forgot to reserve us a spot so it didn't happen. I took the kids to school and then did odds and ends around the house. That evening we were supposed to go to dinner for my birthday and Christie's birthday, but Chris's son Hayden had his wisdom teeth cut out and he would not stop bleeding. So we had to cancel that. Melinda came over for a pool day during the day and we hung out for a while. In the evening it ended up just being the family hanging out. Elise came over for a while as well. 

I slept until about 6:15 on Saturday morning, which is super late for me. Stuart and Jack went to pick up Tatum to spend the day at our house. Edgar, the painter, came at about 10 am and painted our stairwell. What a blessing he was! I took Millie to Sky Zone for the afternoon with her friend, Brinley. The neighbors came for lunch of burgers and dogs. That evening, Stuart and I went to dinner with Sherry and Skip at Cooper's Hawk. It was amazing food and none too cheap. 

Sunday we got up around 6 am and vowed to paint. We finished the downstairs and the doors. We took Goodwill things to Goodwill. Good riddance.  Then in the afternoon we did nothing but watch television. We were enjoying all the different Olympic sports.

I decided this was my Olympic sport. 

Monday morning I got up and walked. When I got back, I made sure the children were awake. They had both slept through their alarms. Millie was quite a treat, as she always is when she is woken up late. Once I had delivered them to school, I came home and started painting the wall on our island as well as the wall in the alcove. We had decided that it needed some color because our big piece of furniture that sits in there is very similar to the wall color. I got all of that painted by about noon and then Stuart and I decided to go get a bite to eat for lunch. When we got back, we watched volleyball and I may have taken a nap. I've then headed out for a few minutes to grab some free baked goods that were offered up on buy or sell nothing, which is a site on a Facebook page, that gives away free stuff. A little detail that wasn't mentioned was that the items were expired. Boo!

I fixed Millie something to eat and went to pick her up from volleyball practice. Stuart came with me and we ran her to gymnastics. This was one of her last practices for gymnastics. As of Wednesday, she will no longer be a gymnast. I have mixed feelings about this, as I know she does as well. 

Tuesday I got up to walk. We had decided that we may actually not paint the kitchen cabinets. Their color actually compliments our walls now. I ended up washing them and put on new black hardware. 

I think the entire look has changed. 

We watched beach volleyball on the Olympics. We realized that Chase Budinger was a USA team member. We found this picture of him holding Jack when he played basketball at the U of A while my brother Russ was the coach there. 

We went to lunch and then came home to swim. We picked Millie up from volleyball practice and took her to her last gymnastics practice. We went back and went in to pick her up, which turned out to be the wrong thing. She was crying, her friend Brinley was crying, and it was a bit chaotic. She was trying to clear all the things out of her locker in order to bring them home. The coach that was supposed to lock up for the evening, was trying to lock the door and she was still in there. So of course, any words that came out of my mouth were seen as attacking. She was just upset about the whole situation. However, I do think she's going to be fine in the long run and very satisfied with her decision.

Wednesday morning I got up and took the kids to school and then met my friend Sally for breakfast. I haven't seen Sally in a couple of years and it was good to catch up with her. While I was having breakfast with Sally, Stuart went to Home Depot and got our flooring. We are getting very close to being finished with the downstairs.

Wednesday afternoon our pantry guy, Tony, brought our pantry door. He and Si, his helper, helped themselves to some candies on the island counter. I was so happy. I love that people see the candy on the counter and think it is an open invitation to partake, because that is exactly what it is. After I picked Millie up from volleyball practice and dropped her at the house, I went and met Stuart for happy hour with some of his colleagues. He had worked in the afternoon.  We then carried on to collect a consul I had bought off of marketplace. We got that home and sat around for the rest the evening. Millie dug into the culinary treat that Jack had made at school. It did not look terribly appetizing, but in the end it was quite tasty.

It was a coco crispie treat. 

Thursday morning I took the kids to school and went down to Skip and Sherry's to borrow their sawhorses. We were hopeful we would have our baseboards soon and could paint them in the house. I then went to Home Depot to look at baseboards. While I was there, Tony showed up and told me he could get baseboards for me much cheaper. So I met him back at the house and after he put the door in, he ordered our baseboards. We had a guy come and give us an estimate for a front door from Lowe's. I sent his estimate to Tony and asked Tony if he could do it for a little little bit cheaper and he said he could. So we're letting Tony put in our front door. Thursday evening we tried to go to trivia at TC's, but they didn't have a place for us so we went onto the Brass Tap and had dinner.

Friday morning I got up and took the kids to school. The previous evening I had given Millie some suggestions on how to stay organized so that she could actually be on time to get in the car and leave each morning. It worked, kind of, but not terribly well. Once I had dropped the kids, I took Stuart to drop his car at the mechanic. He had a check engine light that had been on for a while. We then headed to Home Depot to pick up some items we needed in order for him to do the flooring. There may have been a slight domestic prior to that. Pretty sure we need a break from each other because we're getting on each other's nerves. It may be that I've gotten more on his nerves than he has on mine. After he started the flooring I headed to hot yoga with Melinda. I decided that I would actually go back to hot yoga, but it might've been the most claustrophobic experience I've ever had in my life. At one point, it was 109° in the room.

When I got back to the house, I changed my clothes and started painting the pantry door and the woodwork around the pantry door. That took me most of the rest of the morning. By the time I stopped, Stuart was about halfway finished with the front room flooring. We both had a bite to eat and had a little rest.after school without two teachers from my school last year came over for a swim afternoon. Merkel and Melissa Wise were the two teachers. Stuart picked Millie up from school and Jack went with Owen to a climbing wall. Merkel's husband joined a bit later and she and her husband end up staying for the majority of the evening. Owen ended up spending the night and would go with us to the annual GCU volleyball camp the next day. 

I volunteered to drive all the boys to GCU on Saturday morning. I fully intended to drive there and come home, but I ended up doing some birthday shopping for Millie. Staying out of the way of the flooring project seemed like a good idea to me. There were plenty of little projects to be done around the house but I didn't have the will. I got home just before noon and Stuart had nearly finished the front room flooring. I talked him into going to lunch at Skippy's. When we got home, he carried on with the tricky bits in the alcove and under the fridge. He then stopped, which I thought was wise. Millie spent the day at home and Jack was delivered home after camp. Chris and Tom asked us to go to dinner, but I had already planned to meet for dinner with Traci and Joan Sawyer. Traci is the sister of and Joan is the mother of my best friend, Teri, who passed twenty years ago with breast cancer. I hadn't seen them in six years. I had decided I would never forgive myself if I hadn't seen Joan and something happened to her. It was great catching up with them. It was good for my soul. Teri and I were inseparable for over ten years. When I got home we just spent the rest of the evening relaxing. 

July was a busy month and a lot happened. I am hoping that by the publishing of the August blog, our remodeling will be all done. 

The top photo is the before and the bottom is the after. We are super pleased with the results.