06/29/2015-
Monday-Derek went to Kumon and Karate. He is progressing well. I know he gets frustrated, but I'm proud of him for doing this during his summer break.
After dinner we Dax, Trey and I walked over to the pond to feed the ducks some "Brolls" They were a mistake. I was trying to make pizza dough, after I mixed it I realized that I used bisquick instead of high gluten flour. I cooked them anyway. They were just ok. I would eat if I was starving, but not when I had the good stuff around. The ducks were happy. We put the "bread crumbs" on the ground then watched the ducks come to land and eat it up. There was a white one that looked like the Aflac duck, and a black one, then a few other ordinary ducks. We watched a beautiful Sunset. Trey wanted to go to the other end of the pond to do his "par core" he walked over there then came back. There was a big Sand Piper bird hanging out where he wanted to be. He came back because he thought it would be mean. I told him the bird wouldn't hurt him, but probably go away as he got closer. I walked over with him and as soon as we got closer the bird flew a to the other side of the bank about 10 feet. I think they are cool looking birds especially when they take off and land.
Tuesday- I had the kids help me clean up the house and the play room. Of course there was a lot more messing around than actual work. "Fidget Fingers" (Dax) got his finger stuck in the futon. We got it out with cold water.
Dax went to see Dr. Tony. He told me of all the professionals we have taken him to see He feels like Dr. Tony has been the most beneficial. That makes me happy for many reasons.
Derek went to do a Flag Ceremony for a Republican meeting. My friend Shadow is the District Chairman (or something like that) she called Mike Cannon (the scout leader) to have the boys do this and it fills a requirement. Wahoo. They did well.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
06/20/2015
Monday- Dax left about 8:45 a.m. to drive up to EFY in Flagstaff (Especially For Youth) with Dallin Thomas and his mom Janae. While they drove up to Flagstaff, we kept Weston Thomas here to hang with Derek and Trey. Trey went to Lego Jedi class in the morning, with his friend Jeremy. Derek, Weston and Trey had a great day. Janae drove up to Flagstaff got the boys signed into EFY turned around came right back and pick Weston up about 4:15, then Derek was off to Karate and Kumon. While at Kumon Trey and I went next door and had an icecream at 31 Flavors. Trey was a little disappointed it wasn't Kokomo (Frozen yogurt place) but he decided the ice cream was still good afterall.
I don't know if Dax understood what EFY was all about, he didn't seem all the excited or even certain he wanted to go. When we signed him up back in February we told him because it was a Flagstaff, near Papa and Uncle Steve, if he absolutely hated it he could call someone to pick him up and we wouldn't make him do it again. As time went on we decided that he really needed to stick it out and try to make the best of it. I have worried for months that he wouldn't enjoy it (although we felt he still needed to go) This is the text I received from him Monday night "Hi Mom, EFY is pretty good so far its fun and very wholesome. Only day one so far but I'm excited. Love you all, hope dad loves his bd (birthday) and this phone has no punctuation" (I added the punctuation) This made us happy to hear, it may not be so bad afterall.
Tuesday- Trey was off to Lego camp again, I had tennis lessons. Derek caught Oreo trying to kill a bird. He heard it squealing, he looked around and Oreo had a bird in her mouth. He got the bird away from Oreo, it had some minor cuts on its wings. We picked it up and moved it to a safe place, brought out some peanut butter, bread crumbs and water, and hoped we wouldn't have another bird casualty. I went to pick up Trey from his Lego class we came home and the bird was gone. YEA, a happy ending for the bird. I think it was in shock for a bit, but it recovered.
This is the text I received from Dax "Hey Mom, day two EFY is actually pretty fun, I took my first classes and signed up for the talent show under a gospel comedy routine. I love you all and enjoy EFY" We are so happy and relieved he is enjoying it. We are not too certain about the comedy routine for several reasons, we texted him back and tried to talk him out of it. I got this text later in the day.
"Headed to bed soon, loved dance. I won the dance off. Good nite love you. PS judges like my act and I'm keeping it tame."
This is a great week for Dax to be up in the cool pines of Flagstaff. Today's temp was 111 and this is supposed to be the coolest day of the week down here.
Something terrible happened here at home. The wi-fi went out for about an hour. Curtis was at basketball so he couldn't reset the router. Derek was ok, but Trey was really having a difficult time. It told him to go read a book. He got one of the "Sweet Pickle" Books, "Quail can't decide" We read it together and we read it with funny voices for the characters. Trey got the giggles and we had a good time together.
Wednesday- More Lego class for Trey, after that Derek and Trey went with me to Sam's club to have lunch and then do Birthday shopping for Curtis. Derek had scouts at Mike Cannon's home where the swam and passed off some requirements.
I got a text and a video from Janae about Dax winning the "Tuesday night dance off". Her son Dallin, captured some of it on video. Dax really was working the crowd. I told Janae I was so worried about Dax not having a good time up there, her reply "he is ruling EFY!!!" Who is this kid that is so reclusive at home? He did tell me one time he felt most comfortable in a large crowd. The video proves it.
Thursday- Happy Birthday Curtis. We gave him some new ties, a new cell phone charger, the kids gave him some gum (a B-day favorite for Curtis) and a new blue tooth speaker that he can use out at the pool. He came home from work about noon, then we all went to lunch together at Oregano's.
Received this text from Dax "Hey Mom, sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I lost my bag. Anyway I had a blast at pizza night and EFY is spectacular." Sounds like every day is getting better and better.
I picked Trey up from his lego class and they had built a sky skraper that touched the ceiling, then the demolished it. The kids loved it.
We got another text from Dax late that night "Dear parents, today at EFY we had testimony meeting. I have never felt so assured of the spirit. I didn't make the talent show but me and my friends are loving EFY"
Friday- I dropped Trey off at his last day of his Jedi Lego class, then Derek and I headed up to Flagstaff to pick up Dax. I knew my Dad would need help, and we would pick up Dax and Dallin early Saturday morning to head back home. Derek and I had a nice drive up. Flagstaff was nice and cool. Derek did a great job entertaining himself, he found Papa's Pellet gun and shot it in the backyard. He did a good job with it, Papa is just getting old and cranky. He would get very frustrated when he would see Derek with the gun, then he would remember that he actually let him shoot it. Derek handled it well. I don't know that I want to take the kids up anymore. It just seems it's getting to be too much for my Dad to handle. We went to dinner at the Chinese Buffet, then My brother Steve and his family came over, Derek hung out with his cousins Zane and Seth. They had a great time until Papa got too cranky. I got this text from Dax "Thank you so much and EFY has been as great as you said. I would come again and thank you for being the great mother you are. BTW check out is six thirtyish."
Saturday- I woke up early, then headed over to NAU to pick up Dax and Dallin about 6:45 they were out and ready for pick up. They had a fabulous time. We picked up a quick breakfast at McDonalds then headed back to my dad's house for breakfast and to pick up Derek. We finished breakfast, loaded up the car then drove home. We were home by 11:00. Derek was happy to see Dax. He always misses him when he goes away. Pretty uneventful drive home.
Curtis and I went to Cheesecake Factory for an early Fathers Day dinner. We came home and watched the "Imitation Game" with Derek and Dax Interesting movie about how the first computer was invented.
I don't know if Dax understood what EFY was all about, he didn't seem all the excited or even certain he wanted to go. When we signed him up back in February we told him because it was a Flagstaff, near Papa and Uncle Steve, if he absolutely hated it he could call someone to pick him up and we wouldn't make him do it again. As time went on we decided that he really needed to stick it out and try to make the best of it. I have worried for months that he wouldn't enjoy it (although we felt he still needed to go) This is the text I received from him Monday night "Hi Mom, EFY is pretty good so far its fun and very wholesome. Only day one so far but I'm excited. Love you all, hope dad loves his bd (birthday) and this phone has no punctuation" (I added the punctuation) This made us happy to hear, it may not be so bad afterall.
Tuesday- Trey was off to Lego camp again, I had tennis lessons. Derek caught Oreo trying to kill a bird. He heard it squealing, he looked around and Oreo had a bird in her mouth. He got the bird away from Oreo, it had some minor cuts on its wings. We picked it up and moved it to a safe place, brought out some peanut butter, bread crumbs and water, and hoped we wouldn't have another bird casualty. I went to pick up Trey from his Lego class we came home and the bird was gone. YEA, a happy ending for the bird. I think it was in shock for a bit, but it recovered.
This is the text I received from Dax "Hey Mom, day two EFY is actually pretty fun, I took my first classes and signed up for the talent show under a gospel comedy routine. I love you all and enjoy EFY" We are so happy and relieved he is enjoying it. We are not too certain about the comedy routine for several reasons, we texted him back and tried to talk him out of it. I got this text later in the day.
"Headed to bed soon, loved dance. I won the dance off. Good nite love you. PS judges like my act and I'm keeping it tame."
This is a great week for Dax to be up in the cool pines of Flagstaff. Today's temp was 111 and this is supposed to be the coolest day of the week down here.
Something terrible happened here at home. The wi-fi went out for about an hour. Curtis was at basketball so he couldn't reset the router. Derek was ok, but Trey was really having a difficult time. It told him to go read a book. He got one of the "Sweet Pickle" Books, "Quail can't decide" We read it together and we read it with funny voices for the characters. Trey got the giggles and we had a good time together.
Wednesday- More Lego class for Trey, after that Derek and Trey went with me to Sam's club to have lunch and then do Birthday shopping for Curtis. Derek had scouts at Mike Cannon's home where the swam and passed off some requirements.
I got a text and a video from Janae about Dax winning the "Tuesday night dance off". Her son Dallin, captured some of it on video. Dax really was working the crowd. I told Janae I was so worried about Dax not having a good time up there, her reply "he is ruling EFY!!!" Who is this kid that is so reclusive at home? He did tell me one time he felt most comfortable in a large crowd. The video proves it.
Thursday- Happy Birthday Curtis. We gave him some new ties, a new cell phone charger, the kids gave him some gum (a B-day favorite for Curtis) and a new blue tooth speaker that he can use out at the pool. He came home from work about noon, then we all went to lunch together at Oregano's.
Received this text from Dax "Hey Mom, sorry I haven't responded sooner, but I lost my bag. Anyway I had a blast at pizza night and EFY is spectacular." Sounds like every day is getting better and better.
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| Birthday Boy |
Friday- I dropped Trey off at his last day of his Jedi Lego class, then Derek and I headed up to Flagstaff to pick up Dax. I knew my Dad would need help, and we would pick up Dax and Dallin early Saturday morning to head back home. Derek and I had a nice drive up. Flagstaff was nice and cool. Derek did a great job entertaining himself, he found Papa's Pellet gun and shot it in the backyard. He did a good job with it, Papa is just getting old and cranky. He would get very frustrated when he would see Derek with the gun, then he would remember that he actually let him shoot it. Derek handled it well. I don't know that I want to take the kids up anymore. It just seems it's getting to be too much for my Dad to handle. We went to dinner at the Chinese Buffet, then My brother Steve and his family came over, Derek hung out with his cousins Zane and Seth. They had a great time until Papa got too cranky. I got this text from Dax "Thank you so much and EFY has been as great as you said. I would come again and thank you for being the great mother you are. BTW check out is six thirtyish."
Saturday- I woke up early, then headed over to NAU to pick up Dax and Dallin about 6:45 they were out and ready for pick up. They had a fabulous time. We picked up a quick breakfast at McDonalds then headed back to my dad's house for breakfast and to pick up Derek. We finished breakfast, loaded up the car then drove home. We were home by 11:00. Derek was happy to see Dax. He always misses him when he goes away. Pretty uneventful drive home.
Curtis and I went to Cheesecake Factory for an early Fathers Day dinner. We came home and watched the "Imitation Game" with Derek and Dax Interesting movie about how the first computer was invented.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
06/13/15
Monday- Dax went to see Dr. Tony for his anxiety/depression counseling. It went well. Dax and Derek(actually Oreo) found a baby bird on the ground, that fell out of its nest. The nest was too high up to place it back in. The kids tried to help it by giving it milk, peanut butter, and water. Poor thing was dead by Tuesday morning. Trey started Athletes in Training camp (AIT) at Bogle Jr. High with his friends Ryan and Jeremy. Derek had Kumon and Karate
Tuesday- It was cloudy and rained a bit. The weather has been so nice for this time of year. I had Tennis, and Trey had Soren's Birthday party. Dax and Derek rode bikes with Trey over to Soren's party because I was at tennis. I was proud of all of them for working together and helping each other. After the party, I took Trey to AIT. Dax and Derek tried to swim together, but it turned into a fight. The Luecks (behind us) invited families from the ward over so I took Derek over there to swim. He had a great time. I chatted with the other moms
Wednesday- Trey continued to go to AIT. In the afternoon Dax and Derek went over to Dallin and Weston Thomas' house. I was happy to see Dax go over there, he was going to teach Dallin how to animate on the computer. It has been a while since He and Dallin hung out. The animation didn't happen since Dallin's Mac computer was not compatible. They all spent the afternoon over there.
Thursday- Dax had an early ortho appt. They told him to start wearing the rubber bands again, down to 12 hrs a day. I'm seeing lots of progress with his teeth. He still hates the braces and doesn't think they were necessary. The kids and I went to see Rio 2 for the summer movie. We had all seen the movie before but we had fun hanging out and eating the movie snacks. Curtis is continuing to dehydrate himself to lose the last 10 lbs of his weight loss goal. He made it. although he absolutely pushed his body beyond. If he hadn't made it at that point I was going to call 911.
Friday- Trey and I went to breakfast to meet my friends for Tiffany's Birthday. He was the only one up so I asked him to come with me. We had fun, trey at chocolate chip cookies, while we had breakfast (he actually ate before we left). Last day of AIT for Trey. Weston came over and swam and played legos with Derek and Trey for most of the afternoon. They all three had a great time together. Curtis worked from home, and we went and had lunch together at Zupas. We watched the original "Jurassic Park" together. Derek wants Curtis to take him to the new movie. It was a bit too scary to Trey.
Saturday- Derek and Curtis went to see "Jurassic World" together, they said it was well done and they enjoyed it. Almost as good as the first. Later I took Derek to pick up his Jurassic World Lego game. He pre-ordered it a few months ago. I was proud of him for buying it with his own money.
Curtis and I went to a birthday party for our friend, Shadow Asgari-Engle. They have just finished adding on to their already beautiful home. It was absolutely beautiful even though they said it was barely finished hours before guests showed up. They had it catered with the Grilled Cheese sandwich food truck. It was a fun night. Shadow always feeds you well...too well.
Tuesday- It was cloudy and rained a bit. The weather has been so nice for this time of year. I had Tennis, and Trey had Soren's Birthday party. Dax and Derek rode bikes with Trey over to Soren's party because I was at tennis. I was proud of all of them for working together and helping each other. After the party, I took Trey to AIT. Dax and Derek tried to swim together, but it turned into a fight. The Luecks (behind us) invited families from the ward over so I took Derek over there to swim. He had a great time. I chatted with the other moms
Wednesday- Trey continued to go to AIT. In the afternoon Dax and Derek went over to Dallin and Weston Thomas' house. I was happy to see Dax go over there, he was going to teach Dallin how to animate on the computer. It has been a while since He and Dallin hung out. The animation didn't happen since Dallin's Mac computer was not compatible. They all spent the afternoon over there.
Thursday- Dax had an early ortho appt. They told him to start wearing the rubber bands again, down to 12 hrs a day. I'm seeing lots of progress with his teeth. He still hates the braces and doesn't think they were necessary. The kids and I went to see Rio 2 for the summer movie. We had all seen the movie before but we had fun hanging out and eating the movie snacks. Curtis is continuing to dehydrate himself to lose the last 10 lbs of his weight loss goal. He made it. although he absolutely pushed his body beyond. If he hadn't made it at that point I was going to call 911.
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| Curtis calls this "about to die, 5 min from weight in" |
Friday- Trey and I went to breakfast to meet my friends for Tiffany's Birthday. He was the only one up so I asked him to come with me. We had fun, trey at chocolate chip cookies, while we had breakfast (he actually ate before we left). Last day of AIT for Trey. Weston came over and swam and played legos with Derek and Trey for most of the afternoon. They all three had a great time together. Curtis worked from home, and we went and had lunch together at Zupas. We watched the original "Jurassic Park" together. Derek wants Curtis to take him to the new movie. It was a bit too scary to Trey.
Saturday- Derek and Curtis went to see "Jurassic World" together, they said it was well done and they enjoyed it. Almost as good as the first. Later I took Derek to pick up his Jurassic World Lego game. He pre-ordered it a few months ago. I was proud of him for buying it with his own money.
Curtis and I went to a birthday party for our friend, Shadow Asgari-Engle. They have just finished adding on to their already beautiful home. It was absolutely beautiful even though they said it was barely finished hours before guests showed up. They had it catered with the Grilled Cheese sandwich food truck. It was a fun night. Shadow always feeds you well...too well.
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| Curtis and Shadow loving the Grub |
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| YUM Crazy Grilled Cheese sandwiches and tots |
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| Shadow wearing her "Food Pusher" Apron I made her, she has earned the Title |
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| Emily and Gavin McPhee, Scott and Tiffany Andersen, Wes and Jill Lueck, Matt and Ann Kirkham, Glen and Pam Kubricky, Steve and Jane Thomas, Shadow and Eric Engle, Cindy and Dave Nelson, Me |
Saturday, June 6, 2015
06/06/15
Very Fun week, just trying to capture little glimpses in our lives.
Monday- Trey starts going to Lego camp this week, there are a few kids from his school he knows. Ethan who was in his class at one point they were BFF's, now I would say their relationship is Frenemies. I think he's a nice kid.
Dax and Derek take Oreo on a long walk through the green belt, wouldn't be so bad but the temps were rising. High of 106. Once they got back they were exhausted, but I had to hurry Derek because while they were gone I made an appointment for a math assessment at KUMON. He rallied, and was a good sport about it. We're going to be doing Math tutoring this summer. I want him to feel comfortable of doing Math at a higher level. Derek also started Karate today. Full day.
Tuesday- I started another session of Tennis lessons.
Wednesday- Dax is getting ready to go on a Super Activity with the YM. Spencer Carroll Spent the night while his mom and sister are at girls camp, and his dad works nights. We took Derek, Trey and Spencer over to the community pool of some friends. Some friends from the ward had an informal swim party. The kids had a great time, then they came home got ready for bed and slept on the trampoline.
Thursday- 5:00 a.m. I drop Dax off at Scott Andersen's to head off for the fun weekend with the YM. They are going to Roosevelt Lake, for skiing, boating and fun. Then head up to Scott Andersen's cabin in Heber. When I got home 5:15ish Trey was awake already and wanting to hit the video games. He said they slept good on the trampoline but by morning they were cold. Spencer and Derek came in soon after. Trey went off to his LEGO class and Derek went off to the Summer Movie with Spencer and the Lueck family who was taking Spencer home with them after the movie.
Funny conversation I had with Trey on the way home from Lego Camp
Trey: you know my teacher, you know Ellinwood isn't her real name
Mom: What's her real name?
Trey: Ashley
Mom: That's right, how did you know that
Trey: I saw it in the Year Book, the Year Book Revealed many things to me.
I had to laugh at his language and using "reveal". He also told me his friend Taylor is moving to South America, I tried to explain it was South Carolina. He didn't understand, still insists it's South America.
Took Derek back to Kumon for Math Tutoring and assessed him for Writing ( we ran out of time the other day) We are going to work on both for the summer, then cut back to just math about when school starts. Rushed him to Karate. Monday's and Thursdays are going to be busy for him.
Weston Thomas came to hang out with us for the evening. His Mom had a Rehersal, Dad is at Camp, and his brother is on the YM activity. Janae was grateful for us helping out so she brought us pizza for dinner. Derek, Weston and Trey had a great time together. He left about 10:45 p.m.
Friday- Curtis continues his "Work Week Hustle Challenge" on his fitbit. Competitive Curtis won't loose any challenge. All week he's been trying to get more steps than his also competitive friend Seth somewhere back east. Curtis was trying to have 25,000+ steps more than the other guy, but he was equally competitive and kept putting up a good fight. Curtis spent the majority of the day on the Treadmill, logging 40,000 steps and 18+ miles for the day. He was declared the winner, I think they are all totally exhausted. I also won my "work week hustle" with my peeps who are not nearly as competitive. I won with 71,430 steps for five days, not near the numbers Curtis pulled. My win wasn't very intentional. Curtis' was.
It rained and rained and rained today. We loved it, and we are glad Dax is staying in a cabin, not a tent just in case they are also getting rain.
Saturday- Dax came home from his trip to Heber. He had a great time.
Monday- Trey starts going to Lego camp this week, there are a few kids from his school he knows. Ethan who was in his class at one point they were BFF's, now I would say their relationship is Frenemies. I think he's a nice kid.
Dax and Derek take Oreo on a long walk through the green belt, wouldn't be so bad but the temps were rising. High of 106. Once they got back they were exhausted, but I had to hurry Derek because while they were gone I made an appointment for a math assessment at KUMON. He rallied, and was a good sport about it. We're going to be doing Math tutoring this summer. I want him to feel comfortable of doing Math at a higher level. Derek also started Karate today. Full day.
Tuesday- I started another session of Tennis lessons.
Wednesday- Dax is getting ready to go on a Super Activity with the YM. Spencer Carroll Spent the night while his mom and sister are at girls camp, and his dad works nights. We took Derek, Trey and Spencer over to the community pool of some friends. Some friends from the ward had an informal swim party. The kids had a great time, then they came home got ready for bed and slept on the trampoline.
Thursday- 5:00 a.m. I drop Dax off at Scott Andersen's to head off for the fun weekend with the YM. They are going to Roosevelt Lake, for skiing, boating and fun. Then head up to Scott Andersen's cabin in Heber. When I got home 5:15ish Trey was awake already and wanting to hit the video games. He said they slept good on the trampoline but by morning they were cold. Spencer and Derek came in soon after. Trey went off to his LEGO class and Derek went off to the Summer Movie with Spencer and the Lueck family who was taking Spencer home with them after the movie.
Funny conversation I had with Trey on the way home from Lego Camp
Trey: you know my teacher, you know Ellinwood isn't her real name
Mom: What's her real name?
Trey: Ashley
Mom: That's right, how did you know that
Trey: I saw it in the Year Book, the Year Book Revealed many things to me.
I had to laugh at his language and using "reveal". He also told me his friend Taylor is moving to South America, I tried to explain it was South Carolina. He didn't understand, still insists it's South America.
Took Derek back to Kumon for Math Tutoring and assessed him for Writing ( we ran out of time the other day) We are going to work on both for the summer, then cut back to just math about when school starts. Rushed him to Karate. Monday's and Thursdays are going to be busy for him.
Weston Thomas came to hang out with us for the evening. His Mom had a Rehersal, Dad is at Camp, and his brother is on the YM activity. Janae was grateful for us helping out so she brought us pizza for dinner. Derek, Weston and Trey had a great time together. He left about 10:45 p.m.
Friday- Curtis continues his "Work Week Hustle Challenge" on his fitbit. Competitive Curtis won't loose any challenge. All week he's been trying to get more steps than his also competitive friend Seth somewhere back east. Curtis was trying to have 25,000+ steps more than the other guy, but he was equally competitive and kept putting up a good fight. Curtis spent the majority of the day on the Treadmill, logging 40,000 steps and 18+ miles for the day. He was declared the winner, I think they are all totally exhausted. I also won my "work week hustle" with my peeps who are not nearly as competitive. I won with 71,430 steps for five days, not near the numbers Curtis pulled. My win wasn't very intentional. Curtis' was.
It rained and rained and rained today. We loved it, and we are glad Dax is staying in a cabin, not a tent just in case they are also getting rain.
Saturday- Dax came home from his trip to Heber. He had a great time.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Rocky Point
Curtis has been bugging me for years to go to Rocky Point, (Puerto Pensaco) down in Mexico. I had zero desire to do that. From what I had seen of Mexico on our cruises I couldn't imagine why anyone from the U.S. would want to go there. The beaches I had seen were, dirty, smelly and ugly. I don't care it is only a four hour drive, didn't seem worth it.
I talked to more and more people about it and they would say things like "the beach at Rocky Point is really nice, just don't look at the town". The beach may be nice, but I wasn't convinced the accommodations would be nice. Curtis has a friend (Jay) that owns a condo down there and he said we could stay in his condo and go check it out. At this point, I was willing to check it out, but not expecting much. People kept telling me stories of what a great time they had down there, everything is totally safe yada yada. So we planned to go the day after school got out.
The drive was nice, Rocky Point was about an hour from the border. There wasn't much to see between the border and Rocky Point. We arrive in the town, it looks about like what I expected. Old run down buildings, random dirt roads, stray dogs everywhere. We get closer and closer to the beach, ( we got lost and took an unexpected tour of the town, we were given bad directions) the resorts were looking pretty nice, although some were half done and looked like they had been that way for years. We finally get to Sonoran Spa Resort (many people were familiar with it when I told them where we were staying, kept hearing good things). The resort seems very nice we have to check in with a security guard. Some of the people spoke some English, Dax was mostly our translator with his two years of Spanish. We get to the Condo and it was beautiful. Two bedroom, two bath, full kitchen, and laundry with a beautiful view of the pool and beach. I was pleasantly surprised, very surprised at how nice it was.
We had a great time, the first night we went down to play in the water. The tide goes way out and then comes way back in several times a day. The first evening the tide was out, the water was nice and shallow. We watched the sun set.
We ate dinner at the restaurant at the resort the first night, the food was good, but it was on the expensive side, tax was 14%, no drink refills, and couldn't drink the water etc. We saw Sam's club on the way in, so Friday Morning Curtis and I set out to find Sam's Club and buy some food for our stay. Sam's Club was interesting, very similar to ours, but also very different. Not a lot of pre-made/microwave food. We had no idea how much anything cost because it was in pesos and we didn't know the exchange rate. We bought some Zucaritas (Spanish Frosted Flakes) and Lucky Charms, frozen pizzas and some other junk. Curtis picked out this candy thing with Minions on it. We open it and it looks like a chocolate egg, when you shake it, there is something inside. When you each the chocolate there is a plastic egg thing on the inside with a minion toy inside. Opposite of how we do it in the USA. We would have plastic egg, with wrapped up chocolate/candy on the inside of the egg.
Later that day we decided to take the kids into town and check out the "Curios" and the little shops with Mexican trinkets. Curtis said each kid could have $5 to buy a souvenir. As we walked away from our car to check out the little shops, we could see some guys starting to wash our car. They didn't look like they were doing anything other than that, so we walked on, shopped and ate lunch. Lunch was good, and Dax ordered his in Spanish. I think the locals were a little impressed with his Spanish and they asked him where he learned it. Dax bought a shell wind chime, Derek got a necklace with an Aztec sun/medallion looking thing. Trey got a little tiny Mexican guitar. We headed back to our car and over an hour later those guys were there waiting to paid for the car wash we didn't ask for. Curtis paid them $5. They did a good job and we know they need the money. Just something that would not happen in America.
As soon as we got back, Derek slammed into the shiny spotless sliding glass door. He smacked himself pretty good.
The boys were then getting ready to go down to the beach when Derek accidentally sprayed sunscreen in his eyes.
Derek and Dax went to to play with the boogie boards, after a bit Dax came running up saying Derek got stung by something. We didn't really believe him at first, then he convinced us and Curtis headed down. I stayed with Trey and watched from the balcony. I could see Dax combing the beach looking for his glasses, while Curtis and Derek and others were near the beach shower trying to help Derek. I watched the security guard spray blue stuff that looked like a Windex bottle on Derek. Turns out it was Windex and it was supposed to help. I felt like I should go help Dax find his glasses on the beach, but I wasn't sure about leaving Trey alone in the room. Not that he couldn't be left for a few minutes, I just felt a little un easy doing this in Mexico. Dax said a prayer and found his glasses. Derek and Curtis made it back up to the room, and Derek was crying and wailing. We were not sure if it was a Jelly Fish, Crab bite, or a sting ray. We just knew it hurt and he was in a lot of pain. The security guard told Curtis to take Derek to a hospital to get it cleaned and checked out. The hospital they told them to go to was closed and locked up even though it was during the hours of operation posted on the sign outside the hospital and ambulances were parked outside.
They had to drive around a bit looking for some type of Dr.or Medical facility to get help. Curtis didn't speak Spanish, and the people they were asking on the streets didn't speak English. Curtis finally found some type of clinic. They were able to walk right in, no wait. The Dr. Cleaned Derek up real good, so it didn't get infected, and gave him about three shots in his toe to numb the pain. The Dr. said it was a sting ray, the pain would last for a couple hours. After the numbing medicine wore off he may need a Tylenol or pain killer. Curtis and Derek came back to the condo and Derek was feeling much better, although he big toe was all wrapped up in gauze.The stink ray actually cuts you, then stings ouch. Double whammy.
While Derek was gone, being treated for the Sting Ray, I was thinking how he was really having a bad day, the window run in , the sun screen in eyes, now the sting ray.
When Curtis got home he brought me Derek's Medallion souvineer, and he said it's the "Curse of the Medallion:. Like the Brady Bunch when they went to Hawaii and the kids took the Tiki Idol and got Cursed and all the bad luck started happening. Derek was having a great day until he bought that medallion and started wearing hit. It was kind of funny, Derek laughed, although he still loves his medallion, and jokes that it is cursed.
Derek was feeling much better and we all went down to the pool later that night.
Saturday morning we went down to the beach, Derek stayed up in the room ( he wasn't ready for sand in the wound). I started collecting sea shells to take home and put in our Rock Garden. I picked up about 5 of these one type of shells that I thought looked kind of cool. We were walking around and I felt a little tickle. I looked down and saw that the shell actually had a hermit crab that was poking out. How cool was that? We went back up to the room and realized that all the shells of that type had hermit crabs in them. Dax and I went back down to the beach to collect, sand, sea water etc. to create at little habitat for the crabs. I named it the "crabitat"
Later that day Curtis and I went into town to get Pedicures together. A first for Curtis, and he loved it. I always knew he would love one. He always loves a good foot rub. While I was finishing up Curtis went to a beach store across the street to get some water shoes for everyone. We didn't need anymore sting ray attacks. When we got back we all headed down to the beach and went on a Banana Boat ride. It was a lot of fun but we didn't love the Salt water getting splashed in our eyes and mouth. I went back tot he beach and watched as Curtis rented a Jet ski and took turns taking the boys out on that. He was a fun dad and let the kids drive. Dax took a sharp turn and threw Curtis off into the water. It tuns out that the guys who ran the Jet Ski operation were the guys Dax asked for help when Derek was Stung. They remembered the boys and asked how Derek was doing. We had a fun time at the beach even though every 30 seconds someone would walk by asking if I wanted to buy their stuff. Not really it all looked like junk to me. I wish they would sell something useful, that Americans would actually want, cold drinks, sand toys, trashy magazines. It is hot, and they do work hard, just nothing I want or need.
Sunday Morning we went down to the pool and played a bit before we headed home. Derek and Curtis and breath holding contest. Derek won.
We packed up and headed home. There was a long line at the border, now we know get to the border early. More people walking by our cars selling stuff. We had a great trip. I would say it was nearly a perfect vacation (except for the sting stay) Close and easy to get to. Very inexpensive ( thanks to Jay letting us use his condo) beautiful weather, location, and amenities. We will definitely go back.
I talked to more and more people about it and they would say things like "the beach at Rocky Point is really nice, just don't look at the town". The beach may be nice, but I wasn't convinced the accommodations would be nice. Curtis has a friend (Jay) that owns a condo down there and he said we could stay in his condo and go check it out. At this point, I was willing to check it out, but not expecting much. People kept telling me stories of what a great time they had down there, everything is totally safe yada yada. So we planned to go the day after school got out.
The drive was nice, Rocky Point was about an hour from the border. There wasn't much to see between the border and Rocky Point. We arrive in the town, it looks about like what I expected. Old run down buildings, random dirt roads, stray dogs everywhere. We get closer and closer to the beach, ( we got lost and took an unexpected tour of the town, we were given bad directions) the resorts were looking pretty nice, although some were half done and looked like they had been that way for years. We finally get to Sonoran Spa Resort (many people were familiar with it when I told them where we were staying, kept hearing good things). The resort seems very nice we have to check in with a security guard. Some of the people spoke some English, Dax was mostly our translator with his two years of Spanish. We get to the Condo and it was beautiful. Two bedroom, two bath, full kitchen, and laundry with a beautiful view of the pool and beach. I was pleasantly surprised, very surprised at how nice it was.
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| Trey |
We had a great time, the first night we went down to play in the water. The tide goes way out and then comes way back in several times a day. The first evening the tide was out, the water was nice and shallow. We watched the sun set.
We ate dinner at the restaurant at the resort the first night, the food was good, but it was on the expensive side, tax was 14%, no drink refills, and couldn't drink the water etc. We saw Sam's club on the way in, so Friday Morning Curtis and I set out to find Sam's Club and buy some food for our stay. Sam's Club was interesting, very similar to ours, but also very different. Not a lot of pre-made/microwave food. We had no idea how much anything cost because it was in pesos and we didn't know the exchange rate. We bought some Zucaritas (Spanish Frosted Flakes) and Lucky Charms, frozen pizzas and some other junk. Curtis picked out this candy thing with Minions on it. We open it and it looks like a chocolate egg, when you shake it, there is something inside. When you each the chocolate there is a plastic egg thing on the inside with a minion toy inside. Opposite of how we do it in the USA. We would have plastic egg, with wrapped up chocolate/candy on the inside of the egg.
Later that day we decided to take the kids into town and check out the "Curios" and the little shops with Mexican trinkets. Curtis said each kid could have $5 to buy a souvenir. As we walked away from our car to check out the little shops, we could see some guys starting to wash our car. They didn't look like they were doing anything other than that, so we walked on, shopped and ate lunch. Lunch was good, and Dax ordered his in Spanish. I think the locals were a little impressed with his Spanish and they asked him where he learned it. Dax bought a shell wind chime, Derek got a necklace with an Aztec sun/medallion looking thing. Trey got a little tiny Mexican guitar. We headed back to our car and over an hour later those guys were there waiting to paid for the car wash we didn't ask for. Curtis paid them $5. They did a good job and we know they need the money. Just something that would not happen in America.
As soon as we got back, Derek slammed into the shiny spotless sliding glass door. He smacked himself pretty good.
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| Derek with his faceprint on the door |
Derek and Dax went to to play with the boogie boards, after a bit Dax came running up saying Derek got stung by something. We didn't really believe him at first, then he convinced us and Curtis headed down. I stayed with Trey and watched from the balcony. I could see Dax combing the beach looking for his glasses, while Curtis and Derek and others were near the beach shower trying to help Derek. I watched the security guard spray blue stuff that looked like a Windex bottle on Derek. Turns out it was Windex and it was supposed to help. I felt like I should go help Dax find his glasses on the beach, but I wasn't sure about leaving Trey alone in the room. Not that he couldn't be left for a few minutes, I just felt a little un easy doing this in Mexico. Dax said a prayer and found his glasses. Derek and Curtis made it back up to the room, and Derek was crying and wailing. We were not sure if it was a Jelly Fish, Crab bite, or a sting ray. We just knew it hurt and he was in a lot of pain. The security guard told Curtis to take Derek to a hospital to get it cleaned and checked out. The hospital they told them to go to was closed and locked up even though it was during the hours of operation posted on the sign outside the hospital and ambulances were parked outside.
They had to drive around a bit looking for some type of Dr.or Medical facility to get help. Curtis didn't speak Spanish, and the people they were asking on the streets didn't speak English. Curtis finally found some type of clinic. They were able to walk right in, no wait. The Dr. Cleaned Derek up real good, so it didn't get infected, and gave him about three shots in his toe to numb the pain. The Dr. said it was a sting ray, the pain would last for a couple hours. After the numbing medicine wore off he may need a Tylenol or pain killer. Curtis and Derek came back to the condo and Derek was feeling much better, although he big toe was all wrapped up in gauze.The stink ray actually cuts you, then stings ouch. Double whammy.
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| Derek at the Medical facility, getting treated for Sting Ray attack. |
While Derek was gone, being treated for the Sting Ray, I was thinking how he was really having a bad day, the window run in , the sun screen in eyes, now the sting ray.
When Curtis got home he brought me Derek's Medallion souvineer, and he said it's the "Curse of the Medallion:. Like the Brady Bunch when they went to Hawaii and the kids took the Tiki Idol and got Cursed and all the bad luck started happening. Derek was having a great day until he bought that medallion and started wearing hit. It was kind of funny, Derek laughed, although he still loves his medallion, and jokes that it is cursed.
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| Derek wearing his cursed medallion. |
Derek was feeling much better and we all went down to the pool later that night.
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| Trey loved swimming under this bridge through a little cubby hole |
Saturday morning we went down to the beach, Derek stayed up in the room ( he wasn't ready for sand in the wound). I started collecting sea shells to take home and put in our Rock Garden. I picked up about 5 of these one type of shells that I thought looked kind of cool. We were walking around and I felt a little tickle. I looked down and saw that the shell actually had a hermit crab that was poking out. How cool was that? We went back up to the room and realized that all the shells of that type had hermit crabs in them. Dax and I went back down to the beach to collect, sand, sea water etc. to create at little habitat for the crabs. I named it the "crabitat"
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| Reflection of Derek and Dax in glass table, looking at hermit crabs |
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| The Crabitat |
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| Beach when tide is out |
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| We wrote "Hi Derek" in sand while Derek waited in room |
Later that day Curtis and I went into town to get Pedicures together. A first for Curtis, and he loved it. I always knew he would love one. He always loves a good foot rub. While I was finishing up Curtis went to a beach store across the street to get some water shoes for everyone. We didn't need anymore sting ray attacks. When we got back we all headed down to the beach and went on a Banana Boat ride. It was a lot of fun but we didn't love the Salt water getting splashed in our eyes and mouth. I went back tot he beach and watched as Curtis rented a Jet ski and took turns taking the boys out on that. He was a fun dad and let the kids drive. Dax took a sharp turn and threw Curtis off into the water. It tuns out that the guys who ran the Jet Ski operation were the guys Dax asked for help when Derek was Stung. They remembered the boys and asked how Derek was doing. We had a fun time at the beach even though every 30 seconds someone would walk by asking if I wanted to buy their stuff. Not really it all looked like junk to me. I wish they would sell something useful, that Americans would actually want, cold drinks, sand toys, trashy magazines. It is hot, and they do work hard, just nothing I want or need.
Sunday Morning we went down to the pool and played a bit before we headed home. Derek and Curtis and breath holding contest. Derek won.
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| One last gasp for breath |
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| The contest underway |
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| Playing at the beach |
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| Trey loved this slide, he said "shh don't tell anyone I'm only 46" . The sign said had to be 48" |
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| Beautiful Sunset |
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| much needed relaxation by the pool |
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