Second Job

 After a long painful process of miscommunication and inexperience, Derek started working at McDonald's.  I really wanted Derek to get a summer job, at first COVID was a bit of a set back, but there are so many reasons why I think a kid needs to get a job. 

Back in June, I stopped at the McDonald's drive-through with the kids and we noticed a "Now Hiring" sign.  I asked the drive-through girl if it was better to apply in person online or in person.  She said in person was probably better because things get lost when you apply online.  Which confirmed my suspicions of Derek sending in several applications online and never getting any calls for interviews.  He applied back in June, they called him for an interview the next day.  I would think Derek would be a good candidate for this job because he has a little experience working in the school cafeteria during lunch, and he has his food handlers license.

After the interview I asked Derek how it went he gave me his typical "I don't know, but they gave me these forms to fill out and she said there is one more for my bank info"  I said, "then they hired you if they are asking for employment forms and direct deposit info."  Derek turned the forms in, then he heard nothing.  He would stop by and check-in and they would say I we want to get you on the schedule for Saturday, then he would hear nothing.  After a few weeks, he would stop in (they don't always answer the phone) and they would say "oh we lost your phone number"  these shenanigans went on for way too long, losing his number several times, Derek being inexperienced and uncertain of how to handle these situations.  Finally on August 29th, 2020 he officially started.  He has only been working a two-hour shift one day a week.  We're hoping it picks up. It is hardly worth the effort at this point.  I keep telling him he almost needs a second job.  He made more working a half hour each day during school lunch than this gig.

Changes and more changes

 We have now been in our house for 17 years.  About 16 years too long for Curtis.  He would love to more and have something different, just because he likes change.  I keep telling him there is no reason to move.  He wants to move just to move and I can't think of a bigger pain in the butt inconvenience than moving because it sounds fun.  We settled on doing some much-needed improvements.

We started with the back door.  The glass sliding door was getting too hard to open.  We have already had it fixed once, it was needing another fix.  I could tell we could keep fixing it every few years or it was time to replace it.  We did that and then a little extra.

This is what the room looked like the majority of the past 17 years

Last October I changed out the window treatments.  The windows and doors at different levels always bothered me.

This is the After

The Kitchen got a facelift as well.

Before

After

A few more changes

We had been talking about Curtis getting a new car for a while.  His little convertible BMW was fun, but it wasn't that comfortable to ride in.  It was really low to the ground, it hurt my back driving long distance, I couldn't imagine what it was doing to Curtis' already compromised back.  The back seat was tiny.  It was ok for short trips when the kids were smaller.  Now they are almost all adult size and it is not comfortable back there, nor did we all fit.  The engine still ran well, the issues were the tires and rims.  They were some special fancy-schmancy thing and it wasn't easy or cheap to repair.  We had to keep throwing more money and the rims were due for another $1000ish repair.  I said I'm done we're not putting any more money into that car, especially since we just had it fixed for the same thing back in May.  It was time to take the plunge.  Curtis finally decided on the Tesla S.  He thought he wanted the X, but when he drove it a few months ago, he wasn't getting excited about it.  Test driving the S sealed the deal.  Curtis' Dad happened to be in town, so he went down and picked up the car with him.

Curtis loves his new car.  It is super fast.

First day of School 2020

 School started two weeks later than usual because of COVID.  In order to make up the time a week will be taken off Fall break and a week off Spring Break. School is still online for at least the first quarter.

Trey has decided to return to Jacobson and go back to the Gifted program.  When he met his teacher she said there are only 7 kids in his class for now.  The rest have opted to do true "online school" rather than distance learning which is what my kids are doing.  Distance learning is like a video chat/Zoom call.  Everyone logs into Google Classroom at the designated start time and the teacher can see all the kids and they see her, she teaches as if she were face to face with everyone.  Online school is login, read material, do assignments at your own pace.

Trey and I went to meet the teacher.  It was different than usual.  We had to schedule the 15 minutes time slot, we had to wear masks and only one parent was allowed to come.  Trey was a little uneasy about the returning to school situation. Knowing there were only 7 kids in his class and plenty of room to "social distance" made him feel better about face to face to school when the time is right.

I snapped this picture of Trey hanging out as we were waiting for our turn to enter his classroom.  I figured this was my shot at this years "first day of school photo"  After I snapped it Trey said, "that was awesome I didn't even have to smile for that picture."  COVID has been much easier on the introverts.

And this is our school for now.  Derek and Trey login and talk to their teachers/classmates through headphones and video chat.

That was fast.

Dax turned 20 today.  It really does not seem that long ago that I was in the hospital getting ready to deliver him.  The TV was on in the room and it was playing the first season of the show Survivor   That show is still on, so it couldn't have been that long ago?? I still remember who got kicked off in that episode it was a memorable day for us.  Dax didn't want to much for his birthday, he just wanted to go to Culvers with the family on Saturday night, then we had donuts for breakfast on Sunday and I made his favorite Copy Cat Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup for dinner.  We also gave him gift cards to Cane's one of his favorite restaurants and gift cards for a few car washes.  He may also sign up for some classes to take improve his 3D modeling skills.

He got the VIP treatment .

Cool Weather Reprieve

I had this mostly written then something happened and it all disappeared twice.  Here goes round three.

We just got back from a few days In San Diego.  Curtis' Real Estate Friends Kevin K and Fred W invited us to join them with their families again this year.  Kevin and Fred had planned to be in San Diego from July 11-25.  When I originally made the arrangements I knew that wasn't possible since our Derek and Trey were scheduled to go back to school on July 22. I also knew our kids would revolt if they were away from home for more than 5 days.  They are homebodies.
Since June the COVID numbers in Arizona started to spike. The first day of school was pushed back to August 5, a week after that announcement they said school will be online for the first few weeks.  As of now, they are pushing school to be online until October.  It is a very fluid situation and nothing is certain.  Reminds me of this meme.

Some states are not allowing visitors from Arizona because of our COVID numbers.  Luckily Californa also has high COVID numbers so they let us in.  They actually have more restrictions on business and wearing masks.  As long as the beach was open we were happy to go to San Diego for a few days and get out of the heat. We stayed for five nights.

I took very few pictures because I wanted my kids to enjoy this trip.  Right now they don't enjoy photos.

We stayed in the same condo as last year. Just steps from the beach and right next door to where Kevin and his family stayed, and two doors down from Fred and his family. It is a great location and a nice little beach house.  We even took our dog Oreo this year.

Just as we were getting ready to do smores on the beach with our friends Derek and Trey hobbled back from the beach.  Derek had been stung by a stingray.  This is his second incident, he handled it much better this time.   The first time that happened in Mexico a few years ago in addition to a scorpion sting before that. That kid's foot has taken a few beatings.

Trey cleaning up after the beach

Derek after getting stung on his foot by a stingray

recovering after the stingray incident

We went on a Kayak adventure with Kevin, Fried, and Nick T. (one of Curtis' Real Estate friends who now lives in San Diego)  Derek stayed home recovering from his wounds.  Dax, Trey, and I joined the adventure.
We saw some cool things on the Kayak adventure.  I did not take my camera because the tour company said there was a good chance it would get lost or wet.  As much as I wish I had taken some pictures of us on this adventure, I'm glad I didn't take my phone/camera.  We watched a guy lose his phone in the ocean.  He was devastated.  I took these pictures from the internet.

The owner wanted his house to look like a sandcastle.  I was already ginormous, then he added on the left side. The house sold for $20 million

This is the Rose Canyon Fault Line.  

Leopard sharks, they say they are harmless.  I didn't see any, but others on our tour did.

We saw the Rose Canyon Fault Line, the fault itself was not that interesting, but the homes right above it were amazing.  They were beautiful and expensive with an incredible view of the bay.  The only problem is the homes are moving because of the fault line. Some homes even fall into the ocean, and the owner is responsible for the cleanup.  One guy paid to move his home further back 5 times.  The city has said no more.  You are as far back as you can possibly be.  Very expensive and risky price to pay for the view.

We saw Sea Lions and Seals   They were kind of cool, barking at us and climbing up rocks.

The Lorax Tree inspiration.

 Dr. Seuss used to hang at his friends house that looked out to the bay to get inspiration for his books. The friend's house was right next to the Sand Castle house.  These orange fish, Garibaldi Fish, are the CA state fish.  This was his inspiration for One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, nothing rhymed with orange so he changed it to red.  We also saw trees that reminded me of Dr. Seuss Trees.  I am not really a fan of Dr. Seuss.  Some of his illustrations remind me of a bad dream.  After seeing these fish, trees, and the area where he found the inspiration I feel like I understand him a little better.  Kudos to Dr. Suess for writing books that get kids to read.  I know HOP on POP was the book that got my kids reading. For some reason my kids like Fox in Socks.  Trey was attempting to memorize it. 

Giribaldi fish, the inspiration for Dr. Seuss.

We were able to go into these sea caves.  This was the first time in several months they were able to take a tour in because the conditions were not safe.

This is not our actual guide, but he did something similar.

One of our guides said that if he could get four people to try to stand in the kayak for 10 seconds without tipping over he would do a headstand. Trey raised his hand and volunteered to stand in the Kayak.   He stood up for 7 seconds without falling in.  I don't think Dax was impressed since they were sharing a kayak and Dax did not want to end up in the water.  Trey was feeling pretty confident so he stood up again.  That attempt didn't go as well, he went straight into the water fully clothed, tennis shoes and all.   Then our friend, Nick, attempted.  He was not very successful and went straight in and lost his sunglasses.  Then Trey did a little trash talking that Nick was outdone by an 11-year-old.  I was proud of Trey for trying and it made the adventure a little more fun and memorable.  We warned Dax and Trey to wear clothes and shoes that would get wet.  They didn't want to take the advice of the tour company.  After we were done Trey said "I know why you should wear clothes that can get wet"

Nick snapped this picture of Curtis and I.  It took everything in my to crack this smile, I was feeling very seasick during this adventure.

Overall we had a good trip.  I promised my kids no posing for pics, so this is the family picture I got of our family on the beach.

Festivus 2020

 

Trey Johnson, Henry Jones, Soren Andersen, Jack Lueck

Trey was invited to go boating with his friends for Soren's 11th Birthday.  Trey had a great time, but he was pretty sore the next day.  

June is always a fun month.  We have a double whammy of celebrations for Curtis.  We have his birthday back to back with Father's Day.  Depending on how the calendar falls sometimes his Birthday is first sometimes Father's day is first.  This year it was the Birthday that came first.

Happy Birthday VIP Breakfast- The gift was a whipped cream dispenser.  Now Curtis can make his own whipped cream and squirt it into his mouth.

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Happy Father's Day.  His gift was a countertop water boiler for his hot drinks.

Independence day celebrations were canceled due to COVID.  We were on our own to do our own fireworks.  I went to the firework stand and bought a good supply.  I told her I don't want a bunch of loud noise makers.  I want fountains and things that look pretty.  I later discovered that was a mistake.



I was trying to make a festive watermelon that looked something like this.

I was in the process of making this spectacular creation when Trey woke up he saw what I was doing and the first thing he said was "Can I blow that up?"  I was reminded that I live with boys and I should have gotten more fireworks that go boom and let my boys be boys and do their thing of "blowing crap up" instead of creating fluff and pretty stuff.

Happy 4th of July

Trey-trying to blowup a watermelon without the proper equipment.

We lit off some fireworks in the backyard.  It was fun-ish.  Dax didn't want to participate and the kids got bored after a while.  We have some fireworks left over for New Years.  This time I will buy supplies so they can blow stuff up.

More COVID

This is AZ COVID deaths as of April 5. When President Trump shut the country down in mid March there were only 300 deaths.  I thought that was extreme measures for 300 deaths

This is COVID deaths as of 6/28/20  You can see how much it spiked in the last few weeks.

Mr. Lee-Trey's 5th grade teacher

The school year officially came to end, very uneventful this year since they have already been home for 8 weeks.  The most exciting thing was the teachers did a drive-by parade to say goodbye.  Trey and I did that.  I drove, he stuck his head out of the sunroof, waved at teachers and took pics. Hopefully, Trey will return to Jacobson for 6th grade.  He thought he missed Hancock, turned out he really liked the gifted program at Jacobson, he plans to go back.  I say hopefully because we don't know if schools will open in the fall or if it will be more online.

Mrs. Hull  has been the principal for 16 years since Hancock opened.  She is now retiring, no party for her 

Turns out 2020 has been pretty much awful for the entire world. It started with the news of Coronavirs breaking out late in 2019 in China then it started to spread throughout the world, then... the events just didn't stop.   I will briefly touch on a few things, leaving out many other awful events, that I really don't know the details because since 2012 I really try to avoid the news.

January

-Australian brush fires in January that were burning out of control and destroying millions of acres.
-The US killed an Iranian General with a drone strike because they were a threat.  People feared it would cause another world war.  We knew it wouldn't and it didn't. It definitely raised some fear.

- Kobe Bryant and his daughter were killed in a helicopter crash

February

-2020 is an election year-  The kick-off to the primaries was Iowa caucus, which was a complete disaster and they didn't get the results for several days later.

-First responders in Texas were attacked by a swarm of 40,000 bees
-the stock market crashes due to fears of COVID.

March
-COVID is starting to spread in the US.  NBA and MLB are canceled March 11,  March 12 the country is pretty much shut down on quarantine.

- The Summer Olympics to be held in Tokyo this summer a postponed until 2021 because of Coronavirus.

- 5.7 earthquake in UTAH- that is unusual

- Schools are shut down for the rest of the school year. Everything will be done online.

April
-COVID shutdown continues in US, the US economy continues to tank with unemployment skyrocketing
- Mass shooting in Canada
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may or may not be dead.  Rumors fly, nobody knows for sure.  Turns out he is alive.

May-
-"Murder Hornets" were spotted in the US specifically Washington State.

-5/6 Video footage of an unarmed black man, Ahmaud Arbery, was released from February showing Arbery being gunned down and killed by two white men while he was jogging in a Georgia neighborhood.

Black and white racial tensions are heating up

5/25 George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who had his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes. Floyd’s death caused an uproar across the globe, with protests popping up worldwide. This caused Riots, burning of police stations.  Looting.  Our local malls in the Phoenix area had just barley opened up from being closed for the quarantine.  They boarded up the store fronts and closed the mall to prevent more riots and looting. 

June

-Protests continue from "Black Lives Matter"  statues are being torn down by any founding father who owned slaves.  National monuments are being vandalized.  If you say anything other than "Black Lives Matter" you are considered a racist. "Black Lives Matter" and other liberal groups are calling to defund the police.  Minneapolis, where this whole mess started, has already voted to disband their police department.  I don't see how any good can come of that.

-Another Police shooting in Atlanta, GA.  The man was approached by police because he was passed out in Wendy's drive-through.  He resisted arrest, then he fought with police and tried to take their Tazer.  The Police shot and killed him, leading to more riots in Atlanta and throughout the country.

-Arizona COVID Numbers are spiking.  We are now required to wear masks in public. We could be facing another shut down.

- School was scheduled to start July 22.  The School superintendent decided to push back the start date two weeks to August 5.  They will take a week off of Fall break and a week off Spring break. I'm still not certain school will actually resume August 5th.

This is Trey and I masked up heading to a Dr. appointment