Almost to the Finish Line

 

On Monday, March 22, 2021 The Arizona Department of Health announced that anyone over 16 years is now eligible for the COVID 19 vaccine starting on Wednesday, March 24.  Perfect that means 4/5 of our family members qualify except we found out on Tuesday March 23 we were all COVID positive. UGHH the irony.

About March 10, Curtis started not feeling well.  He had found out that a Coworker was positive for COVID.  His family had come to visit from Minnesota, while they were visiting they all got sick and then spread it to the family they had visited.  Curtis didn't originally think that it was COVID because he didn't actually spend much time around the sick person.  The day he had really planned to work side by side the sick person didn't happen because the guy called in sick.  Curtis wasn't feeling well, but it didn't feel like typical COVID symptoms, loss of smell/taste ets.

We had planned to take a little Spring Break trip around Northern Arizona, we dicided to put it off a day until Curtis started feeling better.  We left Wednesday headed up to Holbrook/the Petrified forest

On the drive up we spotted a few patches of snow.  We stopped to play for a bit.  Trey soon learned snow is hard to play in when you don't have snow gear.  Luckily we did have some gloves in the car, other than that he was getting cold and wet fast.

We made it to the museums outside the Petrified Forest.  I would say this car is overloaded with petrified wood and not going anywhere.

This car looks small next to Trey.  Just overloaded.

Portions of the "Painted Desert"

More beautiful Arizona

After leaving the Petrified Forrest/Painted Desert.  We headed to the metropolis of Holbrook, Arizona.  Trey and Curtis were not impressed.  I loved it mostly because of nostalgia.

I know this Wigwam Motel is probably an actual outdated dump of a hotel, and it is kind of a joke to everyone in Northern Arizona, but I still like it and I think it would be fun to stay there just because it has character.  It is also the inspiration to the Cozy Cone from the movie Cars.  I have tried more than once to get a reservation.  I don't know if they are actually that booked up or they just don't use technology like online reservations or a telephone etc, but I have never found success.

Cars Land Inspiration-Wigwam Motel/Cozy Cone

Cozy Cone

I love Cars Land.  The movie came out when my boys were young, it was a great Disney boy movie.  I also thought there were some really funny lines in that movie.  I also love the actual "Cars Land" in California Adventure.  That place is amazing, you literally feel like you are in the movie.  I love the 1950's Neon look everywhere, I love that the town of "Radiator Springs" is loosely based on Northern Arizona, my home growing up. 

We had originally planned to wake up the next morning and head west over to Flagstaff or Williams.  We didn't have a solid plan.  Trey woke up feeling awful and said it was the worse night of his life.  He had a fever, didn't sleep well and felt awful.  We just assumed he had caught the same bug Curtis had.  We scrapped our plans and started to head home.  First we made a stop in Winslow, AZ.  I had only been to Winslow once in my life.  I was in first grade and we took a field trip by riding an Amtrack train from Flagstaff to Winslow.  We got off the train ate lunch, then rode a school bus back to Flagstaff.  That town was sad.  It really had nothing going for it.  I'm really happy Jackson Browne, and Glenn Frey mentioned it in a song otherwise there would be NOTHING going for that sad town. I have known a few people from Winslow, I feel sorry for them.

"Standing in a Corner" monument This literally was the nicest part of town.

"Covid Trey" in front of a Flat Bed Ford

I like how they incorporated an Eagle in the painting.  A tribute to the band.

We made it home Thursday afternoon. Then things really started to get ugly at our house.  Covid came in and just started kicking butt and taking names.  Taking us down one by one.  Today is three weeks since Curtis first felt sick and aside from his lingering cough, he said today is the first day he feels normal.  I think Dax and Trey are feeling pretty good.  I feel mostly better, my stomach still hurts and I have a cough.  Derek is still feeling awful.  I hope he can return to school this school year.  He has been out since February 19.  Derek was having his normal sinus/allergy sickness.  We did finally find out he has sinus polyps.  I think Derek felt good for about 3 days during spring break then COVID hit .  UGHH it has been rough.

Greek Heroes of the Underworld

 Trey is doing a unit in school on Greek Mythology he was assigned the Greek God Hades, the ruler of the underworld to research. The irony is Dax is also taking a college-level class on Greek Heroes he was assigned "Satan".  I don't quite understand how Satan is a Greek God, but somehow they threw in a modern twist with a DC Comic character and that is how is he Satan.

The sixth graders had a "Wax Museum" where everyone dressed up as their Greek God and the parents got to do a drive-by.  I'm still loving this "drive by" way of doing some things.  This has been one good thing to come out of COVID.  

Derek did this a few years ago and he was Cupid.  I recycled the Tunic/Toga white dress that Derek used.  Then Trey came up with the Helmet.  He did well.  His idea was much better than I would have come up with.  Trey told me this Hadas character wore a helmet.  I was like "perfect you had a black bike helmet, put that on, and your done"  Trey insisted that was not going to work.  After he showed me a picture of what Hades actually looked like, I realized how stupid my idea was.

Hades during a pandemic wearing a mask.  This costume went to school in various parts so this is the only picture I got of the final product.

Now for the rest of the 6th Grade Greek/Roman Wax Museum

This is Cerberus (Ryan) the three-headed dog.  This is actually Hades' Dog in mythology.  I thought this costume was great.  Trey went to Preschool with Ryan and his mom, Karyn told me about Ryan's costume I was grateful for the Hades costume.  Not too difficut. I don't know how she pulled Cerberus off, but this is fantastic.

Some of these costumes were really clever.  I thought it was a great project.

Rookie Driver

 I am so happy,  Derek finally got his Drivers License.  Derek has been ready to get his license for several months, but because of COVID it wasn't possible because the DMV was shut down, then it was possible but it was a very long wait through the DMV.  

Derek really didn't feel an urgency to get his license.  Once Derek started his job at McDonald's I really wanted him to get his license.  I felt it was unnecessary to inconvenience (mostly me) and the other drivers getting him to and from work on Saturday and Sunday mornings., Waiting for him to call for a ride etc when he was capable.   Work wasn't the only place he needed me to drive him to and from especially when he was capable of driving himself, we just had to make it legal.  I told Derek for my Birthday I wanted my gift to be that he got his license.  Derek was sick the week of and the week after my birthday, so it didn't happen then.  

I then promoted the Driver's license to be my Christmas gift.  Derek set up his driver's test through the 3rd party on 12/8/20.  The third-party was about triple the price of the DMV ($25 vs $112 for the travelers license)  but the "convenience fee" was well worth it to get this task done.

We showed up,  filled out the paperwork, then waited to do the road test.  I was not near as nervous waiting for Derek to come back from his road test as I was with Dax. I don't think it had anything to do with their skill level being any different, I think Dax was just my first driver to go through that.

I saw Derek and the examiner come back in from the test.  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the examiner walking toward me as she headed toward her desk.  Right as she walked past me she subtly said "passed"  I looked up and Derek was waiting in the line to complete the next steps.  I gave him a thumbs up.  I was so happy and proud of him.

I went home and got online to buy him  the Hamilton High student parking permit, although he couldn't officially park there until he received the permit which they would give him at school. They gave it to him at school on Thursday.

Friday morning Derek woke up and was getting ready to take the bus.  I said why are you taking the bus?  He said "because it is coming in a few minutes"  I reminded him that was the whole point of me getting him an HHS parking permit for $60.  I told him he can sleep in a little later and if he has to stay after school (often lately) I don't have to scramble to pick up him and Trey at the same time.  He grabs the keys and heads out to the car. As he fumbles with the keys to open the car  I hear the car panic alarm start chirping, then as he fumbles to turn it off it gets louder.  I start laughing because he is new to this driving thing.  I peeked out the window to watch him pull out.  Oh no!! It is garbage day and I could see that he was going to back straight into the garbage can on the street.  I kept saying out loud,  "don't hit the garbage, don't hit the garbage" bonk... he hit the garbage.  Luckily he didn't knock it over.  He pulled back in and moved the car way over to back out.  I was laughing at such Rookie mistakes that he will only learn through experience. 

When Derek got home from school I asked him how it felt to drive himself.  He said it was alright, but he would prefer to take the bus, it wasn't worth the hassle.  WHAT are you talking about? the freedom and independence of driving yourself versus waiting for the bus outside in the cold or heat (depending on the time of year) riding in the noise and chaos of loud kids blaring their music, and you could sleep in 15 more minutes.  What is wrong with this kid?  It turns out the windows were all fogged up and he didn't know how to use the defroster (We never got to that lesson learning to drive in Phoenix).  He actually didn't even know the defroster existed, and that he why he hit the garbage can because he couldn't see it.  He would rather ride the bus than deal with driving in frosted fogged up windows.  I showed him how to use the defroster, then the next morning he drove himself to work at 5:45 am.  It was wonderful for me.  Then I could go about my day and he drove himself home when he was done, I didn't have to wait around for him to call for a ride. We never know exactly what time he gets off, it just depends on how busy they are, so it is kind of a pain for us.

After he had been home from work for a bit we were talking and he went "wait so I can drive myself to Maricopa  (20 miles each way) to see my friends today" YEP.  OHHHH the realization of the freedom and independence of having a driver's license is finally sinking in.  It was a great moment for me.

Forgery

 I got this email from Treyson's Technology teacher.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, my name is Michelle Merillat and I am Treyson’s Technology teacher at Jacobson.  He was supposed to get a signed letter from you discussing ways to help him remember to bring his earbuds/headphones to school on Day 6 so that he has them for my class.  He brought the letter back to me with a forged signature.  Please talk to him about this and let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

When I initially read this, I thought it was odd that Trey would forge one of  our signatures.  I'm not saying he is perfect, but that just didn't seem like him.  I actually couldn't understand what she was even talking about at first.  I looked at the "parent signature"  and I thought that is not mine or Trey's handwriting (see his handwriting in the body of the letter compared to the parent signature)    What is going on???  Then I realized Trey used his "best" handwriting to write my name.  It isn't my signature, but it was actually legible. Why can't he write like that all the time. I was shocked that fine penmanship came out of his hand.

  I finally put it all together and this is my response.

Ms. Merillat,

I am so sorry about this situation.  I just talked to Trey about this, and I think I am partly to blame for this miscommunication.  Before the school year started I bought Trey two sets of earbuds.  

One for home and one for school.  When school didn't start up in person right away because of COVID, I ended up giving the second set of earbuds to another family member.  

I thought I had told Trey that and I would need to get him a new pair.  Maybe I did, maybe I didn't?? Either way, he didn't know what had happened to the second set and I forgot to replace them.  

 It turns out he thought he had lost the second pair and he was afraid to bring it up because he thought he would get in trouble for losing them.  We had a good talk about working out problems and not avoiding them. 

 He should not be afraid to come to his family with a problem

I will get him a new set today and he should be good to go.

I thought it was "funny/not funny"   Trey tried to forge my signature to deal with this problem.  I told him next time go to one of his brothers for help if he doesn't want to tell a parent, but don't ignore it.

How do I get that kid to write this nice everyday?