The year is almost over!

 Nathan finished volleyball.  They didn't win any more games.  I drove Nathan, Killian and Berto to the game at Red Rock Elementary on 11/28.  12/6 they played MASSA.  12/7 was their last day of volleyball and they did a double header in Casa Grande.  I drove Nathan, Killian and Berto again.  We all went to Chick-Fil-A afterward.  Killian went home with his grandma.  Berto ended up going in the car with the other group back to the school because Ben went home with his brother.  That way we didn't have to go all of the way back to the school and back track to our house.  Nathan got a certificate for Most Improved for the season.

Nathan had his Winter Recital at school on 12/9.  He played Jingle Bell Rock on the guitar with his class.  He is supposed to be one of the lead guitarists in the upcoming Spring Recital.  He is also expanding his horizons and got a ukulele for Christmas/Birthday using the guitar center gift cards that Aunt Lisa and Aunt Tracy sent him.  He has already taught himself how to play Jingle Bell Rock on the ukulele.  I am impressed that he can play both given there are some differences between the two.  "Guitars have six strings tuned from the lowest to highest (most often E-A-D-G-B-E), while ukuleles only have four and don't follow low-to-high order" We tried recording him playing Jingle Bell Rock on the ukulele to send to Aunt Lisa and Aunt Tracy. He said he kept messing up at the end. He didn't give up, though. He kept doing it until he got right. He also wants to get a banjo.  Grandma June sent him money for Christmas/Birthday to get a banjo.

We got snow on 12/12.  I first went to Sabino Canyon to see it, but it was raining heavy at the time and very foggy.  I heard there was snow in Oracle so I headed that way.  It was snowing pretty good there, but there was really no place to pull over for pictures.  I was going to go to Oracle State Park, but decided I did not want to risk getting stuck in the snow with my car.  I headed back and saw a lot of snow on the Catalinas on the north side so I stopped at Catalina State Park.  I am really glad I did.  I hiked across the wash since there was no water running.  I saw some javelina crossing the wash with me.  I usually don't go across the wash so it was great to get closer to the mountain and take pictures of the snow.  

I went back to Sabino Canyon on 12/13.  There really wasn't much snow there so it was disappointing.  The Fall colors were just about gone.  There was some water flowing.  I always like going to Sabino Canyon so it was still a good day.  

Nathan turned 13 on 12/15.  We have a teenager!  He asked a few friends to go to Funtasticks after school that day, but Killian was the only one who could make it.  Dad took them and they had a good time.  We got Nathan a Nerf cake at Walmart.  That day was also the end of Q2 at school and his last day before Winter Break.  Nathan ended the quarter on honor roll with all As and 2 Bs!  He even got his Algebra grade up from a D to a B, with dad's help.  He got a 97.84 in social studies, 99.33 in computer science, 100 in PE, 98.67 in guitar, 84.91 in science, 88.09 in algebra, 100 in russian and 95.57 in humanities for a GPA of 95.55.    

Nathan and I went to Odyssey and Butterfly Wonderland on 12/21 and then to eat at Grimaldi's.  We didn't see Jalapeno, the pufferfish at first, but thanks to mom we went back to the water tunnel where he lives and he came out!    

Nathan had his annual checkup at the pediatrician's office on 12/22.  I was really shocked at the questionnaire they gave us when we got there.  Now that he is a teenager, I guess this is the questionnaire they give them.  ?s about alcohol use, drug use, smoking, sexual activity, sexual orientation, depression, if there is a gun in the house, etc...  He just turned 13 and he has a room full of stuffed animals!  He really isn't even interested in girls yet.  I guess it is time for dad to have the sex talk with him soon, though.  He probably knows more than we think he does.  Nathan weighs 112 lbs and he is in the 68th percentile for his age.  He is 63.4 inches (5'3.5") tall and he is in the 69th percentile for height for his age.  He grew 4" this past year.  People even notice how big his feet are.  He is wearing a size 9 and dad wears a size 10.  So I hope that means that he is still going to grow taller.  I don't want him to be short like me, although he has already passed me up!  His BMI is 19.5 which is the 64th percentile.  He got his second HPV vaccination this visit.  She also said that he has mild scoliosis.  She could tell right away because his shoulders are uneven.  She said most likely he won't experience any symptoms at his age, but it could cause him back pain later that may require physical therapy.  

We went to Winterhaven 12/22.  Paul and Nathan did not make the whole thing.  They went back to the car.  Most of the houses were the same as last year.  I didn't see the grandma got ran over by a reindeer house, though.  I don't think they decorated this year.  

We all went to NTBC Christmas Eve since I was singing in the choir.  Christmas Day we both had church at our churches so we went to church that day, too.  Nathan "opened" his gifts that morning.  A couple of weeks ago he told me in the car that he knew there was no santa.  I asked him what made him think that.  I don't remember what his response was, but I basically confirmed.  He seemed upset and asked why parents lie to kids like that.  I was caught off guard.  I said that there isn't just one santa, but that we are all like santa because Christmas is the season of giving.  I also said Christmas is about Jesus, though.  Since he knows there is no santa now and since he and dad picked out most of his gifts at Hobby Lobby and Walmart, he told me I didn't have to wrap them.  So I stuck them all in a gift bag.  We didn't even get ornaments on the tree this year.  Paul didn't get the tree up until late and there was only like 10 days until Christmas so I didn't think it was worth the time and effort to put the ornaments on.  Nathan still seemed happy on Christmas Day with his gifts.  

Nathan and I went to Reid Park Zoo on 12/26.  We also went to see the TWO wood ducks in Reid Park.  Nathan was getting impatient with me taking pictures of the ducks.  Then we ate at Sauce and returned to the zoo for Zoo Lights.  

We all went to Wildlife World Zoo the next day on 12/27.  We ate dinner there at Dillon's.  

 

Quick Updates

 Nathan had an away volleyball game as MASSA on Wednesday.  It turned into quite the ordeal.  It was early release day at school so I was supposed to pick him up from school at 1:10.  We were going to go home, grab a bite to eat and then head to MASSA to be there by 4.  I was at the school to pick him up when I got a phone call from Paul.  Nathan called home and asked if he could go with some teammates to the game.  Several of them were going to get pizza and go to the game together.  Paul told him yes.  There were several problems with that.  One, I was already at the school to pick him up.  Two, we don't even know the parents of the boy who was going to take them from school and drive them to the game.  Three, Nathan didn't have his volleyball clothes with him because he was supposed to come home first.  So I didn't go to the game.  I texted Paul and told him that Nathan's volleyball clothes were sitting on the couch.  He didn't get the text in time.  Nathan also called home and left a message about the clothes, but Paul was in the shower and never got the message.  Paul went to the game.  Nathan was unable to play because he didn't have his clothes and his team lost.  This was their sister school who they actually won against when they had a home game.  A very disappointing day.  Lesson learned is to not make those kind of decisions last minute without thinking everything through.  It takes me 20+ minutes to drive to the school and I was already there.  I was not a happy camper.  Nathan ended up not being a happy camper either because he didn't get to play.  

They have another away game on Monday at Red Rock Elementary.  The coach is asking for parents to drive the team there.  Not sure yet how we are going to handle that.

Thanksgiving we stayed home and didn't do anything.  Paul just cooked out some steaks and hot dogs.  

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to put Bella down.  I had told Paul earlier in the week that if he wanted to do it, he would have to call and set it up because I couldn't handle it.  He decided to do it on Friday.  He wanted to "get it done" so that he could shampoo the carpets and get the Christmas tree up. I had prolonging it ever since Bella had her exam several months ago and her bloodwork came back abnormal.  The vet told us at that time that he would support any decision we made about her quality of life.  I was not ready to lose her yet because we just lost Tulla on 6/30.  Bella had arthritis and recently was having trouble controlling her bowels.  I knew it was time.  It doesn't make it any easier.  I was very close to her.  Paul took her to the vet yesterday to get the procedure done while Nathan and I stayed home.  We thought it would be easiest that way.     

It's the end of the year already!

 Nathan finished the 1st quarter of school and decided he didn't want to continue Chess Club.  He got a discipline signature while in Chess Club because he drew a bad picture on one of the boy's papers.  He said the boy had been bothering him and the Chess Club leader (who is also his Guitar teacher) wasn't doing anything about it.  We told him that was not an excuse to do what he did.  He really wasn't enjoying Chess Club, though.  I think he was better than most of the other kids so it wasn't challenging enough.  He got a second signature in his planner for horseplay.  Supposedly another boy hit him in passing in between classes so Nathan ran after him to ask him why he hit him.  Running was considered horseplay.  

Nathan also struggled academically the 1st quarter, at least in Math.  He ended the quarter with a D!  Nathan has never got below a B in any class his entire life.  It was quite frustrating.  They got a new math teacher partway into the 1st quarter.  Supposedly, the new teacher is fresh out of college.  I sent him a message showing our concern about Nathan's grade and asked what we could do about it, even suggesting Nathan stay after school for help.  He never replied.  I then sent a message to the Vice Principal and also did not get a reply.  When I sent a 2nd message to him he finally replied, but by then the quarter was almost over and there was not much to be done.  He told me that this year they moved the 7th grade up 2 levels in math to Algebra 1 instead of just being 1 level up.  Not sure why they would do that because Nathan said the 6th graders didn't get very good grades in math last year to justify such a move.  The Vice Principal confirmed the whole 7th grade was struggling in Algebra so they were going to discuss to see how to go forward.  The math teacher put in a bunch of grades in the system on the LAST day of the quarter and then replied to me the following day to tell me that he put more grades in the system and that Nathan was doing better in the class.  I replied that he put all of the grades in on the last day of quarter which did not help us know how he was doing DURING the quarter and that his grade didn't even improve much because he still ended up with  a D!  Once again, he never replied.  However, the Vice Principal eventually sent out a message to everyone saying that they decided to go down TWO levels for the 7th graders so that they will be doing actual 7th grade math.  I thought this would take effect the 2nd quarter.  However, they are still doing Algebra this quarter.  Supposedly, they are making it a little bit easier, but Nathan is still struggling.  As of this writing, he is getting a C in Algebra.  Paul started going over the work with him and part of the problem is that Nathan is not writing out his work and not spending enough time doing the homework.  He can no longer breeze by in math like he used to do.  He has to do actual work and he's being too lazy.  Anyway, I guess they will go down to 7th grade math in the 2nd semester so we will see how that goes.  

Nathan ended Q1:

93.5 Social Studies

99.4 Computer Science 

96 PE

95.71 Guitar

100 Russian

89.79 Humanities

85.55 Science

68.52 Algebra 1

91.1 GPA

So he still ended the quarter on "honor roll".  Another disappointing part, though, was that he had all As going except Algebra up until the last week when they were "finalizing" the grades for the quarter.  His Humanities went down from a 90.58 to 89.79 and Science changed from 100 to 85.55!  That is why I hate that teachers put in so many grades right at the end of the quarter when there is nothing that can be done to improve them at that point and they can dramatically affect their GPA.  

Nathan had been struggling in Guitar class, too, because he was one of the few who had never played before.  We decided to buy him a guitar and get him lessons.  He had his first lesson on 9/10.  We have extended those lessons so every Saturday he has been going to his guitar lessons.  He has a music concert coming up at school on 12/9.  He is going to be one of the lead guitarists!  He also taught himself how to play happy birthday on the guitar so I recorded him and sent that to grandpa on his birthday 10/18.  

Nathan also joined the boys volleyball team at school.  His first game was 10/27 at home against Legacy Casa Grande.  They lost, but it was close.  They lost the first game, won the second, but then lost the tiebreaker.  Paul and I both went to the game at Sporting Chance in Tucson.  Their next game was on 11/1 at Grande Innovation Academy in Casa Grande!  I made the long drive to see the game.  They lost :(  They had another home game at Sporting Chance in Tucson against MASSA, their sister school on 11/3.  They won!  They lost the 1st game, won the 2nd and then won the tiebreaker!  Paul and I were both at the game to see Nathan win!  Their next game was on 11/7 at Desert Wind Middle School in Maricopa.  I made the long drive again to see his game only to get there and be told that our school was having transportation troubles and may not show up.  Luckily, they arrived 5 minutes late and were able to still play.  Unfortunately, they lost.  They lost the 1st and 2nd games so they didn't even have to play a tiebreaker.  Their next game was on 11/10 at home at Sporting Chance against Red Rock Elementary.  Unfortunately, I was sick that day and unable to go to the game.  Paul went to his game.  They lost again.  They lost the 1st and 2nd games so there was no tiebreaker.  They were supposed to have a game on 11/14 away at MASSA (in Tucson), but it had to be rescheduled because our coach was sick that day.           

On 8/11, I went up to Mount Lemmon.  I didn't go all of the way to the top, but I was just hoping to see some waterfalls.  So then I made a quick stop at Sabino Canyon to see the water flowing there, too.

On 8/15, I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens, Green Things Nursery and Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  

I went to Pima Prickly Park on 8/17 to see the barrel cacti blooming.  At home my First Light and June Noon bloomed.

I went back up to Mount Lemmon on 8/22.  

I went to Tohono Chul Park 8/25.  

My June Noon bloomed again on 8/26.

I went to Reid Park Zoo 9/7.  

I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens and Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens on 9/9.  

On 9/22, I went to Sweetwater Wetlands, Reid Park and Reid Park Zoo.  

I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens 9/28.

I went back to the Tucson Botanical Gardens on 10/3 to see the opening of Butterfly Magic.  I also went to the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  

Nathan and I went to the Marana Pumpkin Patch Sunflower Festival on 10/6.  This was the first year they were doing a sunflower festival.  Unfortunately, we didn't spend a lot of time there because Nathan was getting a skin reaction from the sunflowers.  The sunflowers were pretty, but they only had the one traditional kind.  It was also expensive to go to it.  It cost us close to $20 each to get tickets.  They have a lot to learn from Apple Annie's who has a wide variety of sunflowers and it's free to see them!

I went up to Mount Lemmon to see if there were any Fall colors on 10/10.  The colors were just getting started.  What I didn't expect to see on the mountain that day was snow!  I was coming back down and right by the one visitor center it was "snowing".  The meteorologists called it graupel or sleet.  It had rained on me off and on while I was on the mountain, but it was very surreal to see "snow".  Right after I got out to take a few pictures of it, I went further down the mountain past Mount Bigelow and it turned back to rain.    

I went to photograph the sunflowers at Apple Annie's on 10/14.  It was nice to go by myself and take my time photographing instead of always been rushed by my family.  They went to Apple Annie's on 10/1.  I didn't go because I didn't think either of them really wanted to go.  I thought they were just going for my benefit.  When I said I didn't want to go they still went without me.  They picked their pumpkins and bought some veggies to bring home.  

Nathan's Fall Break was 10/15-10/23.  We didn't go on a vacation due to Paul's health and his work schedule.  Plus, we went to Hawaii earlier in the year which was an expensive trip.  Nathan and I went to Odysea on 10/18 and ate at Grimaldi's.  Nathan was excited to see the pufferfish at the aquarium.  On 10/21, we all went up to see the Fall colors on Mount Lemmon.  They were just about at peak.  I don't think they were as good as last year, but it was still very pretty.  We ate at the Iron Door while we were up there and had an enjoyable Fall day.  

My June Noon bloomed on 10/27.  I also went to the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  

Nathan was a Ghillie for Halloween.  Unfortunately, he didn't try on the costume before Halloween so the pants were big on him and kept falling down.  So then he was complaining the whole time we were trick or treating and said that next year he was dressing up.  Whatever dude!  

The next day, 11/1, I decided to make one more trip up to Mount Lemmon to see the last of the Fall colors.  I am glad I went up.  The colors were almost over and the leaves falling quickly off the trees, but there was enough to satisfy me.  

I went to Sabino Canyon on 11/8,  I took the tram up and walked down.  There was some pretty Fall colors starting in the canyon.  

I went to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens to see the roses on 11/9.  I then went to Tucson Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies again.  Then I went to Reid Park hoping that the Rose Garden would be open, but once again they had it closed.  They have half of the garden ripped up because they are replanting, but the other half looked good from what I could see from the fence.  It's a shame they don't open it up so we can see what it is there.  What is the point and having any of the roses if they don't let anyone see them?!  While there I decided to try and find Woody, the wood duck.  I finally found him!  I had been there 2 times prior and couldn't find him so I was excited to finally see him.  

Unfortunately, after going to Sabino Canyon on 11/8 and to the gardens on 11/9, I felt sick on 11/10.  I had bodyaches, a sore throat, runny nose, I was hot/cold.  I was in bed most of the day and took 3 baths in epson salt.  I missed Nathan's volleyball game that day.  The next day my bodyaches were gone, but it was still all in my head - runny nose, sore throat, watery eyes, sneezing.  Eventually, most of that went away, but as of today the nose is still running.  It's been a week so I am thinking it may now be a sinus infection.  

Because I was sick, I also missed Nathan's Paper Airplane Flyoff at the Pima Air & Space Museum on 10/12.  Nathan competed in his age group, but didn't make the top spots to continue on to the next round.  In the family competition, I guess Nathan threw far, but Paul messed up.  

Day by Day...

 I got a haircut on 7/21 so afterward I stopped at the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  

I went and took some sunset pictures by Contzen Pass on 7/23.

Nathan's first day of school was 7/25.  He got up, took a bath, got dressed, ate breakfast, took the garbage out and was ready to go!  He even smiled for pictures.  He tried to bribe me, but I convinced him to just smile and make mom happy.  Nathan had a good first week back to school.  A lot of subs to start which is kind of crazy.  No homework the first week.  Unfortunately, I picked him up on Friday, 7/29 and he said he had to go to the nurse (front office) because he got overheated during recess.  They gave him an ice pack and he was able to go back to class.  He felt better that night, but the next day he said he had an awful headache, his chest hurt and he wasn't feeling good.  We took him to urgent care.  They did an EKG which was fine, but they were concerned about his high heart rate and chest pain.  He didn't have a fever.  They suggested we go to the ER.  So we went to the ER.  They did another EKG, a chest xray, gave him some pain meds and then tested him for COVID.  The COVID test was positive.  They said to just treat with ibuprofin and tylenol.  He was to stay home from school until Thursday, 8/4.  We informed the school.  They never returned our messages, though, to confirm that he could return on 8/4.  Then they told Paul that he had to get a negative covid test before he could return.  We couldn't find any place to do one that quick so we bought an at home kit from CVS.  It was positive.  The next day we scheduled a free test through the Walgreens drive-thru.  It was positive, too.  Many people told me that it is common to get a false positive after having covid for up to 6 months.  Paul called the school again and they finally told him that he could return on Monday, 8/8.  There were numerous other kids with COVID at the school, too.  

7/28, I went to the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Reid Park Rose Garden and Pima Prickly Park.  

So Nathan went back to school on Monday, 8/8.  Some of the kids were back who were sick, but others were gone because they were sick.  They took a reading readiness test and he said he scored the highest in the class.  He said they are learning cursive this year, but he already learned that at Leman.  He said there are other things they are learning or reviewing that he already knows, too.  He's kind of bored so far.  He had chess club on Monday.  He said there were about 9 kids there.  Some of them had never played before so he won against them.  He seemed to enjoy that.  He has it again on Friday.  

I went to Saguaro National Park, The Desert Museum and Gates Pass on 8/8.  Saw a desert tortoise on the side of the road going through Saguaro National Park!      

Today, Nathan and I got stuck in a monsoon on the way home from school.  Got close to home and Linda Vista was flooded.  So we turned around and went back on the highway to Cortaro.  We decided to get Panda Express and Starbucks.  After we ate, most of the storms had passed and we were able to get home.

Bella had her 6 month vet appointment on Saturday, 8/6.  The vet said her blood tests and exam did not give very good results.  She is a super senior at 14 1/2,  She is also a large breed dog and large breeds do not usually live as long as smaller breeds.  We knew she was having problems.  For awhile she was getting so picky about food that she wasn't eating much so then she wasn't pooping much either.  Her arthritis was getting bad and she was having breathing issues.  However, I found her a dog food that she really likes, Purina moist and meaty.  She has been eating more and her poop has been more normal, except she can't stand still to poop.  I think her arthritis hurts too much.  The blood test showed that she is anemic.  She also lost significant weight, but some of that was because she wasn't eating much for awhile.  He says she may have some internal bleeding and/or a tumor and that her liver could be failing.  He said he would support any decision we would make in regard to her quality of life.  We just lost Tulla about a month ago.  Bella is my baby and I really don't want to lose her yet.  But I also don't want her to be in pain.  For now, we decided to switch her from Rimadyl for her arthritis to a new med that is easier on her liver.  He also gave her a 2nd med to take for pain.  However, it isn't a chewable and she's supposed to take 4 of them a day.  They only had 9 left so I need to get more.  However, Sunday she was having problems even standing to eat.  Her back legs give in.  I pretty much concluded that it is probably time to put her down.  The next morning she seemed to eat better on her legs and she was getting around a little better.  It's such a hard decision.  I don't know if I should get more pain meds or put her down.  I will probably get more tomorrow, but we are still taking this day by day and I suspect she only has weeks left, if that.    

School is in session!

5/26/22 was a pretty exciting day. I woke up to another bloom on my latest cactus purchase. It is a hybrid between a June Noon and something else. I saw it at Bach's Cactus Nursery and had to have it. This is the 2nd bloom. This is the day that I saw a coyote with its 2 pups and a king snake at Tohono Chul Park. I also went to the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens where I saw a roadrunner with its young ones and it had killed a lizard to feed them. That's a good photography day.  

I didn't get a last day of school picture this year because Nathan actually didn't go to school the last half day. He developed a cough the night before. I got a picture of him at church a few days later. He impressed us once again with his Character Attributes Report the last quarter. He got excellent remarks including another increase from the previous quarter. His Best Effort went up from C (Consistent) to E (Exemplary). I think he is very relieved for the school year to be over and he is looking forward to starting a new school next year (which will be here before we know it because his first day of school is 7/25!). He just had to choose his electives for the upcoming school year. For Music, he had to choose between piano and guitar so he chose guitar. For Foreign Language, he he had to choose between Russian and Mandarin so he chose Russian. He had Spanish and Latin at Leman so he is ready to learn something new.

5/31/22 Paul isn't doing well. He's very tired. His stomach is always hurting. He can't really seem to get his blood sugar below 200. He seems to be getting worse. His A1C came back at 12.9 (should be 4-5.6).

5/31/22 My First Light cactus bloomed. Paul went to the cardiologist. He wanted to do an echo, scheduled for 6/29 after we got back from Hawaii. He switched his Simvastatin to Crestor. He may have to do a stress test. He ordered a T3 test to test his thyroid, which his PCP did on 6/2. He scheduled a follow up appointment with the cardiologist on 7/29.

6/1/22 Paul saw the ophthalmologist. His eyes looked healthy, but his vision has worsened in one eye. He may have to get corrective lenses before he has to renew his driving license next.

6/2/22 My grandma turned 104. Paul saw the NP. They doubled his Metformin dosage. She prescribed him the insulin, Lantus. She prescribed the pen, but insurance denied it.

6/3/22 Paul went back to the NP. She was going to show him how to use the insulin, but since he didn't get the insulin.... She also looked at a lump that is on the back of his neck. They said it seems movable and not much of a concern, but they suggest having a surgeon remove it. So eventually he needs to find a surgeon in network who can do that, but he thinks that is near the bottom of his priority list right now.

We decided to still go to Hawaii since most of it was already paid for. We also decided not to start up Paul's insulin since he wasn't shown how to do it and we didn't think it was a good time to start that on vacation. He made it through the vacation. He did most activities with us up until the last day. The last day, Nathan and I went to the Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Aquarium on our own and we met Paul for lunch/dinner. He didn't do a lot to control his diabetes during our vacation.

Here's a rundown of our vacation:

6/14 We flew to Kona on the Big Island. That first night we stayed at the Volcano House inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

6/15 Nathan had to go urgent care. He ended up getting an antibiotic for an UTI. The infection seemed to go away and he had no more problems. Later that day, we were able to explore Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, including the Lava Tube. That night we stayed at Aloha Crater Lodge not too far from the Volcano House, but outside of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. They had so many pretty flowers on their property.

6/16 We went to Panaewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens in Hilo. We made a stop at Rainbow Falls. I went to Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. That is an awesome garden. Paul only gave me about an hour there so I did not get through the whole thing. I could have spent hours there. That night we stayed at the Royal Palm Cottage.

6/17 We went to Akaka Falls State Park in Hilo. We stopped at the Waipio Lookout. Then we headed to Maui. There we checked into the Maui Sunset in Kihei, where we stayed for the week.

6/18 We went to the Iao Valley State Monument. We tried to go to the Tropical Gardens of Maui where we got married 19 years ago, but they are permanently closed.

6/19 I went to the Kula Botanical Garden while the boys went to eat at Kula Lodge. That is another garden that I loved. My favorite flower there was the protea, which I had never seen in person before. Paul and I decided we really liked the Kula area. Kula is on the way up to Haleakala. There are rolling hills. It's less busy because we noticed how much busier the rest of Maui seems to be getting. There are jacaranda trees lining the roads. Morning glories are all along the sides of the road. There are eucalyptus trees with their beautiful rainbow bark. Later that day, we went to the Maui Ocean Center. Nathan and I enjoyed it. We seem to enjoy aquariums more than Paul. Nathan liked seeing the pufferfish. I was mesmerized by an octopus that kept changing colors. We all got Dole Whips there for a treat.

6/20 We went on a kayaking and snorkeling group activity in Lahaina. Since there were 3 of us, I had to do a single kayak and I had never kayaked before. I had trouble keeping up with the group so the leader ended up tying my kayak to his. The snorkeling was disappointing. I didn't see much. I think most of the group was disappointed as well because we were all done with half our time (20 minutes) left. The worst part is that I forgot to put sunscreen on my upper arms and my legs so I got a bad sunburn. In fact, a couple of days ago the sunburn blistered and started peeling. After kayaking, we went to eat at the Cheeseburger in Paradise. We then got another Dole Whip in Lahaina after viewing the Banyon Tree there in town. The banyon trees in Hawaii are amazing.

6/21 We laid low because of my sunburn. That night we went to the Royal Lahaina Luau. We all enjoyed it even though it rained on us. We also saw our one and only rainbow while in Hawaii that night.

6/22 We ate lunch at Kula Lodge. Then we headed up to Haleakala National Park. We got to see a Chukar family, the endangered Nene endemic only to Hawaii and the silversword endemic only to Haleakala.

6/23 We went to Maluaka Beach where we had renewed our vows for our 5th anniversary back in 2008. We stopped at a few other beaches including Secret Beach and Lava Fields.

6/24 This was a very long day! This is the day we flew from Maui to Oahu. You would think it would not be that difficult flying from one island to another. However, we had to stand in long lines to check in our luggage and go through security. It is a good thing that we got to the airport early because it took probably 3 hours from that time to get through all of the lines and get on our plane. We took an Uber to our hotel, Waikiki Sand Villa in Honolulu, within walking distance to Waikiki Beach.

6/25 We went to Pearl Harbor. Paul and I had been there before when we got married in Hawaii in 2003, but this was Nathan's first time going since this was his first trip to Hawaii. Unfortunately, he lost his point and shoot digital camera while we were there. That evening we took a walk to Waikiki Beach to eat dinner and do some shopping.

6/26 Nathan and I went to Waikiki Aquarium and the Honolulu Zoo. The Aquarium was nice, but their Hawaiian Monk Seal was on temporary loan elsewhere so we did not get to see it. Again, Nathan enjoyed seeing the pufferfish there. Honolulu Zoo was disappointing. They had sloths, but sloths sleep most of the day so we did not get to see them. Nathan was excited to see the Komodo dragon. Many of the exhibits seemed to be closed due to COVID precautions or exhibit upgrades and other animals that we get to see were sleeping so we didn't really see much there. We met Paul for lunch/dinner on Waikiki Beach between the Aquarium and the Zoo, all of which were in walking distance from our hotel.

6/27 Our day started at 2 am (5 am Arizona time). 3 plane rides later we were in Arizona, after losing 3 hours in the process. It took us at least a half hour to find our car in the parking garage. Then we had to drive home from Phoenix. There was an accident on I10 which added about another hour to our trip. So we got home just after midnight.

6/30/22 We made the difficult decision to put our dog Tulla down. She hadn't been doing well since we got back from vacation and picked her up from the boarders. She wasn't doing very well before that, though. She was old and her health was declining. She was 15 1/2. We adopted her back in 2013. She had broken her leg as a pup (before we adopted her) so she had a pin in her leg. For the most part, that didn't hinder her getting around, but she was never a very playful dog. Recently, she was steadily losing weight, her hearing was mostly gone, she had a lump on her side getting bigger (she had one previously that was benign) and she wasn't all there mentally. Yesterday she threw up. Today she wouldn't even drink water and she had diarrhea, including black stool. We pretty much decided it was time to put her down so we took her to the vet who agreed and reassured us that it was probably the best decision given her age and current health status. He said the black stool indicated internal bleeding. During the euthanization process, he said he could tell that it was probably what she wanted as well. She finally relaxed and let go as if to thank us for taking away her pain. All 3 of us went with to the vet. I stayed in the room with Tulla during the process, but Nathan didn't want to be in there so he and Paul were not in the room. This is the 2nd time we have gone through this. We previously lost our dog Nina at this same vet back in 2012 (Nathan was only 3). Losing Tulla today was hard on Nathan and he was crying (along with me) while we were there. Tulla was his favorite dog between Bella and Tulla. I favored Bella, but today was still hard on me, especially considering everything else our family has been going through lately. Unfortunately, Bella is 14 and having health issues, too. It may not be long before we have to make this same decision for her. Plus, we are not sure how she is going to do without her "sister".

Tulla: Born 11/9/06 Adopted 1/19/13 Died 6/30/22

We went to see the Minions movie on 7/4. If I had any idea about what those movies about I wouldn't have gone to see it. It's about a boy who wanted to be part of the most evil group in the world. The things they come up with these days, geared toward our kids, is disturbing.

7/8/22 5 of the 9 First Light flowers opened. Nathan and I went up to Mount Lemmon looking for ladybugs with no luck. I saw ONE ladybug and I couldn't even get a good picture of it. We did enjoy a nice lunch at the Iron Door, though. A man working there told Nathan that they get flocks of turkeys up there and he sees them once in awhile across the way by the slopes and in the Summerhaven area. So I was disappointed that I didn't see ladybugs and he was disappointed that we didn't see any turkeys. It was the end of the July last year when I saw a bunch of ladybugs up there. I tried to go back to that same area, but I think we got off track. Nathan was complaining the whole time that we were looking for them. He was getting tired of the hike, saying there were bugs, he wanted to go back, he doesn't like nature and that he is a city boy! Really, is this my child?! I am still thinking that maybe we are a little early to see ladybugs?

7/9/22 the other 4 First Light flowers opened, 2 Apricot Glow flowers, 2 June Noon flowers, 1 hot pink flower, 1 white with green underside flower and then my purple hedgehogs opened.

7/11/22 Nathan and I went to Golf N Stuff with Greg Lyons and his Arizona Adventures Camp.

7/12/22 Took Paul to ER. He lost more weight and was down to 122. He broke down with one of his employees on the phone so I told her I was taking him to the ER. They did a chest X-ray, a covid test, took blood, gave him an IV and did a ct scan of his abdomen.  Wendi Miller came and got Nathan.  They tried to contact his endocrinologist, but couldn't reach them so they said we needed to keep trying to get him in before his scheduled appointment on 7/28.  I called from the ER and was able to get him an appointment for 7/14.  They referred him to the same gastroenterologist that his NP referred him to.  Chest x-ray was normal, covid test negative, ct scan of abdomen was normal.  Bloodwork just indicated high glucose. They released Paul from the hospital that same day.

7/13/22 Nathan and I went to church that night. I helped Dorothy with the kids snacks and Nathan's class had a nerf gun fight.

7/14/22 We went to the endocrinologist. They increased the lantus insulin he was taking and switched to a pen which is easier to administer with his shaky hands. They gave him a 2nd insulin humalog to take before each meal. He’s to test his blood sugar before each meal and based on that reading determine how much insulin he should take. They changed his regular metformin to an extended release metformin per my suggestion which may be easier on his stomach. They wanted him to get blood work done as soon as possible, but it has to be done at 8am. He already had an ECG scheduled the next day at 8 so the bloodwork had to wait until Monday morning. One thing they are looking for is to see if he switched to type 1. She gave him a doctor note to be excused from jury duty so we faxed that over. When we called the next day the automated system said he did not have to report for jury duty the following week. She tested his feet and he still has good feeling there, no signs of neuropathy. Blood pressure was normal. The frustrating part is that she wants to see him back in 6 weeks, but she’s booked for the next 10 weeks so his next appointment is 9/22. This seems more urgent than waiting another 6-10 weeks to be seen again. They said we can call to see if there’s any appointment cancellations.

7/15/22 Paul had his ECG. They didn't say anything to him after it was done so they must not have seen anything abnormal. He met with his NP that afternoon. She was going to do bloodwork there that day, but I showed her the work order from the endocrinologist and she said they are testing for everything she would do. That bloodwork we did today, 7/18.. One of the things it will tell us if he's switched to type 1 which is what they are suspecting at this time because all of the other testing they have been doing has been normal for the most part. If his pancreas is no longer producing insulin then the body tries to get the insulin from the stored fat in your body which could explain his weight loss. I asked about cancer, like pancreatic cancer, and she said the ct scan of his abdomen they did at the ER probably would have revealed that, but it was normal. The next thing they want him to do is meet with the gastroenterologist. I called today and set up an appointment with the NP there at the gastroenterologist office for 7/25 at 3. That's Nathan's first day of school. So the NP at his PCP said with her, the endocrinologist, the cardiologist and the the gastroenterologist involved we should almost have a complete picture of what is going on with him. She wants to meet with him again 8/16. He said he felt a little better that day and had more mobility. He took all 4 shots of insulin and each blood sugar reading before doing so was lower. The next morning it was even better at 204. But then it went up again to 260 something in the afternoon, back down to 180 something in the evening, but then the following morning only around 120 (which is the lowest it has been in a very long time). So it fluctuated a lot.

7/17/22 I decided to stay home from church because I was tired and perimenopause symptoms were crazy. I pretty much decided that helping with VBS the upcoming week was going to be too much, too. Paul's sugar varied a lot again that day with 2 readings in the 200s. Got a call that my uncle Les (Skeeter) Hoehn died. He was 72.

7/18/22 We got Paul's bloodwork done for the endocrinologist. I called and got him the appointment at the gastroenterologist for 7/25.

Tomorrow, 7/19, Paul has a virtual appointment with a diabetic dietician. Nathan and I have his Meet and Greet with his teacher/s at his new school.

Summer!

April 1st, my First Light cactus bloomed, the first cactus to bloom in our yard this Spring.  My April Fool's joke this year was telling everyone that I dyed my hair red.  I even photoshopped a picture of myself.  Many people said they liked it and fell for it!  Paul told me he does not want me to dye my hair red or cut it short.  The hummingbird moths are back in our yard.  They like to hang out on our lantanas.  They were there every day for a week or two before we got them cut back and before the heat came.  

Paul and Nathan went to Cubs spring training game on 4/2.  I chose not to go because it was supposed to be hot and I didn't want to sit out in the sun.  I guess the seats he got ended up being in the shade most of the time, though.  Cubs lost :(  I went back to the Desert Botanical Gardens while they were at the game.  

On 4/5, I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens, Reid Park Rose Garden, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Pima Prickly Park.

The prickly pears in our yard started to bloom 4/6. 

I went to Saguaro National Park and the Desert Museum on 4/7.  

4/8, my First Light bloomed again, my white cactus bloomed and my hot pink cactus bloomed.  I also saw claret cups in the median in Oro Valley.  

I saw some cactus flowers in the median by Oro Valley Hospital on 4/9.  More of my First Light cactus flowers opened up as well as another white cactus flower and my June Noon.  

I went to see the Oro Valley Hospital cactus flowers in the medians, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens and Pima Prickly Park on 4/11.

I went to the Lord's Supper at church on Tuesday, 4/12.  We believe Jesus died the next day since the Bible says he died and rose again 3 days later.  If we celebrate his resurrection on Easter Sunday, then he had to die on Wednesday not Good Friday.  The tomb was empty Sunday morning so he arose Saturday night.  

Easter was on 4/17.  Nathan and I went to church.  

I went to Tohono Chul Park, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens, DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun and Green Things Nursery on 4/18.

I went to Pima Prickly Park 4/19.

I went to Pima Prickly Park 4/20.

My hot pink cactus flowered 4/23.

I went to the Reid Park Zoo to see the baby meerkats and Reid Park Rose Garden 4/25.

I went to the Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park 4/28/22.

I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens and Pima Prickly Park 4/29/22.

My First Light cactus bloomed again 5/2/22.  I also saw a Great Horned Owlet in the nest in my neighborhood!

I went to Bach's Cactus Nursery and Tohono Chul Park 5/3/22.  My June Noon and hot pink cacti bloomed that day, too.  

On 5/4, I went to Tohono Chul Park and Reid Park Zoo.  

I went to the Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park on 5/6.  I also took some more pictures of the Great Horned Owlet in our neighborhood.  That night we went for an early Mother's Day dinner at Vivace.

5/8 was Mother's Day.  Nathan went to church with me.  Afterward, Paul cooked out.  

I had one bloom open on my First Light cactus 5/10.  That one stayed open the next day and two more opened.  

I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens and the Reid Park Rose Garden 5/12.

I went to the memorial service for Belinda Davis at church on 5/13.  Afterward I made a quick stop at the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens 5/13. 

On 5/18 my Apricot Glow cactus had 3 flowers, my new flying saucer had 2 flowers and my June Noon had a flower.  

On 5/19, 2 of my new Argentine Giant Big Bertha flowers tried to open.  The underside (outer petals) didn't look good.  I am going to keep this cactus in the shade and hope it flowers better next time.  I went to Bach's Cactus Nursery and found a pretty June Noon hybrid cactus so I bought that one.  I also went to Tohono Chul Park and the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  

My white cactus with the green underside bloomed on 5/20.  That evening we ended up taking Paul to urgent care.  He hasn't been controlling his diabetes the last couple of years.  Lately he has felt very tired and he's been losing weight.  He was in the 160s a couple of years ago and now he is in the 130s.  A lot of that weight he thinks he has just lost since the first of this year.  They checked his blood sugar at urgent care and did an EKG.  His blood sugar was 280.  She also thought she heard a heart murmur so she referred him to a cardiologist.  She gave him one month prescriptions for Metformin and Simvastatin.  She told him to stop taking the Trulicity insulin he started again a couple of weeks ago, one because it is expired and two because she didn't want him taking too many meds all at once until he follows up with a primary doctor and endocrinologist.  

Paul got an appointment for today, 5/24, to see a nurse practitioner at his former primary doctor's office.  They did some bloodwork and took a urine sample.  They are going to do a chest xray, a colonoscopy, etc...  They are going to be checking for different cancers like prostate and thyroid.  He has a follow up appointment with them on 7/1.  

Paul has a cardiologist appointment set up for next Tuesday, 5/31.  He also has an appointment set up for the endocrinologist on 7/28.  They are sending him a lab work order and he is supposed to get that done 2-3 weeks before his appointment.  

We are supposed to go to Hawaii 6/14-6//27.  We have already paid for most of it, but we are hoping that Paul will be well enough to go.  Hopefully, we will find out some more answers about his health before our trip.  He has been watching his diet, taking the meds that urgent care subscribed and going to see all of these different doctors.  His blood sugar has been fluctuating the last several days.  It has mostly been in the 200s.  At one point yesterday it was in the 300s.  This morning it was down to 180, but then went back up to the 200s after he ate breakfast.  His blood pressure was a little high today, too, upper 130s over upper 80s.  He's been having trouble going #2, too, only going like once a week.  So he has a lot going on and we need to know if it is all related to the diabetes or something more.  Hopefully, he can get his blood sugar better controlled and there is nothing else seriously wrong.  The pandemic hit a couple of years so doctors weren't really seeing patients.  His company got bought out around that time and work has been stressful ever since.  So he stopped going to the doctors, stopped taking his medications and ate whatever he wanted.  Now he is paying the price.  We are praying that neglecting his health did not cause irreversible damage.     

Nathan finished the 4th quarter of 6th grade with a 89.6 GPA!  He just made honor roll!  He needed 89.5 or above.  He got a 84 in History/Geography, 91 in Science, 92 in Math, 88 in Latin, 93 in English, E (exceeding the standard) in Art, E in Music and M in P/E.  He had his honors assembly today on 5/24/22.  Yesterday they had a field trip to the Reid Park Zoo.  He said a lot of it was closed off because they are doing construction/expansion.  After the honors assembly they went to Harkins to see Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore.  Wednesday they have a Field Day at the school.  Thursday, 5/26 is his last day and they have a half day.  They are having a classroom pizza party.  That night he goes over to the Academy of Math and Science to do a math placement test for next year.    My hairdresser and Wendi at church recommended this school.  We had applied to Legacy and Twin Peaks Elementary, but he was on a waiting list for both of those.  This school is further away on Prince Road, but it is supposed to be a pretty good school.  Nathan just wants to get out of his current school.  So we will see how he does at this school next year.  I hope he likes it and does well.  

Spring time again

We went to lunch with the Almeters at Oregano's on 1/8.  We owed them because they paid for dinner the last time we went to Hot Rods.  

We met the Alvirs for lunch at Macayo's on 1/15.  Afterward we went to Odysea.  Nathan and I really enjoyed it, but Paul wasn't that impressed.  

I bought a new camera from B&H Camera on 1/18.  Mine had been dropped a couple of years ago at Petrified Forest National Park.  I felt it didn't produce sharp pictures after that.  I went a cheaper route and bought a Nikon D7500 to replace my D7200.  It's basically the model that replaced my discontinued model.  I paid $1k for it.  I decided to just use the wide angle and telephoto lenses that I already had.  I had previously purchased my D7200 back in 10/16 from Amazon for $1600 including the 2 lenses and other accessories.    

On 1/21, I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens and Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.  

Nathan had 1/2 days 2/9-2/11 for parent teacher conferences.  We had our parent teacher conference on Friday, 2/11.  His home room teacher, Mrs. Powers, had all good things to say about him.    

Bella turned 14 on 2/11.

Nathan went to Nerf Day with Arizona Adventures Camp on 2/12.  Paul and I went to eat at Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Valentine's Day and our 19th anniversary (2/17).

On our anniversary, 2/17, I went to the Desert Museum to celebrate!  We went to dinner at Dominick's and I got the chicken piccata!  

I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens and Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens on 2/22.

Nathan had Rodeo Break on 2/24 & 2/25.  

My printer died when we were trying to work on our taxes.  We didn't think that buying a new printer would be such a big ordeal.  I quickly researched printers and decided to get a HP OfficeJet Pro 9015e Wireless Color All-in-One Printer.  There was only one available in the Tucson area at an Office Max on the south side.  We paid for it online and Paul was going to pick it up after church on 2/27.  Well, we got notice that they actually did not have one in stock so Paul looked around and found one in Mesa.  He went all of the way to Mesa that Sunday to get our new printer!  That was almost $300.  We didn't realize that we actually bought our last printer back in 12/13 (8 years ago).  We paid around $150 for our HP Photosmart 7520 wireless eallinone printer. 

I went to Saguaro National Park on 2/28.  I did some hiking near Contzen Pass.  I saw a gilded flicker which was pretty exciting.  Got some sunset pictures with the saguaros.

I went to Reid Park Zoo 3/1.

I went to Tohono Chul Park on 3/3,  I was very disappointed because there was almost nothing in bloom.  So then I decided to go to Tucson Botanical Gardens.  

I had my annual gynecologist appointment and mammogram on 3/7.  My mammogram came back normal.  I had a new gynecologist this time because mine resigned.  The new gynecologist could not really help me with my perimenopause symptoms.  She said she hasn't had much feedback from her patients so if I find something that helps my symptoms to let her know.  Thanks a lot!  My weight is up again thanks to perimenopause.  I had lost 20 pounds a few years ago and this past year or so I gained 15 of those pounds back.  My blood pressure was normal.  She ran some bloodwork for me.  My glucose, A1C, CBC and thyroid were all in normal range.  I didn't have her do a lipid panel so I am not sure what my cholesterol and triglycerides are and those are usually high.   

On my walk 3/7, I noticed that there is a great horned owl in a nest in a palo verde tree in my subdivision!  I went home and got my "big camera" to get some pictures.  Looking forward to hopefully seeing some owl babies soon!

Nathan had a half day on 3/11 ending the 3rd quarter.  Unfortunately, he just missed honor roll again this quarter and once again had a 89.2 GPA.  He got a 85 in History/Geography, 95 in Science, 91 in Math, 84 in Latin, 91 in English, E (exceeding the standard) in Art, M (meeting the standard) in Music and M in P/E.  He got great remarks from his teachers on his report card, though.  His English teacher who is his homeroom teacher said he is a pleasure to have in class.  His Music teacher and Art teacher also said he is a pleasure to have in class.  It was partly his Latin grade that caused him to miss honor roll this quarter.  Right at the end of the quarter she put in a grade of 20/30 for notebook check.  Nathan wasn't sure why he didn't get all of the points.  I tried emailing her, but she never responded.  He had like a 95 in Latin up until the last week when she put in two grades that brought his grade down to a 84.  This is one thing that frustrates me about this school.  They take the grades down in the system the last week of the quarter so the teachers can finalize the grades.  They can put anything in they want to and once they do so the grades are final and can't be changed.  Nathan was so upset that he didn't make honor roll again.  We rewarded him anyway because we know he tried his best.  Yesterday, March 29, he brought home his Character Attributes Report.  He has had great marks on this report all year and this quarter one of them even went up.  Respect went up from a C (Consistent) to an E (Exemplary).  The rest were the same as the previous two quarters.  He got a C for Caring, E for Citizenship, E for Perseverance, E for Responsibility, E for Trustworthiness and C for Best Effort.  So even though he is very unhappy at this school and his grades are falling just below honor roll status, he is still acting like a fine Christian young man so we are very proud of him.    

So for Spring Break we planned to go down to Corpus Christi and San Antonio.  We left on 3/12.  Unfortunately, we didn't get far.  We were headed on I10 and a semi in front of us kicked up a big metal pipe at us.  It hit the front of the car and then went underneath the car.  Our car seemed to be the only one affected because the pipe then went in the median.  We got off the highway on the off ramp in San Simon, AZ.  All of the antifreeze emptied out of the car so the car ran hot and we pulled over.  It was no longer operational so we called Enterprise who we rented the car from.  We told them our exit #, the city we were in, we had GPS coordinates, but they said they could not find us without a physical address.  Who breaks down at a physical address?!  They told us we had to arrange our own towing to a nearby location with a physical address.  So we called our insurance company, State Farm, who had us towed to a nearby gas station.  We had to pay for the towing even though we have roadside assistance on our insurance.  We are waiting to be reimbursed for that.  So then after we got towed we called Enterprise again.  We talked to them multiple times and each time they had no record of our previous conversations.  They told us that they had no more rentals within a 100 mile radius.  They said the closest one was in Las Cruces, NM two hours away.  However, they could not arrange Uber to take us that far so they said we had to arrange our own transportation to Las Cruces, arrange for our own lodging for the night and then we could go to the Enterprise there in the morning to get another rental.  Essentially, Enterprise left us in the middle of nowhere.  We decided that we just wanted to go home.  We tried to get a Lyft to Tucson.  Our credit card denied the charge thinking it was fraudulent.  They sent me a text and asked me to approve.  If it was a legitimate charge they said to have the merchant run the charge again.  So we tried again and once again our credit card denied it!  It seemed nothing was going right for us and it was getting later and later.  We then decided to start calling friends who could come get us.  We first tried Greg Lyons.  Unfortunately, he was out of town himself.  He said he could come get us later that night, but we really did not want to sit in our car with all of our luggage in the dark at this gas station in the middle of nowhere.  Then we called Linda and Steve Almeter.  They graciously agreed to come get us and take us home.  We are so blessed to have great friends like them.  They truly saved us.  So we didn't make it to Texas.  Sunday we stayed home and tried to recoup from our ordeal.  Then we decided to go up to the Phoenix area for a few days.  Our stuff was still packed and the dogs were still at the boarders.  On 3/14, we all went to the Phoenix Zoo.  Nathan loved seeing the Komodo Dragon.  I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens on 3/15.  There wasn't a lot in bloom, but there was still plenty to take pictures of.  Nathan and I went to Odysea on 3/16.  He loves to see the pufferfish.  I took him back to the hotel and then went back to Butterfly Wonderland.  On St Patrick's Day, we crossed one thing off my bucket list and went to Fountain Hills to see them turn the fountain green.  Afterwards, we took a drive along Bush Highway and Butcher Jones Road to see the wildflowers.  There isn't a superbloom this year, but there were some scattered patches of poppies and other wildflowers.  We stopped at Portillo's before heading back home.  We also ate at Grimaldi's TWICE while we were in town.  That made Nathan and I very happy.  

I went to Pima Prickly Park on 3/22.  There wasn't a lot blooming there yet.

On 3/25, I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens and Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens. 

I went to Bach's Cactus Nursery on 3/30.  Not a lot was blooming there.  Mostly just some orange claret cups.  I ended up buying 3 small cacti, including a pinecone cactus.  Then I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens.     

A New Year

 For Halloween, Paul and Nathan both dressed up in their Top Gun flight suits.  

On 11/2, I went to Reid Park Zoo and the Reid Park Rose Garden.

We went to a NASCAR race in Phoenix on 11/7.  This is the first time we got to see the championship race in Phoenix.  Kyle Larson ended up winning that day, but of course we did not stay until the end because Paul wanted to beat the crowds.  

Tulla turned 15 on 11/9.  She can't hear very well, but she is still getting along as crazy as ever.

Nathan did his Fun Run at school on 11/10.  He was out of school 11/11 & 11/12 for Veteran's Day.  

I went to Sabino Canyon 11/17 and 11/19 to see the Fall colors.  I took the tram up and hiked down.  

Nathan had the whole week off for Thanksgiving Break. 11/24 we all went to the Desert Museum.  Thanksgiving Day, 11/25, we went to the Phoenix Zoo.  Nathan was able to see a turkey that survived Thanksgiving dinner at the zoo.

I went back to Sabino Canyon on 12/2 to catch more of the Fall colors.  Again I took the tram up and hiked down.  

Grandma and Grandpa and Carol Lambros came to visit us for Nathan's birthday.  They decided to rent a car and do a road trip.  I think they left 12/8 and arrived at our house 12/10.  The following day, 12/11, I attended a funeral for my friend Wendi Miller at church whose dad passed away.  12/13, I picked up a birthday cake that Nathan wanted who I had my friend Kelly Price from church make.  It was a tank cake and Nathan loved it.  She did a great job.  Nathan also had a dentist appointment that afternoon, but that evening we celebrated his birthday a couple of days early.  Nathan turned 12 on 12/15.  My baby is now a pre-teen!  He is also about as tall as me now.  We all took the wagon ride at Winterhaven on 12/16.  They didn't have the Winterhaven event the previous year due to COVID-19.  It was nice to be able to see it again.  

Nathan had a half day on 12/17 ending the 2nd quarter.  Unfortunately, he just missed honor roll this quarter, the first time he has ever not been on honor roll.  He had a 89.2 GPA.  He got a 88 in History/Geography, 86 in Science, 91 in Math, 90 in Latin, 91 in English, E (exceeding the standard) in Art, M (meeting the standard) in Music and M in P/E.  He got  great remarks from his teachers on his report card, though.  His English teacher who is his homeroom teacher said he is a pleasure to have in class.  His Latin, Science and Art teachers also said he is a pleasure to have in class.  His History teacher said he uses class time constructively.  It was partly his Math grade that caused him to miss honor roll this quarter.  Right at the end of the quarter she put in a grade of 65/100 for Q1 & Q2 notebook check.  I am not sure why she put both quarters all in Q2, but I guess that his notes were sloppy and not very detailed.  His take on it, and I tend to agree, is why does it matter how his notes are if he performs well on the tests and in the class in general?  He at least knows what to focus on in the 2nd semester to keep his Math grade up.  He is a very intelligent boy, but he lacks neatness and organization.  That's just the way he is.  He also rushes to be done with his work which sometimes means he makes careless mistakes.  I think he is bored and not being challenged enough so he is not putting forth his best effort.  He hasn't liked this school for awhile now so he really wants to change schools.  The problem is that I am not sure changing schools would help.  I keep trying to tell him that school, like life, is not always going to be fun.  There will always be problems to deal with.  There will always be people there who you don't like or don't get along with.  This is the 3rd school he has been at.  He attended preschool at Kid City Christian Preschool which is part of Casas Christian.  He had some minor behavioral problems even back then.  He went to Sonoran Science Academy for Kindergarten.  Academically, it was challenging, but he really excelled.  He didn't really like his teacher or some of his peers, though.  We changed him to Leman Academy the following year because we learned about the Muslim background of Sonoran Science Academy.  This is Nathan's 6th year at Leman.  There has been a lot of turnover there.  We had some concerns from the beginning.  For example, I think they have too many students there and not only is there not enough physical room for them, but I don't think they can handle that many students.  Bullying has been a constant issue.  In fact, Nathan punched a couple of boys last year because they had been bullying him and the administration was not doing anything about it.  Each year, we have felt that the school has degraded.  Nathan and his peers are not doing as well on the standardized testing compared to their earlier years.  They have changed Principals and staff a lot.  Kids have left and new ones have come.  Nathan had an 8 year old in his 6th grade class the first semester.  He was not getting good grades and he was having behavioral problems.  He was removed from the class this semester.  Not sure if he is in a different 6th grade class, if he got demoted to a grade level more appropriate for his age or if he left the school.  They decided to move around several of the students in middle school this 2nd semester.  We think that is odd to do mid-school year as well.  So, Paul and Nathan are considering switching him to Legacy or another school next year.  

Nathan got great marks again on his Character Attributes Report for Q2.  They were all the same as Q1.  C for Caring, E for Citizenship, E for Perseverance, C for Respect, E for Responsibility, EE for Trustworthiness and C for Best Effort.  C is Consistent and E is Exemplary.  

On 12/18, I had choir practice at church for our Christmas Cantata the following day.  The next day, everyone went with me to church to see our Christmas Cantata.  We went to lunch at Cheesecake Factory and then they hit the road to return home before Christmas.  

Paul, Nathan and I decided to return to Winterhaven on 12/21.  This time we walked it so that we could see it better and get better pictures.  The Christmas Vacation house was awesome and a great new addition was the Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer house.  

Christmas Eve we went to my church and then Christmas Day we just watched Nathan open up his gifts (nerf guns, Lego sets, Pug shirts, Nintendo Switch games, etc...).  

Nathan and I went to Reid Park Zoo on 12/28.  He was getting pretty bored during the Winter Break after grandma and grandpa left so he actually wanted to go to the zoo with me.  We had a great time.  

12/29, Nathan had his 12 year wellness doctor appointment.  He is 4'11 (59.4 in).  He is in the 56th height percentile.  He is about the same height as me, but will quickly surpass me.  He weighs 101.5 lbs and he is in the 71st weight percentile.  His BMI is 20.3.  I expressed some concern with his weight.  He has put on quite a few pounds in the last couple of years.  He has gained over 40 pounds since his 10 year visit.  He's grown 7 inches since then, too, though.  The doctor said they like to see the height and weight both be at about the same percentile, but she is not overly concerned about his weight at this point.  However, we know that he needs to cut down on the candy and sugar.  I yell at him all of the time for eating that junk, but Paul keeps buying it for him.  I warned that it is not only his weight that we have to worry about, but we don't want him to get diabetes like Paul.  We don't eat a lot of meals together at the table and we eat out a lot, but he does like Greek food, salads and healthy food, too.  He also spends too much time on electronics.  Again, that is something that Paul and I disagree about.  Paul doesn't see a problem with the amount of time he spends playing video games.  After all, Nathan wants to be a Computer Programmer some day.  But I would rather see him drawing (which is he so good at), reading or better yet being active outside.  The problem is that he does not like nature and hiking.  One of the reasons that he doesn't like it is because he gets a lot of mosquito bites and we think that he may be allergic to them.  The bites get very big and hurt.  We brought that up to the doctor as well.  She said we should consider bringing him in the next time that happens or showing her photographs of the bites.  If it is an allergic reaction, she suggested possibly going on a daily allergy medication like Zyrtec.  Everything else checked out fine at his appointment.   

New Years Eve we were all in bed long before midnight.  We wanted to get a good night's sleep in order to head to Phoenix early the next morning.  We decided to go to Wildlife World Zoo on New Year's Day.  We ate dinner at Grimaldi's and picked up Portillo's on the way home.  

I turned 47 on 1/2.  Everyone says I still look youthful, but some days I really feel my age.  My knee had been hurting for like a week prior to my birthday.  Fortunately, it seemed to be much better in time for my birthday.  We went to church and ate at Cheesecake Factory for lunch. 

Nathan had to return to school on 1/3.  Paul actually had the day off work so he and I had a rare day together to ourselves so we decided to go to the Desert Museum.