Off to Mexico

Tuesday morning came way too early. I signed up for a 3-D printing class through iSTEM back in February. I left early because traffic can be a beast when headed to Boise. I was grateful to be in the 3-D printing class, only 15 participants were chosen for the class. After breakfast, keynote speaker, and agenda stuff it was time for 3-D! Rebekah had us jump right in with unpacking our new FlashForge printers. The first day we learned how to set up the printer, trouble shoot filament problems, and jumped right in to Tinkercad. We were left to learn the best way possible: trial and error. I had more error than trial, it was a steep learning curve. Tinkercad does not work the same way Photoshop and other 2-d programs work. I literally had to stop my brain and challenge it to think in 3-D, that hurt my brain. Within an hour we had our first prints chugging along. Over the next few days more and more fail-ebrations appeared in front of Rebekah’s desk. Lots of spaghetti nests, melted creations, and failures to celebrate. The next day Rebekah Lulu focused on teaching us how to use PlayLab, an AI generated platform for education where teachers can make mini apps micro-focused on topics needed immediately in the classroom. I was able to create a problem-solver app for my students struggling with their CodeHop literacy projects. Very cool application. We had to 3-d print something for another person at our tables, create a prototype and then reprint with improvements. The 3rd day we went on a walk and had a picnic for lunch in between learning how to fail in Tinkercad and FlashForge’s cutting platform. 

I really wanted to make Amelia a cover for her Preach my Gospel. I had to tailor some of her shirts and all her pants Tuesday evening. Wednesday I worked on the cover. It was cute but ended up being a pain in the butt to attach together. I felt like a terrible mother leaving for a week while she was doing missionary things at home. We had a fun hour crafting on the floor, me working on the cover and Amelia prepping a skirt for embroidery. She needed a project to keep her busy while she traveled. Justin gave her a Father’s blessing before our devotional that night. He is amazing, his blessings are conduits for words from Heavenly Father. Lots of hugs, she even let Phillip hug her for more than 5 seconds. Amelia was READY to leave her cramped lodgings, for the wonders of Mexico MTC. 

We were up at the PBCOD (pre-butt-crack-of dawn) with yawning kids wrapped in blankies. We had to be at the airport by 4:30 am, so 3:45 was our goal to be out of the house. After checking her luggage we awkwardly congregated in front of the security check-in. Another family was also dropping of their Hermana for her mission. We took a few photos, I went in to get a .5 only to realize Amelia was crying. Darn it! Made me cry a little giving her that last hug for 18 months. Hurrah for Zion! She wouldn’t shout it, so I did! She had a Sister missionary friend to travel with down the MTC, that eased our minds a bit. The drive to the airport was quite silly, everyone putting in their two cents. Waiting for her baggage was also a silly experience. Amelia, Phillip, and Everett had something strange with Pam, Jam, and Ham supposed customer service agents with American Airlines. Our heart walked away, down that line to security. Gonna miss that silly girl something fierce. The drive home was silent. Seeing her phone on the table brought a tear to my eye, she never leaves that item out and unattended. We caught an hour more of sleep before starting the real day. I struggled to focus all day, tired, so, so tired. After fighting traffic to get home the kids let me know we were out of bread, milk, eggs, fruit, cheese sticks, and good food. Drats! I dragged my tired self to Walmart for grocery shopping. It was too late for a pick-up order so this trip was all me. I got enough junk food and easy meals to satisfy even Evelyn. The kids got to swim at the Bledsoe’s pool for a YM/YW activity. I picked them up, enjoyed the excited chatter. 

The last day of iSTEM we had a fun field trip to the BSU Innovation Lab. I was very excited to learn that most engineering paths at BSU are required to learn all the tech offered in the lab like 3D printing, resin printing, lathes, laser cutting, reduction machines, wood cutting, welding, and all the other cool resources the lab has. I really want to have the boys come by and tour the lab. We had another hour or so to burn, I sat at a table in the shade to type up this rendition of the past two weeks. I wished Everett was around because there was an epic squirrel turf war going on in the trees. One chubby squirrel was perched on a lower branch watching the madness, I imagined that was the tired mom squirrel with a chancla waiting for her bickering kids to come near for a slap. The fighting squirrels were amazing! I took a documentary video for Everett, I needed his interpretation on the squirrel situation. The story he told later on was very amusing. I love that boy. 

Now that iSTEM is over it’s on to the next adventure. I had only a few hours to finish the mountain of laundry and pack my bags for Cozumel and diving. Justin was all packed and ready to go. Finding my scuba booties was quite a challenge, remembering where my passport was (there were 4 good options) took another few minutes. Then the kids were HONGRY. Had to feed the masses. Then it was time to pack. Wait, that entailed sewing up some pant hems and fixing a swimsuit that was too baggy. Ok now? Yes! Packed up what I could. Josie kept company with me while I painted my toes and scraped away foot skin. Gotta have cute feet for the beach right? Evelyn and Josie were quite emotional because Justin and I will be gone the entire week. I worked hard to create a schedule, find activities, sleepovers while Sara is out of town, and all the emergency foundation work. Justin went to check us in, that was fine. Then came THE email at 10:30 pm. Due to unfortunate circumstances our flight from Boise to Houston was delayed 30 minutes, which means we would not make our connecting flight to Cozumel. Justin spend the next SIX hours on the phone with person after person from American Airlines first, rebooking us on United. Then another email from United stating the same connection flight would not be possible. Then he was on the phone for HOURS with Expedia and American figuring out a way, until he gave up and pursued the refund option. The most annoying part was the connection would be lost and he could not talk to the same individual after calling back, he started the story over and over 50 times. In the end it looks like we are getting a full refund. In the morning, we decided to try and go on some sort of trip. While Justin napped I called my AZ friend Rebecca Barlow. She is a travel agent for funsies on the side. After some chatting we decided to look at a vacation in Belize, on San Pedro island. It ended up costing the same amount of money even with new flights and all. We will fly out tomorrow night, sleep a bit in Las Vegas then fly to Houston and lastly arrive in Belize Monday late morning. It’s all convoluted but it will work. We still get snorkeling, world renowned scuba sites, yummy food, and hopefully drive a golf cart around the island for 6 days. What an absolute cluster circus. Justin is feeling very nervous about the trip now, I hope it will all work out in spite of the drama. I really feel it will all work out for the best. Evelyn was all in a panic this morning to find us asleep in bed. She did not want to sleep over with Lyla if I was going to be home. She calmed down and has not called me once today. Hopefully, she is enjoying girlfriend time with Lyla. Josie is having the time of her life with Kara at the Rodeo. Tomorrow night she gets to have a sleepover with Kara and Stella! What a lucky girl. The boys have welding classes starting Monday, they plan to electric bike over. It’s hard to leave, hard to get everything covered, then those well-laid plans change in the blink of an eye.