Day 158 – 2/4/21 Campground relax day in Mesa, AZ

We had a relaxing day by our campsite today, got caught up on things, made lunch and dinner outside, and spent some time in the pool.

When we went to bed last night, we left a window slightly opened and the bathroom vent also slightly opened, and it got a bit chilly overnight, but still in the 50s, so no heater needed.  I got one space heater going now just to get it warmed up a bit and make us comfortable but will turn it off soon as the sun is out and it’ll start warming up.  Yeah!  We’ll be putting away at least one of the space heaters, and the dehumidifier for now.

Bia did her routine in the morning and just got all her work done with no issues. Bella started going good, then slowed down with distractions, but kept a good attitude and would go back to it here and there.  She just didn’t finish an ELA reading assignment, the 19 pages one.  But, the most important thing is her attitude was good, and while she took breaks and got distracted, she continued working and getting things done with no complaining, crying or fighting.

I had a work call in the morning, got some work done, and finished getting caught up on writing posts.  I also did a bit more research on Internet options, and found something that should work for us, which is a prepaid T-Mobile data card for $50 which will give us 100GB of data.  That should be enough for the girls school work with plenty to spare. Then we still have the ATT card, and the current T-Mobile card.  Especially for most big cities, this will cover us for work and school.  I don’t think it’ll enough for Carol to be downloading and uploading videos, so we’ll have to get creative for that (like she did today).  As I finished the work I was doing, and was working on writing, I went outside to write as it was nice.  It did get quite hot as the sun was hitting the side of the trailer and the awning was not helping.  We brought a screen that we can connect to the awning, so that side sun will be blocked, and all we have to do is tuck it under the awning then retract it a bit.  I got the screen, and Bella kind of helped me by holding the awning arm down while I tucked the screen.  And it worked great.  I got some weights to hold the screen from blowing with the wind (used the weight distribution bars, and some wood blocks), and we were sitting under the shade from there.  It was very nice.  Bella ended up joining me outside to finish her Freckle math work, and we were all outside from around 10:30 on.  I was helping Bella, playing with Bia, writing, and putting a few things away, all at the same time.

Carol left around 9:30 to go return the Amazon item that came wrong, stop at a T-Mobile store to get the data SIM card, and she wanted to go to a Starbucks to upload the video she had finished editing :).  She went to Starbucks first, and it took quite a while for the video to upload, so she was there for over an hour.  The rest was much quicker and she was back around 12:30.

Right before Carol got back, Bella let me know we had no water, so when I checked the campground, they had no water.  Oh crap, no water again?  I’m glad we had some in the fresh water tank for quick use.  But, we didn’t have to worry too long as the water was back within an hour.  I took the opportunity to fill up the fresh water tank a bit more, just in case we need to use it again, so we have enough for washing dishes and stuff.

After Carol was back, she wanted to make a video of the grilled pizzas we make… yeahhh the ones I’ve mentioned here before a few times.  So, I got the grill going outside, and she got the ingredients going inside.  We recored the easier version that uses large soft tortillas as the crust, which does not require pre grilling.  The girls were inside helping make the pizzas, and I was outside grilling them.  It was fun to make the pizzas, as it always is when the girls participate.  Bonus that this time Carol got it recorded and will edit later for a post. 

After we all had pizzas, we cleaned up, put things away and got ready to go to the pool.  The sun is blasting here so we had to put sun screen on.  The girls did a great job putting sun screen on themselves, and then helped each other with it.  That was awesome to see, and it’s a great step as we don’t need to be the ones doing it always now.

The girls were fooling around and taking a bit too long to get ready, so I just got the stuff and yelled out I was going… hahahah… they then got ready pretty quick.  Carol wanted to finish a few things and then go.  She was talking to her parents for some time this afternoon, and continued as she went to the pool for a bit.

Bella and I went to the pool first.  Bella took her bike around the block, and I just walked, it’s super close.  Bia came soon after.  We found a spot by the pool that kids are allowed, and the girls wanted to stay by the deep end, which is 7 feet deep.  They loved playing in there, throwing toys down to then dive and catch.  I sat in the sun for a while, just enjoying the sun and a beer, and checking online messages and Facebook, etc.  After Carol left, I put my feet by the hot tub, but it was way too hot to get in, then I joined the girls in the pool. 

The pool was nice and just warm enough, so it was nice to be there.  We played for a while just floating and enjoying our time there, laughing.  We were laughing at the way Bella’s eyes looked with the goggles on so tight, it’s like they popped open bigger and out.  Then, some kids were getting too close, and they did it twice, and Bia said she wanted to leave as she was not feeling comfortable.  It was around 5pm, so we did leave.  The wind had picked up, so it was a bit cold then to leave the nice and warm pool and be in the wind outside.  We were wrapped in towels but still a bit cold.  When we got back, I had to take down the screen I had put in the morning as the wind was stronger and was blowing it up and down.  The girls started showering and I got everything put away outside and ready to make dinner.  Carol was making corn, and I was going to grill steak.

Carol got the corn going and used her Ninja pot to pressure cook it.  Bia seasoned the steaks, with just coarse sea salt, and she’s getting good at that.  Carol recorded all of it, and may be making another video with that footage.  We then went inside to eat.  Dinner was great, and the three steaks were gone fast.  They were medium rare, the way the girls and I like, and were perfect.

After we got done eating, we started doing dishes and cleaning up.  I went to shower and while I was showering, Carol and Bella made chocolate cakes in the microwave, one cup for me and one for Bella… yum!  Those turned out great, and we wanted seconds.  The girls were watching some TV then.  Bia had some ice cream, and Bella and I had another cake.  Then, we got the girls ready for bed, while I washed the rest of the dishes.  After we put the girls to sleep, Carol was reading a book and I was getting the new T-Mobile card setup and going.  Feels good to not have to worry about running out of data, well, at least for now.  Let’s see how long it takes us to chew 100GB of data.

After the hotspot was setup, I got a post ready for tomorrow, then went to bed.

It was a nice day just hanging out by our site, enjoying the weather.

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