July 4th.....

We didn't have much to do today, so just to get out of the house, we went to the Tumbleweed Park July 4th Festival- held in a huge field with virtually no shade. 110 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.... even though it was supposed to rain today! We didn't last very long... just paid 5.00 to park, 7.00 for a little bag of popcorn, and 3.00 each for a scoop of flavored chemical ice. We walked around for about 30 minutes and couldn't take it anymore. Even the vendors didn't really want to be there. We came home and jumped in the cold shower. I forgot to bring the camera..... so here is Jazzy all ready to go to the "party". Probably will watch fireworks on TV tonight.

Arizona Youth Museum.....

Today after working out at the gym and going to "Kid's Club", we were looking for something to do in a cool place- almost non-existent at this point. We went to a high-calorie Greek restaurant and ate gyros, mozerella sticks, and baklava---totally negating any workout from the morning! :)
Then we remembered the Arizona Youth Museum in Mesa which is a free play area/museum for kids and adults. Never been there before, but glad we went. They had a Charles Schulz exhibit as well as lots of other things to do.

Flashlight Tour

Tonight we went on the Desert Botanical Garden flashlight tour. It was nice because it was not very crowded.... probably because it was like walking in an oven out there in the middle of the night looking for snakes and scorpions. No one in their right mind from Arizona would be doing that! When I pulled in the parking lot, there was not a single car with an Arizona license plate. We met people from India, France, New York, Illinois, Michigan, and a few other places. I guess the hotels are half price this time of year. When we were driving home at 9PM, it was 102 degrees.

The last time we were at the Garden at night was at Christmas 2008. So pretty with all the lights there all year around.

Jasmine made a 4th of July tarantula/scopion/bug. This was the only photo taken at dusk. The others were taken in the dark, but the camera makes it look like daytime:)

Checking out the plants.

Kitchen Week at Kindercare.....

This week, Jazzy and her friends studied fruits and vegetables:) They made jello with bananas one day, muffins, and "freezer jam" another day. I don't know why it's called "freezer jam" since it is mashed strawberries with sugar, then they let it set for 2 days before they ate it on their crackers.


Jazzy and friends.

Long day for Jazzy...

Math Camp, then Kindercare,.... then ice skating, then a party (no parents allowed) with AzFAP. (Arizona Foster and Adoptive Parents). She ran up to me when I picked her up at the party.... with an empty corn chips bag and said "Mom, can I eat these?" Well, I guess so.... since you already ate them!!

Jasmine and Brianna
Jasmine at the party.....

Math Adventure Camp this week...

A couple of doors down from Kindercare is LearningAdventure.com. They have "camps" for pre-K to Grade 12 for Math and Science (pre-K), Engineer Construction Camp starting at Grade 1 ! Video Game and Computer Design for all ages, Build a Computer, and Build a Robot- for little kids!! The center is owned by Kate Rosza who is from Budapest, Hungary. She has a Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering and another Master's Degree in Math Education from ASU. I feel like a mental dwarf!

Kate and Jasmine working on math/geometry... and I am not sure what else.

Playing with a robot that one of the kids made.

Jazzy and Jessie....

Jasmine just out of the shower ready for bed. With Jessie.



Jessie doing the Chihuahua-stalk on Jasmine's dinner.



111 degrees today, 113 tomorrow, and supposed to be 118 degrees in a couple of days. It's summer in Az!