Our new house....

Here are Jazzy and Jessie in front of our new house. The inside of the house is not fit to be photographed since there are still boxes everywhere and no pictures on the walls yet.

Yesterday, our little dog Jessie had a bad day. She is very elderly and fragile. Jazzy always wants to hug her and play, so about once or twice a day I hear a little yelp when Jasmine bumps into her or is a little too rough. I have told Jazzy over and over to be gentle with her because she is so old. Yesterday morning I heard a yelp which was louder than normal, but didn't really think anything of it. Later in the afternoon, I found Jessie laying on her side crying and paddling her feet. I did a quick physical exam and found that every muscle in her little body felt rock hard. I thought initially that she might be having a petit mal seizure because of the idiots that sprayed pesticide in our back yard and all over our belongings after I had asked them not to. I went outside right after they left and sprayed everything down thoroughly with the hose, but I am sure it is still out there. I thought that maybe Jessie ingested insecticide because she licks her paws quite often.

I rushed her up to the bathtub and gave her a bath... which is the first thing to do if topical insecticide poisoning is suspected. For the next couple of hours she did not/would not sit down or lay down and just kept walking and walking for hours all over the house. There are certain types of pain that are better with motion. I did finally remember the louder than usual yelp that morning and determined that she hurt her back. Poor little dog had to endure a bath with the intense back pain.... and she didn't even cry. After a homeopathic remedy and 1/4 aspirin in our first aid kit unopened since 1997, she is now able to lay down and rest. It just goes to show that drugs don't expire right at the expiration date! We will see what the future brings with Jessie's back. She needs lots of rest and maybe an occasional anti-inflammatory for the next few weeks. I hope nothing happens to Jasmine's best little friend for quite some time.

playdate with Gadiel....

Today, Gadiel and his Mom Jenny came over for a playdate/Memorial Day party. It will be the last time we see them for awhile since they are travelling all summer and we are moving back to Tempe. We made pizza and chocolate chip cookies. Jazzy and Gadiel played non-stop.

Taking Jessie for a walk this morning.....

Recital night...

We weren't allowed to take flash photos, but I took video of all of Jazzy's dances. She did SO well. A complete ham. She loved being onstage and everyone clapping for her:))

at home before the recital.
after the recital, Jazzy received flowers from the teacher..Amy Ludwig, Jazzy's friend Alisandra, and Mommy:)

dance rehearsal

Today, pretty much all day!, we had a dress rehearsal for Jazzy's first dance recital. Jazzy will be in two dances, one tap and one sort of ballet/jazz with her swim suit on. The dance group is called Desert Stage Dance Company and they are dancing with a group of high school kids at the Vista High School in Casa Grande. The high school is more like a college campus with acres of tennis courts, swimming pools, multiple basketball courts and gymnasiums, weight rooms and entire wing and one special stage just for dancers!

All of the high school girls were screaming and clapping when Jazzy came onstage... which made her jump up and down and dance even more! It was hilarious.

After practice we had a pizza party, and all the kids made beaded necklaces and bracelets. After every class for the past 6 months, the kids got a few beads which were then kept for them in little bags. At the end of the 6 month session, they can make jewelry from the beads they earned.


in the dressing room
going onstage in a few seconds
beach dance
pizza party

Balboa Beach...

We spent the day at Balboa Beach, on the playground, eating fish tacos, and walking up and down the beach. Perfect 75 degrees and sunny with a nice breeze. Jazzy slept from the moment we got into the car around 4PM until 9PM- and now she is wide awake.

Fun Saturday.....

Yesterday, I had yet another step in a tooth re-construction. We have to wait 48 hours for the EndoCal10 to harden... so that gives us the weekend to play. Today when we woke up, it was a little cloudy so we decided to go to the gym/LA Fitness/Kid's Club, not too far from our hotel. After that we went to the Irvine Park Railroad and Orange County Zoo. Irvine is kind of Scottsdale-ish... very pretty and clean. There are parks literally everywhere... but one in particular is *huge*. There is a little railroad that goes completely around the park, ponies... which Jazzy rode, and more junk food. The Orange County Zoo is very small and consists of re-habbed owls, raccoons, hawks, eagles and a bear. The day was a perfect 75 degrees and sunny in the afternoon. I don't understand why so many people come to Arizona for snow-birding and retirement, when the weather anywhere in California is so much better.

Later, we went to "Mother's Kitchen" which is a health food store and restaurant.... similar to Whole Foods Market to eat dinner and get snacks for tomorrow at the beach!


At the Irvine SuperFun Learning Center- a drop-in pre-school close to one of the plethora of dentists I am going to.
Eating a sno-cone at the park
Brushing the goats
At the playground