Arizona Science Center....

110 degrees today:(( My plan was to go to the Arizona Science Center for awhile, then to a movie- both of which are in downtown Phoenix. Then I realized that the Science Center has an Imax! So, first we went to the Planetarium and saw a show on the sun, solar system and constellations. Later, we went to the Imax and saw a 3-D movie about a Polar Bear family. Amazing photography. I've seen Imax movies and 3-D movies, but not a 3-D movie at the Imax. They also showed how the Artic ice cap has melted by around 30% just since 1980. There will be no ice cap at all by 2055, so the Polar Bears and all of the other species will have nowhere to go and will probably die off. Don't know what the consequences will be for that. We saw probably 80% of the exhibits at the Center, just because it is too big to see in one day. Then we went to a biology workshop on "bones":) We dissected a bovine femur and the class was taught by high school interns:) The kids were making "bone marrow melon balls"!!!!!!!! Jasmine was enthralled with it, and I could hardly pull her away. Studying a hurricane- relevant right now with all of the tornados that are happening. Playing with a pully.

Things on the bulletin board at school.....

First lost tooth:)

Jazzy finally lost her first tooth:(. It's been loose for over a week. I kept asking her jokingly if she wanted me to pull it so we could give it to the tooth fairy... no way. I was shocked when she asked me to pull it today. It was so loose that I really didn't have to do anything. Here is the Tooth Fairy bag hand-made and purchased in Vietnam for this very special occasion:)) Jasmine said.."Since this is such a special occasion, can I have a second popsicle?":))

Memorial Day...

Went into Payson today. Lots of traffic. We thought there was going to be some type of Memorial Day ceremony/celebration at the local park there, but when we finally got there... nothing. So, of course we had to play on the playground...for 3 hours!! The only reason we stayed so long was because Jazzy made a new friend, little 6 yr old "Freddie", a resident of Payson- at least that's what Jasmine told me his name was. They played on the playground the whole time, holding hands. When I finally told Jasmine we had to go, they both cried:( Jazzy told Freddie we would be back next summer:) Probably not, but oh well. Then we went back to the lodge and stayed in the pool for another three hours straight until I made her get out again. Jazzy said in a whiney/crying voice, "Oh Mommy, why can't we just stay here all summer". Well, that would be nice Jazz, but you would have to get a job:) Didn't bring the camera with me. Going home to over 100 degrees tomorrow. Yuk!

Just kind of goofed around today....

Slept in. Went to the playground AGAIN. Then drove over to Woods Canyon Lake. All of the lakes and campgrounds were filled to capacity. Not even any parking spots to get out and walk around. I should have known better on a holiday weekend. There were lots of places to stop and look over the rim though. At 5000 feet at our lodge, it was a comfortable 80 degrees... but at 7000 feet it was around 60 degrees and breezy. Forgot our jackets at the lodge, so had to wrap Jazzy up in a towel that I keep in the trunk for when I go thru the car wash:)) Then went to Heber-Overgard. Note to self- don't ever go there again. Total waste of time. Nothing there. Old run down place not worth visiting. Just sitting on the rim, freezing, looking out at the pretty scenery. Then went on a little pony ride at the stables next to the lodge. Jazzy meeting Tank for the first time. The smallest little pony ever! This was the first time Jasmine rode a horse/pony and was not scared. Maybe it was because Tank is so tiny, or maybe she is starting to get used to it. They have a 3 semester "horsemanship" class at the zoo, and I think I will sign Jazzy up for it in the fall. No way are we doing it in the summer, but there is also no way that any child of mine is going to be afraid of horses:)))) Then she spent the entire afternoon... from around 1:30 until around 4:30 in the pool! She only got out because I made her so we could go to dinner..at the Zane Grey Restaurant. Fun lazy day.

Zane Grey's cabin...

Today we just goofed around all day. First thing Jasmine wanted to do this morning when she got up was to go over to the playground... so we took a little hike and ended up at the playground at 7AM. Then we drove around "Christopher Creek", looked at various campgrounds for the future, and went into Payson for a "craft fair"... where we bought lots of Avon stuff!! Later we drove over to a replica of Zane Grey's cabin and the Rim Country Museum. The first time I visited Zane Grey's cabin was in the 80's. It was located at or close to it's original location 30 miles northeast of Payson- close to the lodge where we are staying. Since it kept burning down in the forest fires, they rebuilt it in the middle of town. I never realized that Zane Grey lived so many places. Of course, he was born in Zanesville, Ohio, where he was very interested in baseball. He actually went to college on a baseball scholarship. His given name was Pearl Zane Gray. Since he was very close to his mother, and didn't want to offend her by changing his name, he did eventually change it when he went to school. His father was a dentist, and since Zane performed so many dental procedures with his father, the University of PA gave him an Honorary Dental degree. That would never happen today!! He moved to NYC, but couldn't get his books published so his wife's wealthy family paid to have them published. He then came out to Arizona because no one believed that one of his friends could lasso a mountain lion. The guy (whose name I do not remember) paid Zane to come to Arizona to witness him lassoing a mountain lion and write about it!!! He stayed for many years because he loved it so much. He never used a typewriter. Just wrote everything by hand, then his wife had to edit and type it. They said that he never slept indoors... always slept in a sleeping bag outside of his cabin. He travelled with secretaries who were only allowed to sleep on the porch, not indoors. He felt that only sissies slept indoors:))) He wanted to make a film documentary about Arizona, but had to get some type of permit from the state. For some reason, he had made some enemies in Arizona who thought he was arrogant. They refused to give him the permit to make the film, so he got mad, stomped off, left Arizona, and refused to come back- just abandoning his cabin- leaving everything in it. By then, his family was living in Alta Dena, CA, where he lived out the rest of his days until he died in 1935 at the age of 67 yrs. That's all I remember from the tour! Zane Grey's cabin and Rim Museum. In the Rim Museum were actual corn grinding stones used by Native Americans. The kids got to practice grinding corn. Of course, many of Zane Grey's things were there, as well as alot of reconstructed pottery and artifacts. No photos allowed in the museum:(

First day in Payson...

Kohl's Ranch Lodge... not really in Payson, but close enough. We decided to hang around the "lodge", go swimming, take naps, eat dinner, then go to the lake, fishing, and a craft fair tomorrow. We have a nice little studio room with a kitchen. Dinner comes with the room - at the Zane Grey Saloon- but we are on our own for breakfast and lunch. The closest grocery store or anything else is 30 miles! In front of the lodge. 80 degrees. Very pretty scenery. Kid's playground and picnic area. View from our back porch. Jasmine says "This is wonderful!!" Taking a dip before dinner at the saloon. I'm told that sometimes this place doesn't have internet service for days...