Don's house....

We spent most of the day yesterday at Katie's grandpa's house in Apache Junction. He lives right at the base of the Superstition Mountains. Really pretty. All of my photos came out very badly- especially the photos from indoor. Don's other house is in Minnesota, and he is an avid fisherman. He brought fish (not sure what kind) back from MN for us. I didn't think I would like it, but it was actually really good,- along with all the other stuff we had from Whole Foods Market. Jasmine and Katie played all day with Susie- Don's dog. Here's a really bad photo of us just getting ready to eat. Very dark:(

JA Biztown

Today the 4th and 5th graders of CEE spent ALL DAY at the JA Biztown in Tempe. There are two separate "towns" with about 20 businesses in each town. Our town had Toyota, American Airlines, Allstate Insurance, Phoenix Coyotes, our Wellness Center, a delivery company similar to Fed Ex, Discover "debit" (not credit) cards, AmTrust Bank, Sam's Club, City Hall complete with a mayor and city attorney, a TV station and radio station with broadcasting by our CEO's thru the town all day, and several technology companies. For a week or so, the classes had worked on their job applications, how to enter credits and debits into their "checkbooks", and how to use their "Discover" debit card. They didn't learn how to write checks- since no one does that anymore:) ! Jasmine's job application says that she likes to play with animals, play with the ipad and read. She didn't mention skating, gymnastics, or the big choir she is in, so maybe that could save me some money!!! Her first choice of job was photographer for Allstate Insurance! Her second choice was working at one of the tech companies because "I help my mom when she is confused about something" and "I can help if the internet is down if something is acting weird in the computer". Third choice for a job was nurse practitioner because "I like helping people". The teachers assigned the jobs according to aptitude and "personality". Ready to go to work this morning:) It took us quite a bit longer than usual to get ready. The job that Jasmine was chosen for was Community Health Director at the Wellness Center. Her is her "job description". At our Wellness Center, we also had a physician, nurse practitioner, CFO, and CEO. Getting familiar with the computer system prior to the majority of the other kids arrival. Our first goal was to apply for and secure a loan from AmTrust Bank- which we did rather quickly, then get our products ready to sell by figuring out how much to charge for them. We sold mustache glasses, jump ropes, and bracelets. The CFO (Abigail) had to do "payroll" and pay all of the bills. We had lots of bills come in from the TV station and Radio station for advertising, Delivery charges, Sam's Club for office supplies, and many more in a huge stack. Each employee received a paycheck in the morning and a paycheck in the afternoon. The first paycheck required going to the bank with a deposit slip and waiting in line on "break" and lunch hour. Just like in real life, it took the entire lunch time of waiting in line to deposit a check. The second check was "direct deposit"- which was an interesting concept to explain. Some people still didn't understand:) The physician and nurse practitioner had to do "wellness exams" and for each 10 exams, we got and extra 25.00 to apply to our loan. Dr. Angelica cranked out over 40 exams. She wants to be a physician when she grows up, and didn't even want to take a break. She received "Employee of the Year". For our exams, we had to measure height, do an eye exam, give a quiz about smoking, then roll dice to tell them what to do i.e 10 push ups, 10 jumping jacks, etc. Paying a stack of bills with the CFO Abigail. Dr. Angelica doing a "wellness exam", Nurse Practitioner Rachel entering data in the computer, Jasmine and CEO Ashley entering the "patients" payments for exam and products. Purchasing products from Sam and Chamille at the Delivery Center! Deciding what to buy from friend Isabelle at the Technology Center! Giving a donation to a charity who then sponsored a "dance" later in the day:) It was a long day, but we succeeded in paying off our loan and made a profit. We then had to go to Choir Practice and Jazzy got Star Singer award!

Busy weekend!

Saturday all day Choir Camp- preparing for the spring concerts! Then Horse Hands 3- first class. They reviewed everything they learned in Horse Hands 1 and 2 such as grooming, how to lead the horse, putting the saddle on, riding at a walk, and now finally... getting to TROT!! Whoo- hoo:)))

Lots of photos from Zoo Camp

A little leary of that turtle!Checking out the cheetahs. Jasmine said that the Cheetah Keeper told her that she was "just the right size for a snack":) Making terrariums:) Digging for worms in the zoo compost area- Why? Cleaning the giraffe cage. Jasmine REALLY smelled bad that day!!

Last Day of Camp!

Lots of crafts, learning about habitats, behavioral enrichment, holding an armadillo named "Buttercup", petting a Rainbow Boa ...not sure if I believe that- just judging from past experience, and watching a ferret have a baby. Ice Cream on New Year's Eve!

Zoo Camp Week!

This is Jazzy's 5th year of Zoo Camp! I couldn't get any straight answers about what they did today. Apparently they visited quite a few animals and discussed what they ate. Then they visited the food preparation area at the zoo and "got to watch them chop vegetables"! Wow!!! Very cold this week! A hand made bird feeder:) We stopped at a restaurant on the way home!

Phoenix Zoo Lights tonight!

Unusually cold and breezy tonight, so the zoo wasn't as crowded as it usually is! Yeah! Lots of hot chocolate and popcorn:)