Desert Botanical Garden....

Today we went to the Spring Butterfly Exhibit at the Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. It was very hot and crowded with snow birds and lots of people with Oakland Athletics tee shirts on... since the Oakland A's training place is almost right next door. We went in to see the butterflies prior to eating lunch... which was a big mistake. Jazzy was really grumpy and acted scared of the butterflies... which is something she learned from a little girl in her dance class who cries for the entire dance class and says everything is "scary". It only happens when she is tired.

We ate a nice little $12.00 sandwich and all was well in the world again. We did crafts, put together butterfly puzzles, and made a Butterfly Lifecycle poster out of macaroni. After walking around all day, Jazzy was snoring in her car seat within 30 seconds. We had a fun day:)

At the entrance to the botanical gardens
Making a butterfly lifecycle poster
Apache statue
Acting silly
Eating our expensive little sandwich

Jazzy's New Glasses....

Today, Jazzy's new glasses came in the mail. We ordered them over two weeks ago. She has strabismus/amblyopia/"lazy eye" and very poor vision:(, so she will be wearing glasses possibly for the rest of her life. She has a nice pair for shopping, going to the library, dressing up, etc, and she has "activity glasses" which really look like swimming goggles. That pair is for gymastics, dancing and just around the house.

Arizona City Daze.....

Every February, Arizona City has a fair and parade... I guess just to make money for the unincorporated podunk place. Jazzy's dance class from Desert Dance Studio was in the parade. It was very cold and windy, so everyone had coats on and their yellow tee shirt uniforms could not be seen. Later it warmed up, and we went to fair and rode a couple of rides.


Getting ready on the parade float
Dancing
With some friends from the dance studio
Driving a car

Gadiel's birthday party...

Last week, we attended Jasmine's best friend's birthday party at Amazing Jake's in Mesa. It was a 1/1/2 hour drive in heavy traffic to get there. Amazing Jake's is a huge indoor amusement park... all kinds of rides, bumper cars, bowling alley, Merry Go Round, video games, little kids rides, restaurants, and 10 party rooms. The place is *huge*. First we had dinner....the adults had a nice buffet and kids had pizza. Then, early in the evening, the electricity went off in the entire shopping center. Everyone had to evacuate and wait in the parking lot for awhile. The electricity came back on and we went back in. Gadiel opened his presents..... then, right when we were going to ride all of the rides, the electricity went off again. The entire place was closed down and no one was able to play games or ride the rides:( It was ok because Jazzy was very tired, but Gadiel was very upset. All money was refunded and we will probably get a free day there. We actually had a really fun time just seeing Jazzy and Gadiel together.

Jazzy met Gadiel at Kid's Club (LA Fitness). He takes her shoes off for her when she comes in,... then puts them back on when she leaves:). They hug each other every morning when arriving and leaving!

Gadiel and Jazzy
Gadiel opening Jazzy's present
Gadiel and his cake
Tired Jazzy

Vietnamese Tet Party at Kathy and AnnaLi's

Last night, we drove to Chandler to Kathy and AnnaLi's house for the annual FCV Tet Party. We were all laying cozy on the couch watching TV.... except Jesse who was on the floor due to her bad breath... and it was pouring down rain and cold outside. The last thing I wanted to do was go to a party, but at the last minute, we jumped up and went to the party since it is only a once a year event. We saw all of our friends, played games, made crafts, ate Vietnamese food, and had entertainment from the "older" girls 7-9 yrs old. It actually stopped raining long enough to play outside for an hour.... then back inside. We had a great time. I'm glad we went, even though we didn't want to at the time.

The 3 yr old table. It was nice to be someplace where everyone who was 3yrs old was the same size as Jasmine. Starting from right and partially cut off is Delilah, her brother Henry, Jolee, AnnaLi (age 7), Jasmine, Maya.
Eating a cupcake... among many other things
AnnaLi reading a Tet story to everyone. Dancing girls off to the right.
In the wagon with Jolee and Eva
All (or most) of the kids
Jasmine with her Tiger mask and lucky chocolate money and envelope

Preparing for the 2024 Olympics with my Freestyle Skydiving Medal...

Our new dog- Jesse

Over a week ago, we found an elderly puppy dog running around terrified at the parking lot of the post office. I was going to take her to the pound, but she was so sweet and just immediately laid in my lap in the car, so we took her home. We put up signs all over the post office, and so far no one has responded. From the neck back, she looks like a younger dog... no heart murmur, seems pretty energetic, no obvious joint problems, etc, but in her face.... she looks alot older. Her teeth are the most horrendous that I have ever seen. There is so much tartar that you cannot even see her teeth, and her breath is so bad the it's hard to even be in the same room with her sometimes. I'm guessing it's going to be around 700-1000.00 to do a very basic dental on her.... since I no longer do that type of work. Have to get my own teeth taken care of first. So, we will wait another week or so to really claim her as our own, but she seems to be adjusting really well. Never thought I would have a Chihuahua!!

getting ready to take Jesse for a walk this morning
Relaxing with Jesse on the living room floor