Valentine's Day...

Just home from school. Today, they were supposed to wear something Valentines-ish:) Lots of candy and watching "Stuart Little". Not much school work done, I don't think.

Making Valentine Candy.....

Chef Jasmine making Valentine's Day candy for Grandma and Grandpa!

Critter Keeper Sunday....

It was another Critter Keeper at the Zoo day. This weekend was for visiting the animals on "The Children's Trail". First they visited the goats at the petting zoo, and learned the proper way to be a "pooper scooper"! They each had a list of items to check off: making sure the goats had water, check their eyes, ears and noses for discharges, count the goats to make sure they were all there, make sure they were all brushed.

Then, give Patches the goat a bath:)) Each of the goats get a bath once a year.

Next, they painted a cardboard box, filled it with fruits and vegetables, and gave it to the warty pigs! for "behavioral enrichment". Here they are with Josh- the warty pig keeper- filling the box with food. They threw it over the fence and watched the pigs devour it.

Here is the alpha pig whose name I do not remember. He has to eat first, and will not let any of the other pigs eat until he is done- except for one very small pig who is is friend:))

Next, we visited Padfoot the ocelot. Padfoot is trained to go into his indoor cage when the keeper asks him to. Then the kids went into the ocelots cage and hid small pieces of meat. We watched him search out his territory to find all of the hidden treats.

Watching Padfoot.

Last but not least, they learned how to properly hold a turtle, never turning the turtle on his back because of the possibility of a "torsion"- twisted intestines. This is Wonka. His wife is Willy:)

After the zoo, we decided to go out for lunch/dinner. We didn't have good luck with restaurants. The first one didn't even come over to our table, so after sitting there for awhile, we left. We then went to our usual Vietnamese restaurant, but they were closing early. Next we went to another Vietnamese restaurant in the same Vietnamese complex. It smelled so bad in there, like rotting fish, that we were gagging. We walked out and were shot with daggers. Next, we went to a Chinese restaurant, ordered... and the food was so hot and spicy that we couldn't eat it. For some reason, we brought it home and it's sitting in the refrigerator uneaten. Better luck next time.

National American Miss....

Today we found out that Jazzy is a finalist for the National American Miss Arizona pageant. She had her personal interview this past weekend, and I guess the judges liked her:) They are judged on poise, self confidence, and speaking ability in the interviews. In June, they have the actual pageant where they have one more interview, an introduction of themselves onstage with their little business suits on:)), and a formal model walk down the runway. If they win the Arizona title, they get a 1000.00 scholarship, and a paid trip to the finals at Disneyland. If they win at the National level, there are several bigger scholarships and a car...even for the little ones!! There is only one car awarded, but last year a 7 yr old won it! It's mostly for the experience of public speaking, "job interviews", etc. Previous winners went on to be singers, actresses on Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, as well as announcers such as Cat Deely and Megan Alexander on "Inside Edition". This is what she is has been telling me she wants to do for some time- at least for now anyway!

Long day at skating and Wild Science....

After skating practice today, we went to Wild Science Investigations at the Zoo! The topic was "Big Tracks, Little Tracks". They learned some new terms: digitigrade, unguligrade, and plantigrade-- pretty big words for 5-7 yr olds. After looking at tracks in the sand and on the TV/Computer, they made plaster footprint casts. Jazzy made the Red Fox print. They talked alot about why scientists make casts i.e. to study details. Then they all hiked around the zoo looking for "clues" to lead them to the animal they were "tracking". Each clue was marked by a red flag somewhere at the zoo, and led them to the next clue until they finally reached the Cheetah. The cheetah went into his indoor cage, while the kids went into his area and looked at footprints and scat. :))

Making a plaster footprint of the Red Fox.

Making observations about the Sonoran king snake.

Writing observations about Nelson the bunny.

Finished product.

Jaime's Christmas/Holiday Party....

Held in January because of her wedding. Making ice skate shaped cookies, then eating them. Big potluck. White Elephant Game and then watching skating videos bundled up in personalized blankets from Jaime.

Poor Frank, Jaime's cat was captured and carried around by kids.

Rosie the dog being chased.

Watching videos with Jaime (the student), Emily, Kiki, and Jasmine.

Jazzy's blanket.

Day of skating....

Imagine Tempe's first grade classes went to Disney on Ice at the US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix. It took *all* day to see a 90 minute show!! First we had to load all of the first graders and chaperones on the bus, a seemingly simple accomplishment...but not really. Each chaperone had four kids. I had the "pink group" which included Jazzy and three of her friends:) Then, luckily we were dropped off at the front door since usually you have to park far away and walk. Tickets, long line, purses and bags searched, find our seats... and just in time for the show to start. They had three story performances- Princess and the Frog, Cinderella, and Rapunzel. Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy were go-betweens. The skaters were much more talented than I expected. Then, off to Kiwanis park for lunch. It was the coldest day since 1986, plus it was windy!! 52 degrees for the high, and it is supposed to only be 48 tomorrow- a record cold day in Phoenix. Some stupid parents didn't send their kids with a coat... to a ice rink!! on a cold day!!. Luckily, the school has extra coats. Then, we stopped at Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. Next off to skating lessons at our own rink. Fun long day. Waiting for the show to start.

Princess and the Frog:

This is not really a great photo, but the skating horse was amazing!!

Lunch at freezing and windy Kiwanis park. Next to Jazzy is Linda, a talkative and cute little girl also from Vietnam.