Max's 1st Day of Preschool

1st Day of School 2013-2014

2nd grade with Ms. Schafer

4th grade with Ms. Matteson

6th grade with Ms. Hoffman (homeroom)



1st Day of School 2013-2014



Bearizona

A while back we visited Bearizona in Williams, Arizona with my family.  It is located up past Flagstaff and is in a gorgeous area of mountains and pine trees.  The main attraction here is the drive-thru animal exhibit.  It's really fun to see the animals in their natural habitat and up so close.  With Jeremy's sister, Jennifer, being here this week, we thought it would be fun to escape the heat and show her one of our favorite spots. 



These wolves would follow all the cars and sniff each one that came by.



One of the many black bears we encountered on our drive.  This guy was sitting right on the edge of the road.



One of the baby cubs in the zoo area exhibit.  When he gets big enough, he will graduate to the large, free-roaming exhibit.

 

One of the "teenage bears."  He too will graduate to the large, free-roarming area when he's a bit bigger.



What's a wildlife area without a petting zoo and goats?!



Grand Canyon Deer Farm

Yesterday we visited the Grand Canyon Deer Farm in Williams, Arizona.  It is about 2 1/2 hours from our house in Goodyear and 44 degrees cooler also.  At this farm lives TONS of deer that are allowed to walk around.  If you buy a cup of special food, the deer would follow you and nibble at you until you fed them.  It's pretty cool and the kids loved it (even though Max and Noah wouldn't really feed the deer).  They also have a few other animals (these are in pens) like mini horses, reindeer, llamas. bison, marmasets, a camel, etc. 

 

Max and Aunt Jen



 

Max DID NOT want to be left alone with the deer, even though they were very friendly,



Alora and Tony.  We were told this llama did not like men.

 

One of the workers gave Jackson a carrot sliceand told him to kiss the camel.





Goldfield Ghost Town/Gold Mine

Jeremy's sister, Jennifer, is visiting from Florida this week and we wanted to take her to some of the sites around Arizona.  We decided to check out the Goldfield Ghost Town, located near Apache Junction, Arizona.  Back in the day, this was an actual gold mining town where the men numbered the women 80 to 1.  The town now gives visitors a glimpse into what the residents and miners went through on a daily basis.

We must have gone on the off season because none of the cast members (who dress in authentic garb) were present and some of the exhibits were closed.  However, we did get to ride on the train and learn about the area.  We also got to go down into one of the mines and see what the life of a miner was all about.

Some of the town's buildings set against the Supersition Mountains.



One of the old rail cars used to carry the minerals.

Max in one of the old elevators used in the mines.



The "Honey Pot."  This was the portable toilet men used inside the mines.  The man who would push this only made $1/day and had to empty it each night using just a ladle.

 

The way miners would wire the wall with dynamite to blast out the gold.

 

Some of the equiptment miners used while inside the mines.



Wild Thing

Lately we've had our fair share of critters at our house... not just the typical rabbit or bird visitors, but lizards of all sizes, a bat, huge hornworms, and then again tonight, a giant frog.  Last year we caught several frogs, but I don't remember it being in the middle of summer.

I was in the middle of trimming back my gigantic tomato plants when I saw something dark scurry by.  I thought the giant lizard that lives under my cantaloupe vines had returned, but upon closer look, I found the huge frog.  I ran to get Jeremy's help in catching it, but I managed to catch it myself and got it in our butterly cage (that thing has come in super handy).  Sidenote: I had to dump out 11 hornworms that I had picked off the tomatoes yesterday- so gross.

We got the kids and Jackson was confident enough to hold it.  Alora touched it a couple of times, but Max and Noah didn't even want to come close.  After letting Jack play with and chase it a little, we let it go back into the lawn where it huddled down in the grass.  It's a regular zoo over here!

 

5th of July Fun

Jeremy was able to secure some last minute Diamondbacks tickets so our entire family was able to attend.  It worked out perfectly because the game ended with a FANTASTIC firework show, which more than made up for the crummy Goodyear one the night before. 

The Diamondbacks played against the Colorado Rockies and we smoked then.  Only once did the Rockies make it past first base, and even then, it was just to second base.  They played great!  The boys (and Jeremy) were super stoked the entire time.  Their favorite players all got to play and did pretty awesome.