2014 Jr. Duck Stamp Awards and Phoenix Zoo Trip

A family tradition since moving to Yuma has been our yearly trip to the Phoenix Zoo for the Arizona Jr. Duck Stamp Awards. Megan has entered each year and won prizes, although this year she admitted it was difficult to find the motivation to paint another duck--she has tried so hard to earn the Best of Show for the state. Nonetheless, she indulged her parents and quickly produced this lovely painting of a female mallard with ducklings:

 Erin also participated for her first time and created an original view of a Canada Goose feeding.

 Megan won a Second Place Prize for her entry:

[Side note: Megan was scheduled to take the ACT in Yuma this morning, but she was not too disappointed when we changed her test date to June after hearing about the duck stamp awards. A day at the zoo beats standardized testing anytime!]

Following the awards ceremony, Dallin directed us to his favorite Komodo Dragon exhibit. Sadly, both Komodo Dragons died the past year and a Chinese Alligator replaced them in the outdoor pen. There were some baby dragons being kept inside a building until they grow larger. We saw two of them through a glass window, and they were very cute! We took the token Komodo Dragon statue photo:

Human Interest Photo: Arlene's Bathroom

Behold, a Galapagos Tortoise!

 

Kevin and Erin went for a ride on paddleboats while the rest of the family looked at animals and played on animal statues at the African watering hole.

 

We were amazed at the vibrant colors of this King Vulture's head.

"Mom, this water looks like your breakfast drink!" the children told me. They have yet to learn to appreciate my green vegetable juice drinks. Guaranteed, my drinks taste better than this murky lake water.

We joined back together and continued on to the South American Forest.

Since Erin missed the African animal statues, she got her picture on a South American frog statue.

We watched the mother and yearling Spectacled Bears for a long time. The yearling nursed from its mom, then climbed around a bit, then nursed again. The fence prevented us from getting a really good photo of them. I would love to participate in one of the ongoing studies of these bears in Peru or Ecuador (Ian and I heard about some of them at the IBA meetings last September).

Megan and Dallin rode on the Carousel for their extra activity.

Rhinoceros face study

 

Sleeping Lioness

Resting Erin

Overfed Prairie Dog

And we'll spare you from the gazillion other animal photos we took.

Dallin's assessment was, "This zoo is AMAZING!"

We had a great family outing.

43 Years Young

Megan's Culinary Skills Manifested in Chocolate Cake Form

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

Spring Break Trip To San Diego, 3-6 April 2014

Thursday night (April 3rd), we found ourselves in San Diego ready for a retreat to cool weather, scenic beaches, and the color green. We stayed at a fun guest house we reserved through AirBnB, owned by a very friendly family (Regula, Ed, and their 3 children). We failed to take any photos of them, however, sorry. They liked us too, and invited us back, so hopefully we can stay with them again.

Friday morning we took Lucie to a dog park next to the Balboa Tennis Club. We had a double motive as we learned from previous experience that one can find lost tennis balls outside of tennis courts. We collected 6 of these abandoned balls for Lucie. She was most excited.

We then went to Balboa Park, looking for places to explore, and found a playground that entertained everyone for several hours. We ate a picnic lunch, played on purple plastic dinosaurs, took a nap, and met up with Emmy and kids.

 Nature Journal Moments:

Black Phoebe found nesting in the Women's Restroom

 

 My artsy photo attempt of a crow:

 Friday evening, half of the family ate some amazing Thai food and the other half ate pizza.

La Jolla Cove

Saturday morning, we watched the first session of our church's General Conference on our computer in the guest cottage, then we drove to La Jolla Cove for the afternoon.

Dallin was being a bit of a stinker and would not smile for photos.

The children always like to see the Children's Pool area with the seals.

This pup was nursing from its mother.

Another picnic lunch

Baby Sea Lion next to La Jolla Cove

Erin and Dallin were the only ones crazy enough to wear swimsuits and go into the freezing water.

  

 

 

Hermit Crab--note the cool blue stripes on the legs!

Pelican

La Jolla Shores Beach

We drove a little ways North to meet Grandpa Tsukamoto at La Jolla Shores Beach. 

Dad, Dallin (in Erin's coverup because he was cold), and Erin dug in the sand.

The rest of us still thought the water was too cold and went for a walk along the beach.

We almost crashed a wedding reception at the fancy hotel.

 

Yet another statue for silly photos!

Picturesque California Gulls

Sunday was the second day of General Conference, and we watched it at Emmy's and Brad's apartment. Several of the listeners were overwhelmed by so much spiritual insight that they just collapsed in a sleeplike trance.

 

Luke stayed busy "helping" his mom cook. She made some delicious sweet rolls that we didn't take any pictures of--they got eaten too fast. Emmy also fed us pulled pork sandwiches and bean salad. We did not go hungry. Thanks, Emmy!

Emmy and Brad had a Conference activity planned for everyone: Build a Lego Temple! Ian made the Mesa Temple, Emmy made the San Diego Temple, Brad made the Helsinki Temple, Dallin made the generic temple with the Darth Vader figure on top, April made the generic temples with the spires and Angel Moroni on top.

Our Spring Break had come to an end, and we grudgingly returned to Yuma to resume life. Megan is preparing for the ACT so she can apply to colleges in the fall. Kevin has a few weeks remaining for his job at AWC. Our homeschool co-op is starting back up.

Christmas Pillowcase Preview

Wendy H. showed April how to make these super cute pillowcases with hidden seams around the contrasting bands (see here for a good tutorial, although the dimensions were slightly different). Once she started making them, it almost became an addiction and we ended up with several fun presents for family and friends.

Space motif for a boy in our Primary who is undergoing chemotherapy treatments for leukemia;

we put together a care package and thought a pillowcase would be fun.

This was one of Erin's birthday presents. Owls, of course!

 

We made these for Carla S. who lets us ride her horses.

These are for some of Erin's friends.

Megan made this for her friend, Amelia, who likes dragons.

These are for the cousins, Scott and Dean.

We love the bright colors!

And, for our herp-loving friends: snake skin and lizard skin fabric.

Kevin got lizard skin pillowcases for his birthday, and April is kicking herself 

for not buying the whole bolt of fabric--it's no longer available.

It's a good thing we always are behind on our blog posts or else the surprise would be ruined for those who might see this before Christmas.