Pratt's Pets

On our way to Pratt's Pets, my 9-year-old asked me if there would be kitties and dogs.  We were going to a pet store, so I said that there undoubtedly would be kitties and dogs.  I've never in my life been to a pet store that didn't have cats and dogs...until we got to Pratt's Pets in Glendale. 

It seems as though Pratt's has nearly every pet imaginable, except for cats and dogs.  They have their mascot, a rooster, that roams freely around the store.  They have bunnies, gerbils, snakes, frogs, chicks, exotic birds, geese, ducks, tortoises, and even a pig.

We were met at the entrance by one of the employees, who took us from potential pet to potential pet and told us a little about each one.  When possible, he did let the kids touch and/or hold the animals.

This was a short field trip.  We were in and out in just about an hour.  The elementary-school aged kids seemed to really enjoy it.  The preschoolers and toddlers had their moments of delight with the critters, but didn't seem to have nearly as much fun as the older kids did.

The Phoenix Zoo

I'll be honest here, I love the Phoenix Zoo.  The zoo offers a huge discount for school and youth group field trips, and a host of very cool looking options for educational programs once there.  I have yet to take advantage of any of those, but will undoubtedly get one of those on the Just Field Trips calendar one of these days.  Today's trip was with some friends for my youngest daughter's third birthday party, but that is a post for a personal blog.

So, like I was saying...I love the Phoenix Zoo.  I have heard from other people that they don't like the Phoenix Zoo because it's hard to see the animals.  I have never had that be the case when I've gone.  I also like the more natural-setting exhibits for each animal.

Since we have a membership, I don't feel pressured to go see every animal every time.  This time, among the animals we did see were gigantic tortoises and these tiny squirrel monkeys.  We always make it a point to see the squirrel monkeys and the orangutans because my littlest loves them.

Truthfully, though, I don't go to the zoo just for the animals.  I go because the zoo campus is gorgeous and I love to stroll along their pathways.  I go because they have so much for the kids to do, above and beyond looking at the animals.

We always go to Harmony Farm for the petting zoo, the farm machinery to play on and (now that I have a little person in the family again) the Little People play area.

This zoo has what I hear to be a pretty fantastic set of horseback riding lessons at their barn, too.

The Phoenix Zoo also has, scattered around its campus, a bunch of play areas for kids of all ages.  Right near the entrance is the treehouse (which I don't have any current photos of).  My kids all love the treehouse.  We've gone to the zoo before and done nothing but let the kids play there.  Not too far from the treehouse is the splash pad and boat play structure (which I also don't have any current photos of).  Both of those are aimed more for the younger kids.  Not too far from the squirrel monkey exhibit is the cave (which I also don't have any current photos of).  Just like with the treehouse, we have gone to the zoo and done nothing but play at the cave - especially during the summer when the cave is a water play area!

This time, we discovered another play area that I had never seen before.  It's comprised of a giant spider web, a slide in the shape of a huge saguaro cactus, and some smaller, miscellaneous structures that the kids hid in.  That area was worth probably an hour of imaginative playtime for kids ranging from 3-13 today.  Undoubtedly, they could've happily played longer if us moms hadn't wanted to go see some animals.

The zoo has the trolley, which offers a guided tour of the campus.  There is a carousel.  There are pedal boats, which I will be doing with my kids the next time we go to the zoo.  There are opportunities to feed certain animals, like the giraffes.  There are opportunities to ride on certain animals, like the camels.  The zoo is building the "Polar Ride", which looks to be an inner-tube slide ride, that will be opening later this month.  We saw a dad riding his bike with his young daughter attached to him in a Trail-a-bike tandem attachment.  How cool is that?!  I hadn't thought to bike through the zoo!  There are also fun photo opps throughout the zoo....

Another very cool thing that the Phoenix Zoo has is a fitness course.  There are stations throughout the zoo where the kids get to try their hand at some sort of skill that the animals nearby use in their daily lives. 

Here we have two little monkeys hanging in their "tree".  lol

All-in-all, we were there for four hours today, but we could've spent twice as long there without any problems!  We kept a passel of children (an infant, two 3-year-olds, several 7-9-year-olds, and three 11-13-year-olds) all happily entertained.

White Tanks: Waterfall Trail

It rained last night, so this morning, my family decided to head over to the White Tank Mountains and hike the Waterfall Trail.  We were hoping for the small waterfall at the end of the trail to be active. 

The trail is short and easy.  My 2-year-old walked about half of it on her own this time.

She giggled over being, "left in the dust" by Jarrod and Erica, who are obviously much faster and have more stamina than she does.  When she got tired of walking, there were plenty of sets of arms to carry her.

When we got to the end of the trail, it was bone dry.  Unfortunate for our hopes of seeing a waterfall, but cool because we were able to easily get further back into the crevaces.  Here's what it looks like relatively dry....

The waterfall would normally be immediately to my children's right.  When there's water, it pools in a basin area right behind them, and at the base of the rocks they climbed to get up there.

This picture was taken almost three years ago.  The waterfall isn't visible from this picture.  It's behind the big rock my daughter is leaning on to climb.

Again, this area today was completely dry.  Much easier to hike into than when it's filled with water!

You can see the very tiny waterfall here.  I don't know if it ever gets bigger because we've only seen it dry and like this.

And THAT is the pool of water at the base of the rocks my children were climbing, when the waterfall has been bringing water into the area.  As my son can attest after he slipped off the rocks he was climbing on, it is COLD.

We really like this hike because it's an easy one for the whole family.



Arizona State Fair - On The Cheap

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of the fair.  I don't love the crowds.  I don't like roller coasters and other rides that stretch the laws of gravity.  Not only that, but I don't like handing over $5 for tickets that will allow one person to go on one ride one time.  I don't like fair food, and I don't like paying fair food prices.  For a cheapskate like me, the fair is no bargain!

HOWEVER, my children beg to go every year.  This year I gave in because, somehow the sun, stars and moon aligned just right so that the cheapskate in me managed to be somewhat appeased.  We went on a "school day" with the Girl Scout Troop, which means the kids were free and my ticket was only $5.  As a bonus, parking was also free.  The "Body Worlds" exhibit was free and the Butterfly Pavillion was free, too.  All in all, how could a cheapskate like me pass that up?

I didn't.  The cheapskate in me played some hardball with my kids before I agreed to go, though.  They could read and fill out their "Read to Ride" papers to earn three free rides each, and any rides beyond those that they wanted to do would come out of their own pockets.  And, there would be.no.fair.food.  We packed our own lunches and I brought along a jug of water.  Finally, since I had to work in the afternoon, we couldn't stay all day and into the evening.

We started off in the Butterfly Pavillion, which was cool.  Everyone was given Q-tips to dip in butterfly food.  We had to watch our feet to make sure we didn't step on any butterflies on the ground.

We went into one of the agricultural arenas next.  The solar system exhibit and presentation was there.  Since I was following my animal-loving two-year-old around while she insisted that the sheep and goats "EAT!", I didn't hear any of that presentation from the folks at the Challenger Space Center.  My kids came away with free tickets for various events there, though.

We went into the "Body Worlds" exhibit, too.  I left my youngest with a friend in Tot Town, where they played on foam mats, rode on Plasma cars, and the like.  I took my 12-year-old son, my 9-year-old daughter and her friend into the exhibit.  (There was no photography allowed inside, so I don't have any pictures).  My son wanted to read every plaque next to every item.  The girls moved through a lot faster.  Mid-way through, my daughter's friend, a little grossed out, pointed out that she hadn't seen ANY female bodies yet.  Just a few feet further, we came across our first, um, segment of a female body, which left both of the girls completely grossed out that the folks who had put that part of the exhibit together left some hair in the body.  My son and I both left with a feeling of profound awe over the complexities of the human body.

With four starving children in tow, we unpacked our lunches next.  Since it wasn't very crowded, we were able to eat at some shaded tables.

Following lunch, the kids were OFF for the rides!

My littlest wasn't about to be left out of the fun, so I had to pony up $5 to get some ride tickets for her (for the cheapskates who count, I'm now up to $10).  Fortunately, she was tall enough for the kiddie rides!



She rode on two by herself and conned her brother into hopping onto the kiddie tea cups with her.

By that point, we were all HOT (did I mention it was HOT out?!) and thirsty.  Our water in the jug was running out.  The big kids went into a fun house, and I bought two lemonades.  (For the cheapskates counting, that added another $6 to my tally).  After that, we headed out.  My youngest was asleep in her stroller before we reached the car.

So, I spent $16, not counting gas, at the Arizona State Fair.  I had fun.  Do I love the fair?  No, I still don't love the fair, but I love that my kids had a blast.

Halle Heart Center

Today's field trip was yet another that had been on my list of places to visit for the past few years.  I'd heard about it and wondered for a good long while whether the field trip would be worth taking or not...because, let's face it.  Thinking about a children's museum dedicated to the heart doesn't exactly sound, well, um, very exciting.  However, I kept hearing rave reviews from other people who had been to the Halle Heart Center.  I finally put it on the calendar for Just Field Trips.  My big kids thought it was soooo cool!

The museum was bright, open and colorful.  It was divided into specialized areas.  While we were there, there were several other tours for children going on.  The museum staff moved everyone along efficiently.  There is a guide assigned to each tour.  The guide spends a few minutes at every station explaining what that station is about and providing additional information related to the topic.

That red tunnel above is a replica of an artery.  There is a mechanism for closing the artery off, the way plaque does.  The kids get golf-ball sized balls and they get to try to shoot them through the artery without the artery closing off. 

In this area, the docent talked about cigarette smoking and what it does to your heart and lungs, too.  My son was appalled to hear that there is cyanide and other nasty chemicals in cigarettes!  One of the hands-on activities in this section is a demo of what it's like to give someone CPR...

We moved into a room that was set up like a giant live-stage theater.  This was their "911" room.  The kids learned about the signs of a heart attack and a stroke.

After that, we went into the "Healthy Kitchen" for a talk about nutrition and heart-healthy foods...

Then we went to another theater for a short movie about how proper nutrition fuels your body, and how an unhealthy diet makes it pitter out.

Our next area was all about exercise and working that heart! 

After all of the exercise, the kids lined up to have a giant stethoscope pick up their heartbeat.  If you notice the balls in the tube, their heartbeat is supposed to make those move.

Keeping going, our next stop was right in front of a life-sized replica of a whale's (forgive me, I cannot remember which one, blue, I think - but I was chasing after my 2-year-old!) heart.

We finished up in "The Marketplace", where the kids were tasked to "buy" food from the pyramid and make it as nutritious and complete as they possibly could at the "check-out".

We were there just over two hours.  The toddlers and preschoolers had a hard time with the length of the tour, and while none of them were disruptive, they weren't able to focus, either.  In my opinion, this field trip is best for 3rd - 8th grades.