Felicidades quinceañera!

Yesterday, Tiffany celebrated the 15th birthday of a very good friend of hers. (The Mexican 15th birthday is similar in importance to the American 16th birthday. ) She got ready and the girls were on their way.

Tiffany got to see a lot of friends.

There was dancing.

There was silliness.

There was love.

In fact, there may have been too much love.

Journey North Results

Tiffany and Alex turned in their Journey North Mystery Class results. They are as follows:

• Mystery Class 1: Vancouver, Canada; 14°25'N 123°07'W


• Mystery Class 2: Okinawa, Japan; 26°40'N 128°E
  
• Mystery Class 3: Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica; 74°45'S 22°30'W


• Mystery Class 4: Beijing, China; 39°55'N 116°26'E


• Mystery Class 5: Cape Town, South Africa; 35°55'S 18°22'E


• Mystery Class 6: Yangon, Myanmar; 16°47'N 96°09'E


• Mystery Class 7: São Paulo, Brazil; 23°32'S 46°37'W


• Mystery Class 8: Praia, Sardinia; 40°N 9°E


• Mystery Class 9: Quito, Ecuador; 0°13'S 78°30'W


• Mystery Class 10: Port Lincoln, Australia; 34°43'S 135°51'E
  

Journey North will reveal the actual locations of the mystery classes this coming week. The Mystery Class program is designed for large groups with several students working on an individual mystery class. Since we only have two students in our class, we had to make some modifications. Tiffany was responsible for the first 5 classes and Alex was responsible for the last 5 classes.

Smiles!

Tiffany, Alex and friends distributed 50 treat bags as well as donated toys and clothes to the underprivileged neighborhood near our home on Friday. You should have seen the smiles! It looked like Christmas rather than Children's Day.

Secondhand Store

We are preparing to go back to a depressed area near our home on Children's Day, April 30th. Many of our friends have donated clothes and candy to distribute on this day. Tiffany and Alex helped to separate clothes and make goodie bags. We are looking forward to this event as the people of this neighborhood are very special to us.

Crew Cut

It has been rather warm lately. We took Jack to the groomer to give him a little relief from the heat. He looks as if he lost 5 lbs. I am not sure if he likes his new look.

Harvest Time

Alex's carrots have been growing well and he decided to pull some up today. It looks like we will be having salad tonight!

Jack, however, decided not to wait for the salad.

Butterflies, Bats & Me

Alex is studying pollinators in his botany class. He took a cotton swab and put it in the anthers of a flower covering it with pollen. He then rubbed it on the stigma of another flower. He is going to watch carefully over the next few weeks to see if a fruit begins to grow on the flower that he pollinated.

Earthquake

We had an earthquake!!! I slept through it, but my night owl, Tiffany, felt everything. In fact, her bed moved. We also have some minor cracks in the house, but nothing (I hope) that effects its structural integrity. Luckily, the epicenter was approximately 200 miles away. We live south of Mexcio City the quake originated near Acapulco.

Banned Books

Tiffany, who loves to read, has hated her literature class this year. Go figure?!? I have been looking for a new way to approach things and I think that I have found it. I read today about the ALA, American Library Association, banned book list. I was very shocked to see some of the titles that were listed. Not to mention, I either own or have read over half of the them. So, we are going to be reading the ALA's "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000". I think that this will motivate Tiffany, she loves little rebellions, and give us plenty of opportunities for discussion. If anyone else is interested, the link to this list can be found below: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/top100.pdf . Happy reading!

My brain might explode!

Alex: Mom?

Mom: Yes, my love?

Alex: I think my brain is on fire. It might explode!

Mom: Why?!

Alex: They are teaching me algebra.

Mom: Algebra?

Alex: Yeah . . . algebra!

Spring Dance Recital

Tiffany had her spring dance recital this week. First she danced a hula called the Kuahiwi. It it a beautiful and graceful dance.

Then, she danced a Tahitian dance. This is a much more energetic dance.

Finally, she did a belly dance.

Tiffany even had a solo part in this dance that she choreographed herself.

Tiffany was also very proud of her students. She started giving beginning hula classes to litte ones this semester and they did a great job.