Real Butterflies

(2nd post of the day - scroll down to read "Fake Butterflies")

We went to a Butterfly Show today at a conservatory and so the first room we walked through was the CACTUS room. The kids did NOT touch them...though C tried a few times as they were near the path!

These prickles were so LONG!C obeying & not touching...

D is such a ham...the cactus behind him makes him look like a crazy peacock!
He was amazed how tall this cactus was...all the way to the ceiling of the glass room!
We saw butterflies hatching from their cocoon/chrysalis...D said it looked exactly like the picture in the book we read yesterday!


The butterfly garden room it was LOTS of fun! The butterflies were all over the place and would land on your arm, head, back, stroller, etc...

In each of these pictures the kids are holding a butterfly...

Tiny black one...
A monarch - we read a lot about them yesterday! They travel 2000 miles!

A really detailed one...not sure of the name...

A tiny black/yellow one on C's leg...she LOVED it!
K showing one off to C...
K standing next to a plant with PINK leaves! Though it looks dark red in the pic...

It was a fun experience!

The Nutcracker Ballet

On Wednesday we read the story of the Nutcracker. On Thursday, K and I saw it performed at a beautiful theater with other moms & daughters from our co-op. It was done by professional dancers who belong to a professional ballet company, but they involved a few children in it, too. It was fun to see them introduced and find out two of them are homeschoolers, too!

This is just inside the theater entrance looking up...it's a beautiful, ornate theater.

We rode together with K's friend C and her mom. Here are the girls on the steps inside the theater...
And here they are waiting patiently for ballet to begin...they both take ballet lessons and are in tap lessons together...
Because it was pouring snow that morning & everything was a slushy, snowy mess, I opted to be practical and dress us both in jeans & boots. I could tell K was a bit disappointed when we met C and her mom to ride with them and they were dressed in "fancy" clothes. I told K when we go to another ballet, we'll dress up! :o)

K & I on the steps in the theater...
I asked K what her favorite part of the ballet was and she said, "All of it, except the Mouse King." The guy who danced as the Mouse King wore a hideous, large mouse mask. They introduced the characters at the beginning (as the performance we saw was part of the educational series) and K just about jumped out of my lap when he came on the stage. She spent the first few minutes of Act 1 asking me if the Mouse King was coming out. I assured her he would come out later so she relaxed a bit.

On the way home, we ate lunch at Red Robin with C and her mom...a special treat! We shared a freckled lemonade (strawberry lemonade that is soooooo good!) and I let K order dessert after she saw the picture of the tiny cupcakes and asked to have one. She chose a pink lemonade cupcake, of course!
After we returned home, K came upstairs dancing in a pink dress telling me she was "young Clara" from the Nutcracker. A few minutes later she changed into a white dress and told me she was "older Clara." She loves ballet! It's fun to see her pretending to be the dancers she saw on the stage...she told me the other day she wants to dance on a big stage someday. Maybe she will...

Pumpkin Farm Field Trip!

On Thursday afternoon we visited a working farm with several families from our co-op. We hadn't visited the farm before, but I had read about it online.

They had tons of pumpkins piled around a tree out front...

There was also a HUGE pumpkin out front...K said it was a squash. (I'm not sure what was up with her crazy pose in the pic?!) C was off running towards more pumpkins when I snapped this picture...

The kids enjoyed a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick their pumpkins...It was cold, but thankfully we stayed warm wearing fleece jackets, hats & gloves (and huddling next to each other).

K & C - her friend in co-op & her tap dance class...C is still sleepy - she fell asleep on the ride to the farm and I woke her up just before we got on the hay wagon...

The pumpkin K picked...
The pumpkin D picked...C had fun running around (and tripping) while the kids picked their pumpkins...


Look how big we are!

D&K enjoyed the corn maze and went through it twice...

They also LOVED the straw maze (I enjoyed it because it was warm in the covered maze!)...K coming down the slide at the front - the entire white-covered area is the maze - some covered in crates/boxes to make it "dark" inside. It was warm so the kids played here the longest!

C loved the petting zoo the most! Big bunnies...
The ponies...C's favorite - she kept running back to them. I thought she'd slide under the fence and join them!Ducks & Roosters...

At one point, there was a goat that was loose and C went running right to it. I snatched her up about a foot away from reaching the goat and then walked quickly the other direction. I'm not a farm girl and goats scare me!

Just before leaving, the kids were able to play on this long wooden train...I think there were 6 train cars total. You could climb/crawl through them from the caboose all the way to the engine.

Where's C?! Oh, under the hat! She would walk around with it hanging over her eyes...she's such a ham!

Watch out, the girls are driving!

We ended the visit with hot chocolate from the little cafe.

Johnny Appleseed

We are fortunate to have a Johnny Appleseed Museum within a short drive from home which was a perfect field trip for our apple week! It's not huge - just one room full of Johnny Appleseed things!

D&K standing by the sign out front...

K working on the green apple puzzle...

C working the puzzles...


D dressed like Johnny Appleseed with a burlap sack, walking stick, pot hat and a Bible in his hand!

The Disney replica of Johnny Appleseed...
D coloring a picture of Johnny Appleseed...

All 3 kids standing in the midst of apple trees that came from seedlings from apple trees Johnny planted 100 years ago! D&K both asked if we could pick the apples to eat! They wanted to taste them! Ha!