The State Fair

We took the kids to the state fair today. The last time we went was on Danielle's first birthday, so both kids were too young to remember it. With blue skies and the temperatures only in the upper 70s, it was a perfect day to go.

We had a lot of fun eating the food, looking at the animals, riding the rides, and seeing the sights. Here are some pictures from our day.

Grandma & Grandpa C & Uncle Ron came over for dinner tonight to celebrate Danielle's birthday. We had a good dinner and a nice time visiting. Uncle Ron gave Danielle a hula hoop (which she pronounces hue-la hoop). I think it's funny how her whole body wiggles. We had a good visit but I think I'm about partied out.

Grandma R asked about the butterflies. The original plan was to release them at Danielle's party. Then we decided maybe that wouldn't be a good idea because not everyone could hold one to release it. Also, Danielle wanted to be able to show Grandma & Grandpa C. So, she told me we could release them today. Today she decided that she can't bear to part with them and would like to keep them until they die (which realistically could be any day now). It will be kind of sad when they're gone. They've been a lot more fun than I imagined. I feel kind of bad keeping them in their little habitat forever, but I suppose they don't know any different (and the company that sent them said they would be fine if that's what we chose to do). Some monarch butterflies live up to 6 months and actually migrate to Mexico. Maybe we'll have to get some of those next time.

Danielle's Butterfly Birthday Party

Today was Danielle's birthday party. I think everyone had a really good time, including the birthday girl. A special thank you to Mamaw & Aunt Nikki for helping out and to Uncle Ron for the perfect butterfly party dress! Here are some pictures of her party:

The Decorations & Wings

(Mom R, I wanted you to see how we used the butterflies. Thank you.)

The Birthday Girl














The Friends

The Games

Stick the butterfly on the flower

Musical flowers (the towels were flowers). I wasn't sure if 4 & 5 year olds could handle being eliminated, so we continued to take away the "flowers" but left all the kids in the game. By the end they were all scrambling to stand on the same flower. It worked out well!

Bug Hunt. Each child got a bug box & then hunted for 5 different plastic insects in the back yard.

The Craft

Butterfly "suncatchers" made from posterboard, contact paper, & tissue paper. Each goody bag contained a suction cup window hanger so they could hang their artwork up when they got home.

The Food

Butterfly cakes & caterpillar cupcakes

Butterfly shaped ice cream

Caterpillar fruit kabobs (I didn't have pretzel sticks for the antenna, but they were cute anyway)

Keebler Bug Bites Graham Crackers

Nectar (pink lemonade)

The Goody Bags

The kids decorated their own bags when they first arrived (great ice breaker). The bags contained the book I Spy a Butterfly and various other butterfly themed goodies. They also got to take home their wings and bug filled bug boxes.

Happy Birthday to Danielle

I can't believe my "baby" is 5. She has been so excited for her birthday this year. Her party is tomorrow, but we celebrated as a family today.

She chose to visit the farm today. (This is the same farm Tyler's class visited in May and we visited last summer.) We had a nice time. We saw a baby llama (& his momma), piglets, a calf, a couple fawns, and even a couple pea-chicks. Danielle's favorite though? The kittens with the weepy eyes. Once we pulled Danielle away from the kittens in the barn, we saw the other sights and then led the kids around on ponies. Danielle started off on Spongebob (the same pony Tyler rode in May) but got a little spooked when the horse did a full body shake to shoo some flies away. She switched to Cupcake and enjoyed her ride. Tyler rode Snickers. After we were done riding, one of the employees gave the kids a ride around the arena. Before leaving we had to visit the kittens one last time. Danielle was heartbroken when it came time to leave, but we all had a lot of fun.














We're having a butterfly cake at Danielle's party tomorrow, but I felt like she needed something for tonight, so we had cupcakes. (The leftovers will create a caterpillar for tomorrow's party.) After dinner she opened her presents. Her main present this year was a new bike. Yes, it has Barbie's face plastered on it, but it's also covered in butterflies and looks very girly. (Speaking of butterflies, ours were busy trying to make more butterflies today...if you get my meaning.) She loved it (the bike, not the procreating butterflies).







As I was putting her to bed tonight, I reminisced with her about the day she was born and about how beautiful and how tiny she was and how full of love we were for her from the instant she was conceived. She's grown into such a wonderful, beautiful girl. I'm so proud to be her mom.

You Say Kielbasa, I Say Proboscis

Yep, it's another butterfly post. Bored yet? If so, I'm sorry. I guess there's not much else going on here.

Today I got a video of the butterflies eating from the orange. It's not super clear, but you can see it well enough to get an idea of how they use their proboscis to slurp up the juice (or nectar). In case you couldn't tell, I find this all very interesting. (The kids do, too.)



Today while Danielle was holding them, we put a droplet of sugar water on her finger. The butterflies must have been hungry. One quickly uncoiled his proboscis and took a drink.

More Butterfly Pictures

Yesterday I showed the kids how to get a butterfly to crawl onto your finger. It appears as though Danielle has mastered it. We're afraid they're going to get out, though, so we're trying not to open the top of their net too much. They were a lot more active today and are interesting to watch. I can't get a good picture of them with their wings open, but you can see their coloring some in the video.

Yet Another Butterfly Update

The last 2 butterflies emerged while we were gone today. The online store only guaranteed three, but all five made it. Hooray! They aren't moving too much, and we've only seen one of them eat, but I think they will get more active now that they are all dried out. We saw one drink from the orange slice we placed in their cage yesterday. They use their proboscis like a straw when they eat. It was neat to watch.

Later tonight Danielle was looking at one that was hanging on the net. It was coiling and uncoiling its proboscis and even stuck it through the net at one point. Danielle excitedly squealed, "He's trying to get me with his kielbasa!"