Who Let the Dogs Out?

Last weekend Raeg and Ash's friend Kyrsta came over and stayed the night. She brought her 'Just Dance' Wii game and they spent 1/2 the night dancing...

It was fun. Brad even got in on the action and busted some moves we didn't know he had. ha! I'll have to post that video later.

Pet Store Fun

The other day I had to run some errands with the girls. One of our stops happened to be in close proximity to an awesomely fun pet store that encourages interaction with the animals. Logan spotted it and asked if we could go, so we couldn't leave without a visit. :) The girls had fun introducing Logan to all the different animals.

The playful ferret (well, kind of.. he wasn't super happy about us waking him up from his nap, but Logan was easy on him)

Feeling the soft, furry bunny...

..quickly turned into bunny love for Logan (after petting the cute little bunny Logan spontaneously leaned in for a hug... so sweet)
Then there were the clown fish swimming amongst the coral. Can't say for sure, but I think this might have been Logan's favorite part.

This is my favorite picture of Logan and Raeg.. It was taken seconds before Logan tried reaching his hand in to spash around with the fish. ha.

MOSI

Raeg & Ash went to the museum today with their 6th grade class. A good time was had by all..

Sweet Moments with Logan

It's Birth Day for the Butterfly :)

Pretty Cool Stuff...




We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely acknowledge the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou

Stage 2

Leaving the 'nest' in search of a good sturdy place to latch on and begin the process of pupation.

They hang in a J shape for several hours before shedding their skin to reveal a protective chrysalis which they will remain in for several days until ready to emerge as a winged butterfly.

Here's video Brad took as we watched the process yesterday..

My Baby Monarchs :)

Yes, I'm still the looney butterfly lady raising monarchs out back on our lanai. lol. We currently have 11 hungry babies chomping away at the six milkweed plants we bought to sustain them. We had 12, but one was not healthy enough to shed his skin and grow. Here are some photos and video. (proud parent.. ha ha. They grow so fast ya know.. I try to capture every moment before it's gone. lol)

close up of the larva feeding between the small buds. He's barely a centimeter long at this point.

This magnified picture is kinda cool because it contains three stages.. You can see an egg (to the right at the top of the flower stem) which they will eat their way out of, then larva (to the left on a leaf), and thirdly even larger caterpillars in the middle.

growing..

growing...

growing!


Below are some action packed videos of the caterpillars in action. lol. I realize you have to be a monarch lover and advocate to appreciate this.. but bare with me. Watching them eat, grow fat, and kept safe from predators gives me a small sense of accomplishment, ok. ha. Just when you think they're so big they'll bust out of their skin again, they begin crawling away from the milkweed in search of a place to settle into their chrysalis stage. Witnessing the transformation from larva to a beautiful winged butterfly never gets old to me.. It's like watching a miracle and reminds me how great our creator truly is.

6th Grade Missions Training Trip

What a challenging and interesting, yet fun and enriching time we had on our trip to the Heart Institute and city of Tampa. (how's that for a mix of descriptive words.. ha) I'm not gonna lie, after a couple of hours minutes ok, seconds in our bug filled cabin, I was ready to return to the comfort of my own home equipped with comfy bed. It suddenly became completely clear why I was one of only two moms to sign up as chaperone. ha! After finding the mammoth bugs and mice droppings I knew it was a do or die situation. lol. So, I did what any other mature, self-respecting adult would have done in my situation. I stood in the middle of the room waiting till my team of girls left to tour the camp, ran to the upper room where the girls had put their things, stole the first can of bug spray I found, then drenched the area around my bed with the precious repellent hoping to create an invisible barrier between me and nature. (thank you Claudia for not forgetting your bug spray. I owe you one)
I could have definitely lived without (but was proudly enduring) the mice droppings, spiders, and cute little frog we found in our cabin. The first night I slept with the flashlight on to let the pooping mouse know this room was now occupied by a bigger tenant. I seriously felt like a crazy lady as I lay there in the midnight hours shining light on spiders to scare them back into the cracks they were crawling out from and feeling a complete sense of accomplishment when they ran away. lol. However, spotting the black widow with nest on the second night, turned Ash and I into total wimps. We grabbed our sleeping bags and quickly retreated to the car. (put the back seat down, cuddled in, and bonded that night. lol) Raeg was in the cabin room upstairs with the other girls on a king sized bed. Fortunately for them, they didn't find nearly the bugs and creepy critters we had on the bottom floor. I will say though that all in all we had a good time and I would do it all again. Watching the girls grow in character and truly enjoy themselves made it all worth it.. they had a blast. After our stay at Heart Village we spent the last two days visiting a children's orphanage and homeless shelter in Tampa. That was a lot for the girls to take in, but I think it was a good experience and we all left wanting to help the organizations more in the future.