This Is The Life

It's About Time...

As I have told many of you, I have not done a very good job of having portraits taken of my second child. In fact, I somehow managed to delay having portraits taken until a few weeks ago, but StickyBun-Scotti breezed through his first portrait sitting like a pro! My little baby boy looks so big!

Conversations with The Fred: Part Two

Last weekend, The Husby picked up some lumber for our latest project and needed to store it in our bedroom due to the rain. Of course, the boards became a playground for both kids.

Here is a conversation that I overheard between Nana and The Fred:

(Setting: The Fred and StickyBun-Scotti are running across the boards and giggling like crazy.)

Nana: "What are you two doing?"

The Fred: "Nana, we're playing board games!"

No pun intended...

Happy Father's Day

To all of our favorite daddies, we hope you have a very Happy Father's Day!

Monarch Butterfly Emergence & Release

After a total of eight days in the chrysalis, our Monarch butterfly emerged early Saturday morning. It was a few days earlier than we had expected, so we didn't catch the emergence on video. We did get some video as the butterfly dried her wings in the aquarium. The Fred was intrigued by the whole process and decided to name the butterfly "Lane."

We put some watermelon on a small plate and watched "Lane" eat her first meal as a butterfly. When we woke up this morning, the kids helped me mix a bowl of sugar water to coax "Lane" out of the aquarium. We coated a net with the sugar water, and the butterfly quickly jumped on for the ride. As soon as we exited the front door, "Lane" took off like a pro, flying high above the front yard. Both kids thought that this was the most exciting part.

This will definitely be a tradition for us from now on. I have had just as much fun as the kids, and hopefully, we will be able to raise even more Monarchs next year.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

VBS Performance

The Fred and StickyBun-Scotti had a blast at Vacation Bible School last week and have been pooped after so much fun and excitement. To show off all that they learned during the week, some of the kids performed during the Sunday morning service. Check out The Fred showing off her dancing skills!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Monarch Butterfly Waystation

I wanted to find a fun project to do with the kids over the summer, and my interest was peaked by an article from Family Fun magazine on creating a Monarch Butterfly Waystation. Due to the widespread use of herbicides, milkweeds and nectar sources that are necessary for monarchs to reproduce and survive migration are steadily declining. The purpose of the Monarch Butterfly Waystation is to provide an ideal environment for the monarch to develop.

With the help of a few different websites, MonarchWatch and The AltaPass Foundation, we were able to create a small monarch habitat. Finding viable milkweed proved to be the most difficult part of the process. Luckily, we had some family connections in the nursery business that were able to provide us with clippings that had monarch eggs.

One of the eggs developed into a very cute caterpillar that almost ate up all of our milkweed before deciding to form his chrysalis. In 10-14 days, we should have a monarch butterfly that emerges. Within a couple of days, we will help him build some reserve strength with nectar and release him into the wild to continue his energy storage for migration.

The kids have enjoyed watching the process, and we are planning to plant a butterfly garden in our yard to encourage monarchs to lay eggs there for next year. I will keep you posted with pics and hope to catch the emergence on video. Definitely a fun activity to do with your kids!