Originally I wanted to go camping.
Then I decided it was just too much work. Instead we camped out in my parents' backyard!
Pretty big, huh! (For our sleepover it was moved to the grass and it wasn't raining.)
We started out inviting people over for a potluck lunch. I neglected to take any pictures though. I guess I was having too much fun. Then my mom was nice enough to take my kids swimming. The water was freezing!
Chloe was so excited to borrow this Dora swimming suit.
Side note: whenever I see Dora I think of a book I read called Buy, Buy Baby: How Consumer Culture Manipulates Parents and Harms Young Minds. It explains how Dora was designed to be appealing to kids with her round face, big eyes, and sweet voice. So now I think "manipulation" instead of "cute character." Oh well.
After cooling off in the pool we warmed up by the fire.
Surprisingly the kids and I all slept pretty well in the tent. The girls had cots while Sydney and I shared a foam mattress.
Next we visited Boyce Thompson Arboretum. It's 35 minutes east of our house at mile marker 223 on the US 60 (just in case you wanted to know).
I'm so glad my mom could come and help with kid control. It can be difficult to go places with four kiddos!
It's beautiful there!
And we got to meet Mr. Big.
He's the biggest tree there.
He's a eucalyptus.
These pictures don't really do him justice. He's no giant sequoia or anything, but he's pretty darn big. To better illustrate the enormity of this tree, I'll tell you that five of us (everyone, but Sydney) tried to encircle the tree while holding hands.
We could not even reach. We needed another person.
Here we followed the stone-outlined path. It is surprisingly long before you reach the end.
The herb garden was full of smell-o-licious plants. There was even one called a chocolate flower. It had a faint chocolate smell.
Aren't these berries pretty?
We also really liked the children's area, especially the maze.
"I'm trapped!" says Chloe.
Kayla decided to count the number of butterflies she saw. I'll let you guess how many she spotted. Then you can find out at the end of the post. (Now doesn't that sound like fun?)
There's also a greenhouse.
Sydney loved the chance to play in the dirt.
It was great to get outdoors and enjoy some of the wonders of nature. Plus we all got some exercise.
Even Sydney.
And the final butterfly count was ..... 47!
5 comments:
I've met Mr. big!!! Yes Mr. big is even on my blog somewhere too! I love the arboretum. I've been wanting to go. were they having their fall plant sale?
Thanks Kristi,
Your pictures and commentary are a pleasant reminder of our day together.
Ok, I feel like I just failed a children's book, I could not find the butterfly at the end of the post, I must be blind or something!
Everything you did sounds like so much fun!!! I wish I could have been around, especially for the sleepover! I'm sad Dad's getting rid of that tent, it is the ultimate camping commodity!
I would have loved to do stuff like that! It sounds so fun. Radek and I were going to go with the Clark family to the pumpkin patch before my appendix rebelled against me.
Jill, yes they were having a plant sale. There were many cool plants for sale.
Esther, at the end of the post it says the number of butterflies (47) that Kayla counted while we were there. I didn't get any pictures of butterflies. I tried but they were just too fast for me.
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