Butterflies, botanicals, and pirates

Dear Maya & Emi,

I'm back for the second day in a row! Granted yesterday's post was a tribute to you and your birthday, Emi, but since I haven't been keeping up with how our summer is going, I'm going to break it down in a post today. Hopefully I'll be back with a post next week about the upcoming birthday party.

So here's what we've been doing for the most part this summer:

Emi--eat, look at books, play, watch your tablet, run around, nap, fight with your sister, sleep, repeat

Maya--eat, read, play, go to your summer recreation program (and while you're there go in the stream, catch crayfish, play on the playground, play sports, learn about nature, grow strong and tan and social), come home from summer rec exhausted and dirty, fight with your sister, take a bath, do some chores, watch your tablet, sleep, repeat

Mama--get up early, make lunches, read the Hobbit to you, drive you around, cook and clean, split up your fights, bathe you, put you to bed, and try to fit my busy full-time at-home job around it all, even if it means not sleeping enough, repeat (oh, and I turned 40 in there somewhere!)

Baba--get up early, feed you guys breakfast, work really really hard all day, come home and help mommy with all of the above, sometimes taking over completely so I can go to photo shoots or appointments in the evening, repeat

BUT...
The first week of summer vacation, before your summer rec program started Maya, we did a few really fun road trips and I have some great photos to show for it. The first was to a butterfly conservatory that is about an hour and a half away (longer with all the construction, though). It was pretty amazing how many different species and colors of butterflies and moths are just flying around you there. It was hard keeping you guys from grabbing at them but fun when they landed on you!

We also went to the botanical gardens that are only a half hour away. They happened to be having an exhibit of play houses created by several different artists. The two of you enjoyed the castle fort the best, hands down. Emi, you thought it was a pirate ship and broke out tons of pirate slang I didn't even know you knew! And you kept raising your sword in the air and challenging your sister to fight--I did tell you to calm down but I had to take pictures first because it was absolutely hysterical!

 

We were going to go on more road trips that week but Emi, your 6-7 trips to the bathroom during the 2.5 hours we were at the botanical gardens made me rethink it. I decided that these two day trips plus the library and playing outside were plenty.

Well, mommy has to go get dinner ready and get the guest room ready for Grandpa's visit! Love you both!