butterflies!

after a very long morning at the hospital we took the kids to the science museum to see the butterfly exhibit. it was breathtaking and amazing. all of them were in awe watching the butterlies flitter about. it was truly magical. the girls loved the big gemstones and b.c. was in awe of the dinosaur! it was one of bailey's first real outings since the surgery . . . and it was great. nice to be out and about as a family again!

releasing the butterflies

we picked the coldest day EVER to release our sweet butterflies. i think it was 54! but the kids did not want to wait another day! it was awesome to watch their faces as they let the butterflies go . . . what an amazing experience for the kids. b.c. wasn't sure he wanted to touch his (and i was scared he would smash it!) so he kind of put his hand near mine and watched! kam was amazed that hers wanted to crawl right up her arm! mck's hung out on her forever . . . it was almost as if she was saying she didn't want to go! and ken's flew away . . . but not too far so she had the chance to pick her up and hang out a bit longer. i think we'll wait a few months and do this all over again.

releasing the butterflies

the butterflies last year were such an amazing experience, we had to do it again this year! we received 6 caterpillars . . . only 3 of which actually made it through the transformation . . . but thank goodness there were 3! one for each of the girls.

it was so cool how excited they were about it this year . . . even kam would check on them in the morning and throughout the day! we didn’t get to see any of them emerge . . . but caught each of them right after . . . SOOOOOO cool! we kept them for a few days and then each girl got to release one! ken was so careful and held her’s so gently – it didn’t want to leave, so she actually got to catch and release it a few times! mck was gentle. . . but more because she wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to hold it or not! she let hers go very sweetly and quietly . . . and then there was kam . . . poor baby. She was trying to hold her’s gently, but just didn't know quite what “gentle’ means. she kind of tore it wing, but we assured her the butterfly just wanted to hang out on the ground for a little while!

such a cool experience. so worth the $30. this is a spring tradition for sure!