The boys were out of school (again) this week, so we got to enjoy our Just Me & My Boys day for October. And we were seriously spoiled by some gorgeous fall weather! First we went up, up, up to Wells Overlook. This is where Russ proposed to be back in 1999, and I don't know that I've been back since, so it was a great trip down memory lane.
I had prepared the boys for all of the steps they would have to walk to get to the top. They were remembering the 10-story hike up steps at the City Museum in St. Louis this summer, and when they saw this tower, they said, "That's all?!?" Compared to the 208 steps at City Museum, these 48 steps were a piece of cake!
Enjoying the view from the top. The boys counted at least 20 water towers from up here.
"Look Mom, I see Wellsville!"
No JM&MB day would be complete without some good snack food, so I came prepared and we had a make-shift picnic from the top of the tower.
Heading back down. . .
There was plenty of green space and so Calvin decided we should go hiking. Well our recent hike at Hillsdale where we kinda sorta got lost was apparently still too fresh in Oliver's mind and he wanted no part of a hike. So I told Calvin he could "hike" as long as I could still see him, and off he went. . .
. . .While Oliver watched from afar with me.
We enjoyed some pretty wildflowers in bloom while Calvin finished his hike.
Something new for this JM&MB day: shopping! And No, it wasn't my idea. Really, it wasn't! The boys always get to choose at least one activity on our special days, and they really wanted to go looking for some new shoes. So we went shoe shopping.
After 4 different stores, they finally each found shoes they liked at Kohl's. They were so pumped to have their new running shoes!
With the new shoes carefully packed back in their boxes, we loaded up and headed to Pendleton's.
They had plenty of festive fall decorations all over the farm.
We got to take a tractor ride to our real reason for visiting: the Butterfly Bio-villa.
I made them take the picture in the butterflies, so they made me take one next to the 5 foot tall caterpillar.
There was so much to see and learn about in the Bio-Villa.
This was not the first time the boys had been to the Bio-Villa with me, but I don't think Calvin remembered it, as he was less than 2. And I'm quite confident Oliver doesn't remember as he was still in my tummy. Look how cute 20-month-old Calvin is!
The owner (same man as 6 years ago, coincidentally) gave us a great tour of the butterfly's life cycle.
First is the egg; look very closely on the left side of the picture and you'll see a little yellow-ish dot on the underside of a leaf -- that's the egg.
The egg hatches to reveal the caterpillar (larva). We saw all sizes, from one-day-old to the "J-shape" ready to go into the next phase. The boys loved petting these fuzzy little guys.
Look at all of the caterpillars on this plant!
The next stage is the where the real magic happens as the caterpillar enters its chrysalis (pupa).
Once metamorphosis is complete, we meet the real star of the show, the beautiful butterfly!
There were hundreds of monarchs. . .
. . . and several black swallowtails and many more!
The boys loved learning how these butterflies would all be tagged this weekend and then fly all the way to Mexico!
The butterflies were beautiful and fascinating. They are certainly one of those animals that demonstrates our God's amazing artistry in creation.
Leaving the Bio-Villa, the boys and I went to explore the other fun fall activities that Pendleton's had to offer, such as this corn bath. . .
. . . and the pumpkin sling-shot! The boys could have done this all day.
It was a simply glorious day to spend with my boys, and I'm so thankful for this time!
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