In Which I Inundate You With Pictures

We visited a local Botanical Garden and communed with nature. Here are some lovely bleeding hearts.
I love Borage. It is such a hairy little plant, and the flowers are edible.
Amazing roots on the Moreton Bay Fig.
Girls who run with the wind.
This bee was in need of a stop to unload his amazing pollen saddlebags.
Wisteria spiral
Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed plant. The plant and it's strange pods are what actually stopped us. We didn't know what it was until closer examination revealed 5 or 6 little fellows munching away contentedly.
This working water pump was a highlight.
This nest is actually in our neighbors low palm. We have had fun watching "our" mockingbird and her partner building their nest through our kitchen window. At some point we went out in the yard and broke a bunch of twigs off of some branches and threw some snippets of yarn out for them as well. If you look closely at the bottom of the nest you can see our pink yarn. The last time we checked there were 3 eggs. We can't wait for them to hatch!

Strawberry Picking

We visited a local organic farm the other day for a tour and strawberry picking.
It was a big hit, as you can see. We were pulled by a tractor through the fields all the while getting lots of interesting information, but better yet, tastes of plants straight from the fields. The girls tried everything; cilantro, romaine, radishes (spicy!), carrots, spinach, snap peas, and lots of strawberries.
We each got a small box to fill with strawberries. Of course we ate and picked to our hearts content.

Camping

We had a wonderful time on our camping trip near Lake Arrowhead. Dogwood campground was good to us and provided us with tons of dirt, the opportunity to make smores and enough room for 3 other families. The girls are great campers! No surprise really, because they love to explore and dig in the dirt. I have never seen Delaney quite that dirty. Emma is ready for another trip soon.


Our tent was actually quite comfortable, a palatial palace really, with enough room for 2 inflatable mattresses. During the set up, which took awhile, I told Sam we should just get a little tent and sleep on mats, but during the night I changed my mind. It was quite cushy and awesome to camp without any aches and pains!


Without rice crispy treats and smores where would marshmallows be?? The girls were big fans of smores...Delaney just took off with a bunch of marshmallows because it was easier.

Flying

Here is Emma at the Santa Monica Pier. She always surprises me with the things she will do. She had been asking to do this again for a long time. She bounced joyously until the man running this lifted her way off the trampoline into the air and her feet would not touch. I saw a brief look of panic shoot across her face, but she hid it well.

Griffith Observatory

Isn't he cute??

We visited the Griffith Observatory on Sunday. Emma is interested in the planets, asteroids and meteorites, which she calls meat eaterites. It is an interesting building with all sorts of goodies for the budding astronomer. Emma enjoyed finding her weight on different planets, seeing a movie with Sam about the big bang and all the planets and stars and seeing different actual pieces of space debris.