Goin' on a bug hunt

We're goin' on a bug hunt....we're gonna catch a big one....we're not scared....


Julie and I went on a hunt today with our kids and Julie's sister, for butterfly eggs and caterpillars. Not just any butterfly egg, but the Monarch butterfly. We found 2 itty bitty caterpillars and 12 eggs!! I'd say that it was a pretty successful endeavor. Plus the kids all had a ball.


This is a pic of the Milkweed plant, it is what the Monarch butterfly lays it's eggs on, and when the caterpillar hatches, it eats all the leaves.

We're on our way...

hunting, hunting, hunting and just waiting to hear someone yell "I found one!!"

Amaya and Cheyenne inspecting the leaves for the eggs, they each found an egg or two! Good eyes girls!!
This little egg on a leaf, is what they were looking for.

Here is one that is going to hatch a very small caterpillar, very soon. You can tell because the head of the egg turns a little black, then out pops a baby caterpillar.


Oh, and just to show you what a little caterpillar looks like the day that it pops out.......this popped out this afternoon. I couldn't find him at first, but after multiple searches...I found him. He is so little, it is no wonder that I couldn't find him/her. (so tiny in comparison to my fingerprints)

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ~Jeffrey Glassberg












Josh and Ryan watching me through the screen at Julie's. They are so cute.

Butterflies

This is such a fun time for nature with the kids. We have done caterpillars and monarch butterflies for years. This year we have already had 2 hatch, and still have one very hungry caterpillar left in the aquarium. These pics are from last year.

All of these are from this year so far. I expect to get plenty of caterpillars over the next few months. Amaya lives for this stuff!

I love to have been able to catch this stage. It is just after the caterpillar turns. It is even still wiggling around at this point, and if you look directly underneath it, the skin will be in a little scrunched up pile. This usually happens very fast and is easily missed. Good eye Amaya!! ( she alerted me to the change going on)

Pool Fun

We went to the pool today. My friend Renae let us use her crystal clear oasis for a nice break. It was fantastic. My friend Julie and her son Josh went with us. It seems like this summer is going by so fast and we haven't even done much. Usually we are outside everyday, in the pool or going somewhere. The weather hasn't been great, and we have been busy doing I don't even know what... I don't know where the time is going. I was actually supposed to work from 11-3 to day, but they called me off. (it was extra anyways) But, since I got up at 6:30 and started getting ready for the day, I was feeling ambitious to go do something....so I called Julie. It was Renae's or the beach! We decided on Renae's (Thank you Renae, sorry that you had to work!!)

Of course, the kids found the squirt guns first. Amaya, the fish, got in the water right away, and was never ready to get out, even when it was time to go. Jake had a ball too. Ryan and Josh were a little apprehensive, but after a while they got in and out without any problems. Ryan liked running around with the squirt gun the best.





















Time for snacks, yummy!

Little guys inside us.

Jake: Hey Mom... (as he is sitting on the toilet going potty)

Mom: What Jake?

J: Did you know that there are a ton of itty bitty people inside of us? Everyone has them.

M: No, I didn't know that.

J: Ya, they are inside of you and they help you poop.

M: Really?

J: Ya, there are also little things inside of all the food that we eat, they are magic, spicey metochlorians. They have little vitamins that go inside you and then the little guys put that in a little machine that makes the poop. Then the machine throws it up into a water slide, and then it makes it go down really fast. Then the little guys, who have shovels help it go down and it makes you poop.

M: How did you know this?

J: Grandpa told me.

M: He did? He is a really smart man!!

J: Ya, he is.

Jake's Soccer

Jake had his first day of soccer today. He was so excited all day yesterday, that he even slept with his shin guards on. Really! Then when he got up this morning, he got dressed right away. I told him to go and brush his teeth, and when I went into the bathroom to check on him, he was putting "goop" in his hair. (bed head stuff) Of course, he was putting way too much in, but it was so cute that he was getting all ready for the day. (we don't use the goop unless we are getting pics, or special things-apparently this was one of those special things)

Then when we got there this am, he was being shy and afraid and didn't even want to stay. Well, I introduced him to Brooke, one of the coach helpers, and all was well. (he knows cute girls when he sees them)

He just loved it.

It is so nice to have him do something. He always does so well when Amaya gets to do stuff, he never gets really jealous or anything, you can tell that he just wants to do it too. Here is his chance to do something by himself.

When I got home from work tonight, he was sleeping in his bed with his shin guards on again :) Yeah!! He has even made the comment "I love soccer, I want to live there, I want to be the coach so I can stay there all the time", which is what he says when he really likes it.

Jake's certificate and team picture for completion of the camp. He loved every minute of it!!
He had an awesome coach and even made a few friends.

Baby Love

Sometimes, while lying with my kids at the end of the day, I get such an intense feeling of love for them, that I could actually cry. I know, I am weird, but seriously. I will be lying next to one of them after reading a book, or just talking and I think about them, where they came from, who they are becoming and I just get an intense feeling. Like I am so proud of my accomplishment....that being my child. They are such neat little people. I love to see who they have become. They are all so different in their personalities, mannerisms, likes or dislikes. They are healthy, fine young little people. They are the greatest thing in the world!



"Group Hug", exclaims Amaya!























Sometimes Ryan will just crawl up on either Amaya, or Jake and just lay on them. It is so cute, and they just eat it up. They just love him.

Hangin' with my bro.

Ryan on Daddy, waves to Mommy taking the picture.

Fountain, MI July 5th

Saturday we went up to Aunt Wendy's and Uncle Kim's house in Fountain. We have been doing this for a few years now, and have a great time every time we go. They live in a lake (William's lake), and have a huge yard, so all the kids run around, fish, swim, play volleyball, play tether ball, do the slip and slide, do water balloons, and just have a ball. This is the Fisher side of the family.

Amaya gets in the water as soon as possible. She just hangs out there, and doesn't even mind all the slime or whatever else comes with the swampy plants. This year when she got out, she was covered with a ton or red bumps which itched. She is a total drama queen, so she cried, then was on the verge of tears for an hour afterwards. Reguardless, she did not return to the lake water after that. She did jump in the inflatable pool with Jake and Kiley however.

After swimming, Jake and Austin went fishing (for a short while), but didn't catch anything, so they just left the poles out (I know, not so safe), so, when the older girls were going to out and swim, they found Amaya's pole in the water, just enough to have caught a fish. Dumb fish, there wasn't even a worm on the hook.

Squirting Uncle Butch.

Ryan had fun running around with the squirt guns and throwing the water balloons. Grandpa would fill one, hand it to Ryan, and he would throw it and break it immediately, over and over again.

Bubbles, bubbles, all little kids love bubbles.

Grandpa filling water balloons.

Ryan, Austin, and Jake squirting Grandpa off the deck.

Volleyball fun.

Out came the slip and slide. Ryan, Jake, Amaya and Kiley had some more fun.

We really enjoy going up here each year. It is quite relaxing and fun to get together with the family. While up there, I was thinking of how Jim collapsed, and how fast things happen. That whole cardiac arrest thing is still quite surreal to me, but I did think of how we easily could have been without Jim this year while we were up there. We are so thankful for everything that we have. We really are blessed.

Tired little bugs after the day. Jake and Amaya stayed at Aunt Lisa's Friday night, the night before, so they were really worn out. Ryan, I think was over tired and stayed awake for the entire car ride home.......

Crazy tent city from the music festival at the JJ Resort this weekend. I heard that these tent spots cost $450 per night. Can you say sardines????