Breanna received her caterpillars in the mail  a few weeks ago.

She diligently watched them, waiting for them to move from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly.

She was so attached to them that she even took them to the funeral home for a family viewing. I was a little afraid the staff would ask questions, but they only raised their eyebrows, trying to figure out what we had while we scooted on in.

Finally, they “hatched.” She was absolutely thrilled!

Take a look at these incredible creatures. The wing looks like velvet.

The body looks so different from what I expected, and is absolutely gorgeous.

The face is mesmerizing.

Check out this one eating with his proboscus. Amazing!

But the best part of the whole experiment was the butterfly who couldn’t fly. I was sad at first; then I saw him as an incredible gift to Breanna. She carried him around all day on her shoulder, becoming fast friends with him.

I tell you the truth–he shook like crazy when the rest of us handled him, but was smooth and cool and relaxed in Breanna’s hands.

She named him Mr. Butter and spent lots of time playing with him.

He enjoyed playing back.

He also enjoyed a good snuggle.

I guess it’s all that loving that finally helped Mr. Butter to fly out on his own. Breanna misses him, but she will cherish these memories for a lifetime.

Recently we visited blogging friend Becky and her family at their new country house. The entire yard is a maze of secret gardens my children loved running through. (Check out her post Another Day, Another Dozen Flowers for some gorgeous photos.)

The highlight for the kids was swimming in their awesome pool.

You wouldn’t believe from these photos that, a few minutes into swimming, a really ferocious thunderstorm rolled through. Lightning lit up the house and thunder shook it. But you know kids–they loved it.

An impromptu photo session. What mom could resist snapping this?

A few simple snapshots from our yard.

Last month our Sonflower Sisters group took us on a journey of trust.

We had to trust Ms. Melanie wouldn’t let the big vulture out of the cage, first. TeeHee.

We practiced trusting one another on hikes through the woods. Yes, the girls did blindfold and lead me. And no, I didn’t peek!

We trusted the rain wouldn’t ruin our swimming session.

And, biggest of all, Breanna trusted me that swimming in big pools is fun. What a breakthrough!

I love when we learn new things from our Sisters.

What fun it is

to discover the beauty of God’s creation

in new ways.

We’ve lived in our lovely home on the river for seven long years, yet this is the first summer I’ve let the kids actually swim in the murky brown water.

Dont’ feel too badly for them–we have a swimming pool in our yard. Besides, not everyone wanted to get into the river anyway. Some were satisfied with just “fishing” and snapping photos.

But three of us were river rats, swimming in and out of piers and between boats, loving the feel of the warm water between their toes.

Umm…and doing the “belly bump” in lifevests. TeeHee!

They learned a few things…

like don’t open your mouth underwater, and don’t swim between boats and the pier (yes, that scream-heard-round-the-world was me).

They also learned…

how to kick back,

and how to enjoy adventures together. These are the moments I live for.

After their visit to the National Crime Museum, the boys drove over to the Smithsonian’s new National Air and Space Museum:  Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

It looks like a fantastic place!

This tower is not working,

but relays all the information from the real tower nearby. You can go up in it to watch over the runway.

This is the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima during WWII. I don’t even have words.

After a long day, the boys made sure to get a photo with Dad.

After dinner and an Imax, the boys headed home to show us girls all their photos and tell us all about their exciting day.

Recently Hubby took the boys to the National Museum of Crime and Punishment in Washington, D.C.

They learned about how criminals have been punished throughout the ages.

This is a scary picture.

They much preferred training to be the good guys.

I feel safer knowing these two are on the right side.

Recently we happened upon a beautiful magnoila tree. God is so good to have created such beautiful foliage. Thank You, Jesus!