A Little Bit of Adventure

I started out today wanting adventure. We've been couped up inside for the past couple of weeks rearranging rooms again and I was dying to be outside, to explore, to find something new and to experience nature. The rooms are finally functional and mostly organized, it was the start of a new week and I was ready to do something exciting or atleast different than cleaning, sorting and moving furniture.

First off, not all the kids were as enthusiastic about adventure as I was. Some would've been content to just stay home and others wanted to be out, but not necessarily outside. After much debate and discussion we decided to go to a very touristy area of the beach that we rarely go to and have never really explored. It offered something different, some shopping areas and still, the great outdoors......so of course, it started raining. On to plan B. We settled for wandering around Toys r Us to get some Christmas ideas. Not exactly a wild outdoor adventure, but it would have to do.

We explored Toys r Us for awhile and did find some really cool stuff and lots of Christmas inspiration. My middle daughter had me take pictures of all the things she liked. There were a lot. She also found a really cute bug playground that she bought with her allowance.

My son found an accordion that he wandered around playing and I enjoyed finding a selection of non-plastic toys that don't light up, talk or play music that I might like for the baby. Nothing against plastic toys with batteries but do they ALL have to be?

After Toys r Us and a quick rest to feed the baby and eat some sandwiches we had packed, the sun finally came back out. Instead of going home, we decided to turn another way and see what we ran into. So, we were getting mildly adventurous. We stopped at a park we hadn't been to in a long time. The kids climbed a rock "castle" that they like, while I watched some raccoons and took a few pictures.

We took a very short-lived nature walk through some trails. Since not everyone was happy to be there, it wasn't quite as spectacular as I was hoping for, but it was still fun.

We thought this log looked like an alligator......

 Exploring the mangroves

On the ground, all around the mangroves were little crab holes. We'd see them move out of the corner of our eyes but as soon as we'd look they were gone.

 HIDDEN PICTURE

He blends in really well but if you look in the very center of the picture, you'll see a little brown crab

After that, we headed to the pet store to purchase another replacement mouse for my daughter, her only requirement for the day. Then, with a little mouse carrier buckled into the backseat of our van, we headed home. It was not the amazing outdoor adventure I had envisioned. There was some rain and grumpiness and arguing, but it was still a nice day, filled with many good moments.

Botanical Gardens

 

Yesterday we took a trip to a local botanical gardens. It was a gorgeous day! After lots and lots of rain recently, it was nice to be outside in the sunshine, surrounded by beautiful nature. We had a picnic lunch in a park before we went into the gardens. Then, spent some time strolling the grounds before taking a very informative tram tour. I wish we could retain all the information they give us because it's so fascinating. Maybe it's just my sleep-deprived brain, but there is just more cool stuff there than I can remember.

Hunting for nature.

When we got there they gave her a list of things to look for while we walked around.

I was intending to take a picture of this lantern. 

I didn't realize that the background was so sweet.

This was awesome! 

I was taking a picture of what we thought was a lizard, stranded on a coconut. As soon as I started to snap the picture he jumped off and RAN across the TOP of the water!
So, apparently, lizards can walk, or at least run, on water!

Climbing this super cool tree

 

 I think I could take pictures of flowers all day. If only I had a real camera!

My younger daughter took a picture of this because it looked like candy corn.

Something retained from the tram tour: This is from the Cycad family, a prehistoric order of trees.

They are often mistaken for Palm trees.

 This is the shadow of the Ibis who rode along on the top of the tram.

 Sometimes he jumped off and ran alongside of us looking for lizards.

 We saw these at the zoo and thought they were interesting. At the botanical gardens we found out that This is a Sausage Tree and this strange looking fruit feeds Black Rhinos, Elephants and Baboons.

Giant air plant

Enjoying the shady stream

Beautiful  butterfly garden

We stopped to watch this locust for awhile

she loved the tram tour

Rainbow Eucalyptus

 

Of course, I HAD to take some butterfly pictures.

   HALLOWEEN   

My kids usually start planning their Halloween costumes the day after Halloween. When they were little we used to plan what they were going to be together but now that they're older they've taken over most of the creative process. Good thing I have a little one to start over with!  My older 3 came up with their costumes all by themselves and I just helped with a few details. 
I think they turned out amazing!

We love to go trick-or-treating at the zoo. The day we went was a little rainy but that didn't stop us! Ok, it stopped me a little. While the baby and I headed for shelter, the kids enjoyed very short lines for candy and  games.

 Climbing the palm trees

 Everyone made it to the top!

They kept giving him free turns because no one was around, and he kept dunking the poor guy!

  Carving Pumpkins  

 Because we had a lot of rain before and during Halloween, pumpkin carving was a little different than other years. My son didn't carve one. My younger daughter cleaned out the guts but never carved a face.  She claimed that scooping the guts is the best part and didn't care about making a face. She also saved all the seeds, washed them herself and then helped me toast them. It's always helpful to have someone around who doesn't mind the dirty jobs.

 My oldest daughter picked out a pumpkin that looked like Spookley, a pumpkin in a movie she watched, and then, carved it to look like him.

SPOOKLEY