Butterfly Fly Away

Greetings friends and family,

First off, a shout out to Tam.  I never know exactly who follows our adventures besides our immediate families, but it's nice to get an idea of who else takes time to enjoy the twins along with me.  

I'll start off the post with the video of Easton, Layla, and Daddy engaged in a Nerf war.  Mommy is gone for 48 hours so we had several hours of together time doing our favorite things.

I took a vacation day on Friday to hang out with the twins because Kendra went up North to the woods with 50 ladies from church.  I picked them up from school to get the weekend party started.  Easton came out first to greet me.  As we waited for Layla he pointed out a girl across the sidewalk who was waiting for her parents.  He described her as his favorite new friend by saying, "I like Kenzie a lot".  I asked, "How much do you like her?"  He walked straight over and gave her a big hug.  He looked back at me and said, "This much, Dad."

I think we found Easton's first crush.  He wished her a happy weekend and smiled as we walked away when Layla arrived.  Wow, sure starts early with kids these days.

We shared the afternoon and evening at home playing games, eating my specialty dinner (cheese crisps) doing chores and homework.  Yes, in the middle of all the good times we stopped to take care of business.

Saturday morning came too early.  My dual alarm clocks were right on schedule at 7:15 to come wake me up.  Saturday morning sleeping in means nothing to these two.

First on our list was soccer game 4 of the season.  Not much has changed for our team's skill level, which means we got destroyed 8 to 1.  Welcome to 5-year-old soccer.  The show where everything's made up and the points don't matter.  That's right, the points don't matter, just like "Whose Line Is It Anyway?".

I asked them at breakfast, "what are you going to do on the soccer field today better than last week?"  Easton said, "Have more fun."  Layla said, "Better offense and defense".

That about sums up their mindset towards everything in life and the wonderful individuality these two characters possess.    Both of them gave 100% though.  This was the first game they played on the field at the same time.    Easton had some great kicks and moments.

I told Layla to take the ball away when the other team gets it and run towards her goal.  She did exactly as instructed.

You can tell by the smile on her face that soccer is still an exciting privilege they look forward to each week.

Later in the day we went to Butterfly Wonderland, America's largest butterfly atrium.  Even after the triple A discount it cost the three of us $37.  I knew that going in so it wasn't a shock, but it still hurt a little to drop that kind of coin for 90 minutes of educational entertainment.

We arrived just in time to see the 15 minute 3D butterfly movie.  The theater was nice, the screen was big, and every kid in the audience spent the whole time reaching out their hands to grab what appeared to be butterflies flying right at our faces.

The show was pretty awesome.  That alone wasn't worth $37, but when added to the rest of the experience it was well worth the cost.  After the show we went directly to the atrium where thousands of butterflies fluttered around the 10,000 sq. ft. complex.

We stopped at almost every butterfly around us.  Especially ones that stopped on the walkway.

There was no boredom here.  Just sheer amazement and wonder.  Soft music plays throughout the facility.  When we first walked in the door Layla's eyes lit up as she realized "our song" was playing.  For the past few weeks she has been requesting the song, "Butterfly fly away" by Miley Cyrus.  No matter what kind of degenerate Miley turned into, this song sang as a duet with her Dad is still very valuable and applicable.

The atrium connected with the aquarium we visited with Uncle Wayne in Chattanooga this summer was equally as impressive.  However, this time Easton had a few land on him.

Layla got such a kick out of his reaction.  This is my favorite picture of the weekend.

I took a video clip of Easton's new friend. His reactions are humorous and Layla telling the other visitors about it is priceless.

Another odd gem is the Koi pond in the middle of the building.  Several large ones were just begging to be touched by little hands, but their self-control proved to be strong enough not to touch them.

By the time we were on our way out Easton grew comfortable with the free-loaders.  This one on his shirt tail was as entertaining to watch as the other one.

I got in the action too for a moment.  A butterfly landed on my arm, but as I went to take a picture it flew away.  The brown blur between my hand and Layla's face is a butterfly flying away.

The Wonderland also had an exhibit of honey bees where this long tube sits between the honeycomb and a hole in the wall where the bees travel to get pollen.

The sting ray tank was enjoyable, but since they've already had a few opportunities to touch them it wasn't as memorable as it would be for someone who hadn't.

Overall I would give it two thumbs up.  I bet the twins will be talking about our trip here for many weeks to come.  We will come back someday, but not within the next year or more.  It was cool and worth it, but not a place that I'd get an annual pass for.

Kendra comes home Sunday and we've missed her terribly.  I had a great time with the twins and I'm really happy Kendra had this time away with the ladies.  Shortly after Kendra gets home Ouma flys in to spend a few weeks hanging out with the 4 Webbs.  A whole new level of happiness will consume our humble abode tomorrow.

See you soon!