Trip to Sunnyland

This week we were provided the opportunity to take a really fun field trip to Sunnyland Center and Gardens. This place was amazing, if you have time, click on the link and read up on it. If you are a reader of mine and live in the area, seriously consider visiting this place, you won't regret it.

Sunnylands teamed up with MCCS to provide military families with preschoolers a day at Sunnylands tailored just for them. As hard as military life is, I'm alway so grateful to businesses, organizations and people who donate thier time and talents to help military families. If you have ever helped out a military family in any way, I just want to say a big thank you! It is appreciated so much!

We woke up early and headed to base to sign in. Sunnyland sent luxury buses to pick us up, my girls were so giddy with excitement to ride on a big bus! Haley had to use the on bus bathroom like 3 times. I think she was impressed with the novelty of a bathroom in a vehicle. When we got Sunnyland we started to explore the gardens. There was a lot of wildlife and an excessive amount of lizards.

 

Our first stop was the Labyrinth garden. There were tubs of chalk for the children to draw all over the path.

We walked around and observed the flowers and hummingbirds in another section of the gardens. I'm pretty proud of my hummingbird shots, it took like 50 tries to get a good one. Those things move soooo fast!

 

Click on the pictures for a bigger view.

 

 

As you can tell from Serenity's grumpy face, it was getting hot so we headed inside for out next activity.

 

 

The girls got an artist smock and got to paint butterfly pictures. Its a little hard to see from this pic but Serenity (left) was very precise, in the lines with her picture. Haley just filled the whole thing up with color!

 

 

And if pictures weren't enough they even got thier own ceramic pots! Again you can see how detail-orientated Serenity is with her purple around the edges. Haley has to have creative freedom and cover every inch in paint haha! I love how different and unique they are!

 

We set the art on a table to dry and grabbed some lunch. They really outdid themselves with the catering. There were like 8 different types of sandwhices and subs, coleslaw, different types of potato salad and different fruit salads. Plus chips, tea, soda and water bottles. For dessert there was cookies and brownies. It was yummy! We took our food outside on the lawn and laid down our picnic blanket.

Me and cheeto face

 

Taking a nap after lunch!

 

After lunch we were given a cup full of ladybugs to release into the garden. Ladybugs eat the harmful bugs and help the delicate desert ecosystem run smoothly.

 

 



We toured some more of the gardens and played a little put put in the Performance Circle.

 

 

More beautiful plant life!

 

They had lots of books and educational toys out for the kids while we waited for the buses to come pick us back up.

 

 

It was pretty cool to see all the celebrities and diplomats who were or are frequent visitors. There was Queen Elizabeth, Bush Sr. and Jr. Margaret Thatcher, the Kennedys, Ronald Regan...and thats just one board!

Long day but a good one!







Exploring Joshua Tree

Yesterday we went to Joshua Tree National Park. It was our first time in the park and I can't wait to go back! It's free for active duty and thier dependants and only $5 for civilians.

We did the Skull Rock Trail which was great for the girls. The trail itself was pretty level, but there were plenty of round rocks close to the trail to climb on. Here is a collage I made of the scenery...

It was a beautiful day and the scenery was amazing. The weather was perfect for a hike, warm but with a cool breeze. I'm in love with this area!

 

We spent about 3 hours hiking minus the 15 minutes it took to drive to the trail start.

Stopping for a water break and a picture. Always remember to carry plenty of water when you are in the desert. Well actually anywhere you are hiking!

 

We all had fun trying our hand (or foot) at rock climbing!

I think its very important to instill in our children a love of nature. My kids don't watch a lot of Tv, but I'm trying to cut back on the Tv they do watch. When I was growing up we never had cable, and movie nights were once a week on Fridays. We had to play outside or use our imaginations to entertain ourselves. Some of my best childhood memories were those of exploring the outdoors, going on outdoor adventures with my dad and playing outside with the neighborhood kids. It saddens me so much to see kids glued to a tvs for hours or gaming on the computer oblivious to the world around them. Did you know too much screen time can cause ADHD symptoms, obesity, anxiety and depression? There is so much more to life than video and computer games. Unplugg and get out there and do some exploring!

To celebrate nature I'm doing a giveaway this week for a cool Planet Earth coloring book. Click on the Giveaway tab and follow the instructions to enter.

Pinckney Island

Yesterday the girls and I explored Pinckney Island. It is a national wildlife refuge right off of Hilton Head. It was a bit hot but the bugs weren't bad and we saw lots of wildlife. The girls and I walked a mile out and then a mile back. It was a long walk but the girls did well and I sure tired them out. I ended up piggybacking Haley the last quater of a mile. Next time I'll bring the double jogger and we will do the whole trail.

Pinckney Island Website

The girls and I racing!

 

 

One tired girl!

 

 

Flowers and butterflies

 

Beauty in the Sky

Over the summer I worked on a fishing boat several nights a week. It was a really fun job, and I'm sorry to see the season end. I brought my camera along on a few trips and captured some of God's beautful creation. Enjoy!