What to do, what to do?

Ben is teething.  Bad.  Natalie has been in a funk for the past 2 days that we can't quite figure out (she is also getting brand new molars, so maybe that's it).  We were supposed to have a play date this morning, which we rescheduled because I wondered yesterday if Nat wasn't getting sick.  When she woke up no worse this morning, and her tantruming was making me kind of crazy, I knew we needed to get out of the house.

The weather was a little on the chilly side, so we elected to head to Krohn Conservatory for the Butterfly Show (or exhibit?).  In any case, it's a giant room filled with all sorts of flowers and butterflies all over, free to land on you as they wish.

she was so careful with the butterflies

(as opposed to last year when she brutally attacked one with the card)

the spot that looks like a hole in my shirt is a butterfly...Natalie was so excited that it landed on me

If you have way more patience than a 2 year old, and basically just hang out in one place for a few minutes, the butterflies will just land on you.  Ben was the perfect target....until one landed on him and his pudgy hand nearly mauled it before I could stop him.  Luckily, it flew away unscathed, but probably scarred for life.

Here Ben, look at this one!

all sizes and colors

we kept "catching" the boring brown ones

Because there really is only so much to do at the Butterfly Show, the novelty soon wore off and then we had just driven a fairly long way for not so long of a stay.  A quick reassessment of the weather proved that it had warmed up nicely and the sun was out.  I packed snacks and jackets in the event that this happened, so we loaded into the car and drove a few minutes across town to the zoo!

the tulips were all still blooming as part of Zoo Blooms

tulips of ALL colors

Nat requested milk, but was then drawn to this "juice" in a lion bottle.  We were having fun and she was being good, so I figured "why not?"  It ended up being the cause of a pretty rough situation, but at the time she was in 2 year old heaven.

Nat was mesmerized by the flamingos.  I actually think they are gross, and was haunted by a bad memory of being newly pregnant with Ben and nearly losing it at the flamingo exhibit at the Phoenix Zoo (hey, those things really stink!), and was trying to hurry her along.  She could not be swayed.

please tell me this is not the most handsome boy you've ever seen

oh, that hair!  She's been better lately about letting me put a barrette in it, but not today.

Natalie loves this elephant statue

In fact, playing here delayed us a few minutes in getting to the bathroom and car...

Remember the juice in the lion bottle?  I didn't think about it at the time, but all that sugar probably upset Nat's tummy a little and she ended up having a poopy accident on our way out.  We planned to hit the bathroom before we got in the car to go home, but she didn't make it.  She said she had to go, but gave no indication of urgency or that she had an accident, so when I yanked her pants down in the bathroom, we made a giant mess.  Ben was screaming with hunger and Nat was ticked that I threw away her underwear.  Thank the lord for wipes and extra clothes in the car...

We had such a fun day of exploring and adventures!