One of the most fun things we did in Michigan is spend an afternoon with my Mom at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. We were lucky enough to be there during the six weeks of the year that they load up their conservatory with an incredible array of gorgeous amazon butterflies.
They have a couple greenhouses there including this one. The whole time I was in there I was dreaming of being able to spend an hour in there alone, meditating. It was one of those rare places that was just so PEACEFUL...minus the rowdy children, agitated adults and occasional employee reminding us to not touch the plants. ;) I guess after all the years I have spent learning and working in greenhouses they feel like home to me.
I, unfortunately don't have any pictures of the Amazon house that was hosting the butterflies. We had barely entered the place when a gorgeous blue morpho swooped over our heads and Lucy collapsed onto the floor in terror, screaming, crying and shaking. She spent the rest of our time inside wrapped around my head, trying in vein to smother herself on my neck. I could barely peal her off to point out how beautiful and special and magical and
HARMLESS the butterflies were. Maybe she is not destined to be a entomologist.
As soon as we got outside into their incredible children's garden, she bounced right back to her goofy self. What a place, they had a 5 -senses garden, gorgeous sculptures, a play area filled with tree houses and rope bridges, a huge sand area, a raised water area with boats and other floating toys, a log cabin with games and books and puzzles, a English hedge maze...it was really incredible. We spent an hour and a half out there in the 40 something degrees and drizzly rain...on a nice day I could see spending the better part of a day there. Friends, if you are near Grand Rapids, you have got to check
this place out this summer! We didn't even get to the gorgeous trails that wind through a wetlands area and their beautifully manicured sculpture gardens. I WILL have a romantic day date with my husband there at some point.
Since is was our last night with Granny, we enjoyed a nice dinner out together. The kids made sure to get as many kisses out of her as possible. These days are the ones I hope will stick with them for many, many years.
One of the most fun things we did in Michigan is spend an afternoon with my Mom at the Frederik Meijer Gardens. We were lucky enough to be there during the six weeks of the year that they load up their conservatory with an incredible array of gorgeous amazon butterflies. 
They have a couple greenhouses there including this one. The whole time I was in there I was dreaming of being able to spend an hour in there alone, meditating. It was one of those rare places that was just so PEACEFUL...minus the rowdy children, agitated adults and occasional employee reminding us to not touch the plants. ;) I guess after all the years I have spent learning and working in greenhouses they feel like home to me. 
I, unfortunately don't have any pictures of the Amazon house that was hosting the butterflies. We had barely entered the place when a gorgeous blue morpho swooped over our heads and Lucy collapsed onto the floor in terror, screaming, crying and shaking. She spent the rest of our time inside wrapped around my head, trying in vein to smother herself on my neck. I could barely peal her off to point out how beautiful and special and magical and HARMLESS the butterflies were. Maybe she is not destined to be a entomologist. 
As soon as we got outside into their incredible children's garden, she bounced right back to her goofy self. What a place, they had a 5 -senses garden, gorgeous sculptures, a play area filled with tree houses and rope bridges, a huge sand area, a raised water area with boats and other floating toys, a log cabin with games and books and puzzles, a English hedge maze...it was really incredible. We spent an hour and a half out there in the 40 something degrees and drizzly rain...on a nice day I could see spending the better part of a day there. Friends, if you are near Grand Rapids, you have got to check this place out this summer! We didn't even get to the gorgeous trails that wind through a wetlands area and their beautifully manicured sculpture gardens. I WILL have a romantic day date with my husband there at some point. 
Since is was our last night with Granny, we enjoyed a nice dinner out together. The kids made sure to get as many kisses out of her as possible. These days are the ones I hope will stick with them for many, many years. 
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