Sophie's Birthday Butterflies

We gifted Sophie a butterfly hatching kit for her birthday back in March. She loved butterflies and all creepy crawlies, so I thought this would be a fun project for her. We ordered the caterpillars, but they took awhile to arrive due to COVID. She checked the mailbox faithfully for days, and just when I thought they weren't going to show, after three weeks they finally came!!

Our painted lady caterpillars were shipped in a plastic jar with all the food they would need for this stage of life. They were super tiny when they arrived, but grew incredibly fast. I though they were actually pretty ugly things and they pooped all over the place so their jar looked pretty nasty. I didn't take any pictures of it, but below is a chart of their life cycle so you can see what they looked like. We counted five caterpillars when the jar arrived, but there must have been an unhatched egg somewhere in there because a week or so later a sixth caterpillar appeared! 

We watched them move through all the stages and then released the adults at the end. It was a fun for the whole family to watch and now if we ever find any caterpillars out in the wild, we put them in the net to raise them and see what kind of butterflies or moths they become!

Life cycle of a Painted Lady - the adults were pretty, but the caterpillars were nasty

Charlie loved to play in the enclosure while we were waiting for the caterpillars to grow

We had one late bloomer, but after most of the caterpillars had entered the chrysalis phase, we transferred them from their food jar to the mesh enclosure.

After about 10 days they started to emerge!

We kept them in the net for a week and fed them sugar water and pieces of fruit

When it was time to release the butterflies, we walked down to an open field near our house

It's always a little in Amarillo so some butterflies got swept away the moment they were released, but some stuck around awhile and the kids loved holding them

Video: Sophie's Butterflies

FREE Smoothies for a Year!

A smoothie shop near us was having their grand opening on Friday, February 1st. To promote their new location, they had announced "Free Smoothies for a Year" for the first 50 customers in line that morning! I think it's good to do something a little crazy every now and then, so I decided to go for it. A had a couple friends that were supposed to join me, but one decided it was too early/cold and the other's son came down with the flu during the night, so I ended up waiting by myself. 

Luckily we live in Texas, and while it gets cold here, it's not dangerous to stand outdoors in the early morning for a few hours. I left the house at 5 am, when it was 25 degrees out.  I was fully prepared with long underwear, my ski jacket, hat, gloves, hand warmers, a subzero sleeping bag, and a chair so I wouldn't have to sit on the ground. I was by far the most dressed person out there, and was shocked to see some people waiting in just t-shirts and sandals. 

When I arrived there were quite a few people already in line, but it looked like I would still make it. People kept coming and going, so it was hard to know exactly where I stood, but in the end I was #44 - I made it!! Free smoothies for a year for me!!

They passed out 50 cups just before 7 am and I was able to get one. It made me a bit anxious to be near the end of the line and I would have been pretty disappointed to go home empty handed.

My punch card, good for 52 free smoothies. There are about 30 combinations on their menu, so I'll be able to try them all! 

The kids are going to get very spoiled with their weekly smoothie. We pass the shop on our way home from Sophie's school so it's a convenient stop :)

The BIGGEST Puzzle Ever

I received a 3000 piece puzzle for my birthday from Liz. This was double the size of the largest puzzle I'd ever done and I swear the box weighed about 5 pounds. We started right after the Thanksgiving meal was cleaned up, and then finished exactly one week later, during which we had to eat at the bar because this puzzle covered the entire surface of our kitchen table. 

Because it was so large, we had very little room to work and found the best way make progress was to sortsimilar pieces into bowls/pans so we could take those "projects" elsewhere to have more room to work. Dave was the master organizer, and then I would take his collections, assemble the pieces, and then reinsert them into the puzzle. The kids were also surprisingly good a leaving the puzzle alone, although Davey would often stop by and hook a few pieces into random places, which we would later undo. 

After it was complete I left it out for two more days to admire, and then we broke it up again. It would have been a fun one to mount and frame, but the kits I looked at for a puzzle this large were super expensive! To make things easier for next time (if there is a next time) we put the pieces away into a few different gallon ziploc bags so we can work on it just one section at a time. 

The initial dump

All finished!

Some close up shots... one of the hardest parts of this puzzle was trying to figure out the scale. Things that looked right next to each other on the box would end up being four or five pieces apart. 

The elephants (aka massive grey blobs) were the most challenging and the section we saved for last, but they sure look pretty put together!

Charlie enjoyed swimming in the pieces after we first dumped it out. This could be why a couple came up missing at the end...

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6 - so close

Day 7 - All finished!! As you can see, our table was just barely big enough!

The 500th Post

I want to take a break from our usual updates to celebrate the 500th post on the blog!! For those who know my commitment to keeping a journal, this is a big deal. I probably logged only a dozen entries over a decade, but a few years after we got married I decided to to try a blog instead. I thought it would be a good way to keep a family record, stay in touch with family/friends who we don't see often, make use of photos so they weren't just sitting on my computer, and encourage me to take more pictures so I would have something to blog about. After seven years later it's still rolling, so I'd call it a success!

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed trying to stay on top of things and not fall behind, but I've never lost the motivation to keep it going, and today I'm so glad we have it. I refer back to it often. It's fun to take a little trip through time to remember what Sophie was like as a baby, or see what we were up to during the MBA years, or relive a vacation. I would eventually like to have it printed as a book, which I'm sure will cost a fortune, but you can't put a price on memories, right? Here's to hoping we reach 1000 posts someday!

Us in the fall of 2009 when the blog was born

Seven years and 500 posts later!

Shopping Spree

My family loves getting a good deal, so naturally thrift stores are one of our favorite places to shop.  Today was an especially exciting day because I had a coupon for 75% off kids clothes at Savers and I went crazy! I only picked up a few things for Sophie since I already have clothes put away for her, but Davey needed an entire fall/winter wardrobe so I really stocked up. Apparently no one is looking for long sleeve clothes and pants when it's 90 degrees out so I was able to find lots of good stuff. The only area where I fell short was pajamas, but buying all this filled up a whole punch card so I'll be able to go back for round two sometime soon :)

A new record for longest receipt!

Davey's Haul - 31 items for $15.75

Sophie's Stuff - 4 Items for $3.25

ICE!

On New Year's Eve we went to see ICE! with the family at the Gaylord Marriott Resort. We got there early to avoid lines and had time to look around before going in. The resort in and of it's self was amazing, especially since it was still decorated for Christmas. We were also there on the morning of the Cotton Bowl and this was the official hotel of Michigan State, one of the teams playing, so there were people everywhere. 

The theme this year was "Christmas Around the World". The exhibit featured holiday scenes and people from many different countries. In all there were over 2 million pounds of carved ice and it is kept at a chilly 9 degrees to preserve the creations. We brought coats and gloves to stay warm, and then they also give you another overcoat, but it was still pretty cold inside!

There was a big ice slide and Dave (far left) won the family race with his "duck n' tuck" technique

Sophie really struggled with the cold, but this is proof she did have some fun :)

Sophie spent most of the time snuggled up in Dave's coat for extra warmth

The final scene is a nativity carved from crystal clear ice - beautiful!

At the exit there is over-priced hot chocolate that even my frugal self couldn't turn down. It felt so nice to hold and drink something warm.

Before going home the group did some indoor snow tubing. It was just a little hill, but Sophie really, really loved it! Hopefully she will think the real thing is just as fun next year when we take her up to the mountains in Washington. I was just a spectator because of baby boy, but I ran into one of my childhood friends while I was watching that I hadn't seen in years, which was really fun. 

And I don't really have a caption for this last one... love my family!

We are the Champions!!

Oh what a great night!! Seattle is normally the definition of mediocrity when it comes to sports, but now we are Superbowl Champions!! And it wasn't just a win. It was, as my dad would say, a whooping. I am so proud of my hometown!!

We had Nat, Brodie, and Derek over for the game. Party planning is not one of my fortes, but I did make a 12th man flag, put up some streamers, got blue and green tableware, served up BBQ ribs and baked potatoes, and of course some Skittles :)  Brodie also made a celebratory Seahawk cake that we ate after the game. Great food, great people, great game!! GO HAWKS!

End of an Era

It's hard to believe that tonight Harry Potter came to an end. For the last 13 or so years, there has always been a book or a movie to look forward to. What a fun time to grow up!! It makes me wonder if there will ever be anything this big again - something this "magical" that can get so many people so excited. I sure hope so.

We were lucky and went to an advanced screening tonight in Seattle - with our VIP passes

So not to brag, but we HAVE ALREADY SEEN IT and it was GREAT!

 

Oh Sweet Victory!

Last night was a GOOD night at our house

4-for-4

The last of the Lamberts, my brother Derek, will be starting college this year and yesterday he got his acceptance email to BYU. Hooray! 

Four siblings attending BYU is great, but even more impressive are the 22 grandkids in a row from my mom's side that have all gone to BYU. Derek will contintue the tradition as number 23. Way to keep the legacy alive!

One more reason to rise and shout? The four Lamberts will all be living in Provo next school year. Fun times ahead!!

• Derek - Freshman
• Natalie - Junior
• Amy - Graduated, but supporting husband and second year law student Jeremy
• Melanie - Graduated, but supporting husband and second year MBA student Dave

Harry Potter, First-Class Style

Tonight Dave and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We thought the movie was good, but what we really enjoyed was the theater. Last year we got a gift card to Gold Class Cinemas from Santa that we are just now using this Christmas. It was awesome.

The chairs were massive, super comfy, and could fully recline.

We also had a call button that we could press for waiters to bring soft drinks, popcorn, and other treats. I ordered some little fresh-made donut holes that you could dip in different sauces. Dave got battered chicken strips that were delicious.

 

Santa - you got an A+ for this gift!!