Butterflies!!

Butterflies you get your own post! We got this cool grow your own butterflies kit for Char's birthday and opened it early. You have to mail away for caterpillars which travel via USPS to your front door. 

Ta Da! 4 fat (and one small) little caterpillars which spent a week on our counter eating and getting fatter until one day the made the J shape and cocooned in their chrysalis. All except for the tiny one which we think got eaten. Whoops. 

The kids watched patiently each day until it was time to move the chrysalis' into the big habitat. Unfortunately Mom threw away the nifty log holder they sent us so Dad improvised with a ghetto solo cup. 

Three attached to the cup. One fell off but not to worry we just slid him to the side. The kids named them "Dahna", "Drew", "Butter", and "Squishy". Squishy was the one figety one. 

Then one magical Sunday morning, we came out to find 2 happy little butterflies sitting on the cup. Not 1 hour later, Clark saw movement from Butter on the ground and sure enough he popped out in like 10 seconds. 

The kids thought the butterflies might be bored so every morning they would leave a box of cereal out beside the habitat for them to ready and enjoy. 

The next day our fourth and final butterfly made an exit. They all promptly threw up red goo all over the place (eww) and then happily fluttered around for 3 days to get stronger. We had a few snafus with red solo cups falling over, no one wanting to eat the fresh fruit Mom carefully cut up, and Drew escaping onto the counter one afternoon which prompted a very tense five minutes of being trapped in a cup and gently forced back into the enclosure. 

By Wednesday they were ready to be released so after dinner and before the Sister Missionaries arrived, we opened the hatch and two flew off immediately. We had to coax the third out out but the fourth (which I think was Butter but Clark is sure was Dahna), gave us a magical few minutes by sitting on the table and then letting Clark pick him up and hold him. Charlotte tried to be brave and feed him a whole strawberry but then he fell off Clark's hand and spooked her. 

Honestly one of the coolest experiences we have had as a family. The butterflies eventually all flew off but we like to think they may come back next year.