Summer Celebrations: Butterflies

 

When I found butterfly nets at the dollar store a few months ago, I knew we were in for good times.  The irony was that when I pulled out the nets for our official week-long celebration, we didn't spot a single butterfly.  Not one.  We saw plenty before...we've seen plenty since...  Isn't that how it goes??!

But who needs real butterflies anyway?  Bubble butterflies are just as fun (easier, actually) to catch!    

 And the Bean Museum has plenty of real (albeit dead) butterflies on display:

And there are ten million potential butterfly crafts:

We could have made these.  I really wanted to do this. But ... I didn't want to shop for supplies.  So I went with what we had on hand:  tissue paper and pipe cleaner (Wes makes fun of me for keeping the tissue paper from every gift we receive.  I just tell him: you never know when you'll have to whip up a butterfly puppet!). 

But we'd actually have survived without the tissue paper - 'cause Lucy's Grandma and cousins came for a visit and brought a corresponding craft with them (who told them it was butterfly week??!).  I think Grandma said that Walmart makes these pre-packaged kits?

We spent the rest of the week coloring butterfly pictures (these were perfect),

and reading butterfly books (I couldn't get my hands on a copy of The Butterfly Alphabet, grrrrrrrr, but we loved Waiting for Wings, among many others, and Butterfly, Butterfly has long been a favorite 'round these parts.  Spencer recites it randomly throughout the day.     

There were a few butterfly snacks, 

(pg. 13 of July's Friend)

           

          

and we really searched everywhere for real butterflies! 

To no avail.

*sigh*

But Lucy caught two ladybugs:

Here she is dancing about setting the ladybug free:

And we chased plenty of dragonflies:

Does that count?

My favorite part of the week was the evening Wes told Lucy about the migration of monarchs he remembers from his childhood - how he ran and jumped into the air and, surrounded by all those butterflies, felt for an instant like he was flying, too. (I know.  I already told him to write it and publish it.  It was so dear.)

Anyhow, folks, there you have it!  Butterfly week with no butterflies!  

Smile.

(Someday we'll visit the zoo's exhibit!!)