Butterflies & Cousins

Today was our big butterfly adventure at Dow Gardens.  Grace, my Mom and I went over to my Aunt Carol's house where we met up with my Aunt Sue, my cousins, Kiersten and Kory, and their girls, Kailey, Emma, and Addie.  Grace also got to meet her "boy cousins," Aidan and Nolan; I think she was pretty impressed with them, too. They are my cousin Kelly's kids, up from Northville for a visit with Carol, their Grandma.

 Happy Spring! 

We certainly couldn't tell that it was the first day of Spring today.  Brrrr!  We had a cold, snowy trek from the parking lot all the way back to the butterfly house.  It was worth it though.  Despite the gloomy day, the butterflies were out-and-about, flying all around, landing here, there and everywhere;  Grace was so fascinated by the whole thing.  I, on the other hand, was  panic-stricken, scrambling to "de-fog" my camera so I wouldn't miss out on all the cute shots. (There was at least a 40 degree temperature difference walking inside.)  I'm so glad I learned from my first visit, a year ago, and wore a t-shirt under my coat; I was a hot, sweaty mess last year....and it was not pretty.

The back of this butterfly was the most amazing shade of blue

Grace, touching her first butterfly

Emma and Grace

Addie and Grace 

 Monarchs are my favorite...

Watching the butterflies

The colors were amazing...

Cousins: Nolan, Kailey, Aidan, Emma and Grace

(I just love how Grace is holding onto Emma's ear)

But by far, the best part of the whole trip was watching Grace interact with her cousins.  She often speaks of Emma and Addie, singing their names in songs and kissing them in the mirror.  She got her fill of hugs, kisses, and playtime with them today; it was so sweet to watch.  It brought back memories of hanging out with my cousins, Kiersten and Kory, and how much fun we had together.  I'm so glad that we live close to one another now, and our girls will be able to hang out together and create memories that will last a lifetime.