Butterflies everywhere!

We moved here to the DC area almost a decade ago for a 2-year rotation with Glen's firm. It didn't take long at all before we were completely enamored with DC and all of the interesting/exciting/educational/unique things there are to do in the area...and most of them completely FREE!

Although we like trying out new places and discovering new adventures around DC, we tend to frequent the same places over and over again. My kids just never tire of the National Air & Space Museum (either one), the American History Museum (we can't wait until it reopens), the Natural History Museum, and the list goes on and on.

Today we went to an old time favorite of ours--the Natural History Museum. Filled with fossils and precious gems, the kids still breathlessly run from exhibit to exhibit in excitement! So when we heard that they'd recently opened a new butterfly enclosure--a small, humid little greenhouse type of room where there are hundreds of butterflies fluttering freely--we just had to go give it a try.

Since glimpses of butterflies in the wild tend to be fleeting and rare, we were amazed at the close-up look we got at many of these beautiful creations. Adam was in awe at this gigantic moth that had transparent spots on its massive wings. He was a little jittery about them flying around his head, but he enjoyed identifying the different species with an identification guide that was given us upon entry.

Ellie was definitely very nervous about the plethora of insects in the room and did not stray from my side. She was engaged and interested as long as they kept their distance from her and was okay to pose for this picture until she realized that I'd strategically placed her near a resting butterfly. The poor, tired girl who'd missed her nap yesterday, was not happy and required some good TLC until it was time to leave.

As each person exited the room they were required to go through a short inspection process to discover the presence of any possible stowaways that may have landed unknowingly on bags, shoulders, or barrettes. Much to the relief of Ellie, no stowaways were discovered and we were free to exit and go eat lunch!

Emma and Cami were insanely jealous when they got the scoop on the day from Adam, so we'll be going back again in a few weeks after school is out! What a fun place we live in!