I had this GREAT idea to order butterflies. It was, after all, on my summer bucket list!

I was sure that I could get my 10 year old son to read about butterflies, observe their development from caterpillars to chrysalis to the exciting emerging butterflies.

It would be a thematic unit....a way to naturally bring reading into our mornings and

encourage some organic gardening.

We would sit outside and have breakfast and read about the lives of butterflies.

We would sketch different varieties of butterflies and perhaps paint butterfly masterpieces on large canvases.

And then we would work together in the sun to make the perfect Butterfly Garden!

The caterpillars came, turned into chrysalises.

Max humored me by reading this book. With 0 enthusiasm.

Slow start ...But I KNEW once the butterflies emerged, he would be psyched.

I had all of the supplies we needed and set the stage for our new butterflies!

"BUDDY! Come look at our butterflies!"

"Cool mom."

Max did not care.

at. all.

But Lady Luna did.

She sat all day and all night....

watching....planning their demise....

But don't worry.....I had them in a very safe spot...because it was our thematic unit...

And I knew Max would be devastated if anything happened to his precious butterflies

Once all of the butterflies had made their dramatic entry....

{Max was so bummed to hear that he missed their "birth" due to a epic Nerf War Marathon}

we {I} researched how to maintain the perfect butterfly habitat.

It was time to release them into our {my} Butterfly Garden that we {I} had been prepping for our

butterfly release party!

Did you know that butterflies thrive on the sweet nectar from bright colored flowers?

To attract butterflies to your garden, try planting the following:

Purple coneflower

Black eyed susans

Butterfly Bush

Mint

Sage

Sedum

Phlox

Blazing Star

Vervain

Butterflies also need shelter (note the butterfly house I bought on Etsy.com last year xo)

....and they also need water....

The best way to provide water to our winged friends is to make them a Mud Pie.

Everyone loves Mud Pie!

Here is the recipe I devoured from my favorite book by Sharon Lovejoy ~Toad Cottages and Shooting Stars

1. Fill a saucer with soil and sand

2. Sprinkle with a dash of table salt

3. Wet the soil to make it mud pie (it will need watering daily)

4. Provide a landing spot, a flat rock is perfect!..

...Butterflies need a place to land to gossip about their day!

5. Sprinkle some maple syrup on the landing spot for an extra snack!

6. Place the saucer in a sunny, safe area among bright colored flowers....the perfect meeting spot for your happy winged friends!

Ahhhh.....we {I} have learned so much about butterflies this summer....

And our {my} hard work has paid off as word has apparently got out that our Butterfly Garden is the place to be!

We {I} have been blessed with an amazing display of butterflies to keep my company while we {I} garden..

Oh I almost forgot
A Butterfly Breakfast Party was necessary the day we released our new little friends!

Coffee and sweets were on the menu
Inviting my friends over for coffee throughout the summer is also on my summer bucket list...
...so this was perfect!...

Unfortunately, Max was already up and out of the house and swimming with his friends before we walked our butterflies out to their Butterfly Garden...
...so he missed the big, emotional good-bye!...
...I think he left so quickly so no one would see how sad he really was to see them go...

However, there was someone who was VERRRRY HAPPY to see them go...
We didn't see the Lady for the rest of the day....

The good news is:
I got a few things crossed off my summer bucket list with this little activity AND
I have a fabulous little Butterfly Garden AND I have many new winged visitors who greet me each morning as I sit outside to read the paper and sip my coffee.

The not-so-good news is:
I think I am going to have to stick to "tomato baseball," "whip cream water slides," and "blowing up watermelons with firecrackers" to get Max actively involved in my next idea!

xo