~Filia~

Much thanks to Filia's Marine Cousin who sent her this ADORABLE ONESIE!!
(The shirt says-"I outrank everyone!") ;)

By: Stella

Butterfly Fun Again By: Stella

So the painted lady butterflies that we set free just a couple weeks ago...WERE JUST THE BEGINNING!!!! They laid eggs that hatched! We were surprised and we were excited but didn't count on the tiny little specks in the plastic container that we set up for them making it. We hurried to buy some Malva to feed the larvae with. We put in the leaves and we were surprised at how quickly they ate it. But that was nothing compared to what they do now... We have already put in four or five leaves today which they shriveled down to nothingness! They are getting huge! I got pictures of what they were the day they hatched... and what they are like now! See the difference?!

You can BARELY see the caterpillars here!! Now check out the pic. below...





AMAZING!!!!

We'll put more pictures up later!!! :)

By: Stella

Rock 'n Race By: Stella

Hello All!!!
Recently Mom, Dad, Me (Stella), and Leo all ran in the Rock 'N Race! It was Leo and my first big race- a 5k! We had lots of fun, and we got to go with our cousins! We couldn't really get many pictures while running the 5k... (Wink!*) but Grandma Z. got a picture of us before the race!!!

Thanks so much Grandma!!!

By: Stella

~Filia~ Pictures and Anecdotes By: Stella

Enjoy these pictures of Filia!!! :D
(By the way, I changed this post... for those of you who might have seen it already!)
Filia-7 months!!!

Trying out her New Overalls! :D


Bright Flash...


Happy Girlie!!!

Grin!!!


Reaching FOR THE CAMERA!! :D



Need I say more?!

Smile Big!!!

HAPPY!!!

Are we done soon? (Forced Smile)


BIG GRIN!!!!

Pretty 'n Pink in the Dress from Grandma and Grandpa P!!



Filia!!!

By: Stella

Family Pics.

We are proud to present... OUR FAMILY PICTURES!!! We especially thank Adam for the pictures. He did a GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!



Sigh. Yawn. "Take 120."


Smile!!!!!

Thanks so much Adam!!

By: Stella

Thank You!!!! Dedicated To: Grandma and Grandpa By: Stella

I would like to dedicate this post to Grandma and Grandpa P. Thanks so much for coming to the End Of The Year Celebration, and we thank you so much for the wonderful clothes that you have given us! The boys were very excited about the shirts and put them right on! I love mine, and thanks again!!!!

Here are some pictures!! :)



Yay! New Shirts!!!


Striking a pose....


Silly Tert!

Thanks so much!!!

Kindergarten Graduation By: Stella

Hi All! I wanted to post some pictures of Rus' graduation from Kindergarten! It was really fun! He was very excited. We also LOVED having Grandma and Grandpa come over! We had a wonderful visit with them, and then we went to the graduation ceremony! Well, I'll probably do a better job with pictures than writing about it!! So-let's dive in!!!



Sitting with his friends...




Singing "The More We Get Together" with Sign Language



Encore, Encore!!!



Receiving his Diploma



Proud Kindergarten Graduate! GO RUS!!!!!!!!!
Pictures and Anecdotes By: Stella

Butterfly Fun By: Stella

Hi All!
I wrote a three paragraph report on butterflies which I put on the blog below. I also wanted to share some pics. with you of the butterflies that we got from Insect Lore! We let them go today, and we had lots of fun! Rather than telling you about it, here are some pictures! I grabbed the camera and got some GREAT shots!! (If I may say so myself!) :P LOL!



Admiring the Butterfly





Getting a Closer Look...



Beautiful!!!





Admiring the Butterflies....




WHOA!!

Flutter By Butterfly!!!



Say cheese butterfly!!



Smile!!!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!!

By: Stella

Flutter By-Painted-Lady Butterfly

Report By: Stella

Some people, who don’t know the true nature of caterpillars, toss them aside as a nasty little pest. When people correct these misconceptions, they end up growing to love these fuzzy little creatures-which start as a tiny egg. It can take from three days to a whole winter for the egg to hatch. When hatched, caterpillars industriously weave silk. Because of dangers that can befall this tiny creature, every caterpillar has a means to protect itself, such as what look like eyes, or ‘intimidating’ striped patterns to scare off predators. In all, these hardworking little caterpillars are just the beginning of the butterfly cycle.

This is only stage one of the caterpillar’s metamorphosis. Caterpillars, who are eager to become butterflies, molt several times. After molting for the last time, the caterpillars become silent chrysalids. They hastily spin silk around themselves. If you are patient, in seven to ten days they emerge from their silky home. Because of your patience, you will see a marvelous sight- the arrival of another beautiful, breathtaking butterfly! The little caterpillars can in no way compare to the beauty of the butterfly!

The little caterpillar has patiently gone through all of the stages, and is now a butterfly! While there are many different kinds of butterflies, the most widely distributed butterfly is the dainty, painted-lady butterfly. Because of this butterfly’s graceful fortitude, the painted lady can shockingly peregrinate up to a thousand miles during her lifetime. This butterfly, who really is a fascinating insect, breathes through her abdomen, and she tastes with her feet! She is both beautiful and amazing with her black, white, and orange wings, and ten thousand eyes! The painted lady loves to feed on nectar, and fruits. The butterfly is dainty and fascinating, and a wonderful example of beauty in the world around us.

The caterpillar is just the beginning of its remarkable transformation into a butterfly, which is not just an interesting insect, but a breathtaking example of God’s love for beauty, and His love for us.

Resources:

1. Butterfly Battle- Nancy White (Pgs. 27-28, 38-39, 47, 54-58)

2. About Bugs- Sheryl Scarborough (Pgs. 16-19)

3. “Insect Lore” Handout

and…

MY EXPERIENCE!!!

Cultivating the Colony By: Stella

When we view an ant hole swarming with its busy workers; it is amazing to think that this colony started with a single, hardworking queen ant. The queen can live up to the age of twenty-eight and is larger than the other ants with a pair of wings. Because of her need to start a colony, the queen flies off and mates with several males. The queen, who is not even close to done with her work, descends from her parental flight, and snaps off her wings. She industriously gets to work digging a nest and starts laying eggs. After a few of her eggs hatch and become worker ants, she lies down, laying eggs for the rest of her life. After studying the queen ant, we know that this hard-working, industrious ant truly is the mother of the colony.

After the queen ant starts the colony, there is the need to feed all of the ants in the colony. The most diminutive ants of the colony must diligently work at the fungus gardens, because the gardens are located in very narrow caverns deep within the nest. The ants must sow their crop of fungus, which they get from garbage and leaves. The mushrooms do not actually sprout; while this may be a problem for us, it isn’t for the ants, who munch on only the roots. The workers, who are a very important part of the colony, have a special type of bacteria on their skin. This fundamental antibiotic keeps the fungus from growing moldy. Gardener ants really are a tiny, but very important part of the colony.

Not only is there the need for feeding the colony, but there also is the need for some ants to watch the little ones, who do not yet play their part in the colony. The ants carefully construct nurseries near the surface of the nest, so that the inhabitants of the nursery will be warmer. That is why, when you disturb a nest, you will see the worker ants hastily picking up the “children” and carrying them deeper into the nest, while the nurseries are carefully rebuilt. Because of their delicacy, the nurse ants have to lick and turn over the eggs so that they don’t become moldy. The hatched larvae, which can be very pesky creatures, like to snack on the eggs, so the nurses have to move the larvae away from the eggs. The diligent nurses also feed the larvae pieces of insect. In all, the nurses play a very important part in the colony.

The colony, which started with a single queen ant, multiplies, and gives us a very good example of fortitude, diligence, and perseverance.