Iowa Arboretum on Arbor Day

I believe Arbor Day was yesterday, but they were celebrating it today at the Iowa Arboretum. Admission to the Iowa Arboretum is free (but they accept donations). They had crafts for kids and a tree to take home!

Oliver finger painted some trees on a door hanger for his room, and then he stamped leaves onto pieces of wood to make an ornament. Jo happily colored pictures while Oliver made crafts. 

Most of the trees and flowers weren't in bloom yet, but the arboretum was still beautiful. We had a great time walking (running) around and exploring everything.

There was a children's gardens with a big play house and numerous raised garden beds that are planted with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, horseradish, and currants. Everything was just starting to sprout. I think it will be a lot of fun to check out again in the summer!

On the way to the arboretum, we passed an extraordinary Hindu temple. So, on the way home, I stopped to get closer and take a few pictures. It was really out in the middle of nowhere!

There were two options for trees: a black cherry tree or a serviceberry tree. I'd never heard of a serviceberry tree before, but, apparently, they are a pretty good choice of tree to plant near a house. The berries are edible, but the birds love them and usually beat you to the fruit. They're supposed to have white flowers in the spring and beautiful red leaves in the fall. So, we chose that to take home and plant in the front yard. It's a funny angle, but  here's our new tree! 

Tree by Tree

Andrew and Aminta joined me yesterday in planting trees at Expo Park in Aurora in honor of Arbor Day and Earth Day. The goal was 90 trees by noon, but the volunteers rocked it up, and we finished with 90 trees by 10am. I learned that two hours of manual labor is more than enough. We dug holes, cracked through clay, rolled trees into their holes, and carried big buckets of mulch to spread around the new trees. Afterwards, Andrew learned that one of his good buddies goes to Expo Park regularly to play disc golf. It's nice that we know someone who'll enjoy the fruits of our labor.

With my muscles sore but my spirit high, I went to my parents' house to go for a jog with my mom. I didn't expect to get very far, but I was determined to go to get my training started. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. The weater was hot (75 degrees), and the trail was full of hills, but I managed to run almost the entire thing (1.5 miles worth). One and a half miles doesn't sound like that much of an accomplishment, but, seriously, the hills on that trail have been known to kick my butt in the past. I ran the entire way, except for on the last stretch when I had to walk up the last steep hill. I felt accomplished when I finished. Very proud. I also started to hope that Disney World isn't very hilly.

After our run, my parents and I played more Wii Golf, and then I headed outside to help my mom with the pond. I was thrilled to see another shovel after the tree planting adventure, but it didn't end up being too bad. I dug for an hour and headed home.

My day off might not have been a relaxing one, but I definitely felt proud for doing so much. Further more, I'm not as sore today as I would have thought. I feel my back and triceps, but everything else seems to be working smoothly. Maybe this training won't be so bad after all.