Earth Day at the Junction

No, it's not really Earth Day, but there was a free Earth Day event called "Earth Day at the Junction" today anyway. It was in Valley Junction, a few miles from our house.

Valley Junction is this cute little area of West Des Moines with funky, unique street shops that sell everything from fudge to costumes. The kids and I have been to Green Grounds Cafe with the Des Moines MOMS Club group. It appears to be just this tiny little coffee house that serves mostly natural & organic products (and fair trade coffee). When you walk back for seating, the place really opens up. It's huge! There's even a stage for events, and a little play area with toys for kids.

When we arrived in Valley Junction, we couldn't find the event. I'd just assumed it was on the street. As I drove down 5th Street, we finally spotted a single tent with bird handlers and owls. We pulled in by the tent and went to check out the owls. We saw a lot of people walking out of the nearby community center, so we decided to pop in there. That's where many of the Earth Day at the Junction vendors were!

At the very first station, Oliver got to make a bug puppet. The volunteers helped cut pieces and staple everything together, but Oliver got to make the eyes and decorate. 

I talked with a woman about home efficiency stuff, and Andrew went to check out some herbs. He got us a self-watering basil plant. Oliver got to make a guerrilla gardening seed bomb. He flattened out some earthen clay, filled it with compost and native seeds, and then they helped him roll it up into a ball. When it dries, it becomes fairly brittle. They told us that people take these and throw them on the ground near old, abandoned industrial sites. The idea is that the native grasses will start to grow there again.

When we finished up at the community center, we were directed to Green Grounds Cafe down the street. Apparently, there were more booths set up there. We walked in and spotted a fisheries station. He talked a bit about clean runoff water, and Oliver got to make a picture of a trout. They had a 3D trout, and Oliver spread paint on it, placed a piece of paper over it, and rubbed it to get the image of the fish on his paper. Jo was so excited about it, so she made a trout painting, too.

I enjoyed the Sierra Club booth. They gave me information on local parks, and they also told me about the weekly hikes they take starting in the spring (more information here). Both ladies at the booth insisted it's OK to bring little kids along on the hikes, so I think we're going to check it out one week soon! They also have a kite flying day on April 19, and I think that might be a big hit with our kiddos.

Our family had a great time at Earth Day at the Junction. It wasn't too grandiose, and the little activities were perfect for their age. In addition to what's pictured here, they also got a spin a wheel for a prize, and they got to plant marigolds in a cup to take home. It's no surprise that Jo liked planting with the dirt the best.

Earth Day at the Botanic Gardens

I took Oliver to the Denver Botanic Gardens today. I have a season pass, and Earth Day seemed like a good day to go. As a bonus, they were having story time every hour on the hour until 1pm. Unfortunately, it's more difficult to get out the door on time now that I have a wee one, so we pulled up at the Gardens at 10 after. Oops! That's OK, we still had fun strolling through. I showed Oliver some flowers, and he thought they were OK. I took him to where Andrew and I were married, and he didn't seem interested ;-). A group of elderly men were very excited to see Oliver, and one of them kept saying, "She's looking around! She's looking at everything!" Yes, he referred to my baby boy as a she, hehe. Ah well!

The way home from the Botanic Gardens was even more of an adventure. The car started to overheat because traffic was so thick. I made the sacrifice of pulling over at Lollicup. We sat at the cafe for about 20 minutes and let the car cool down. I sipped on a boba tea to pass the time.

During that 20 minutes, it began to rain. To get back to the car, I draped the extra pair of Ollie jammies I had in my purse over his head. We made it! After a few blocks, my windshield started to fog up. My defroster thing doesn't work, so I had to open the window. I got soaked! Meanwhile, Oliver started to get hot, and he started crying (and crying and crying). It was pretty rough, but we made it home.

Happy Earth Day!

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.