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! 

Greenwood & Ashworth Park

Monday, I took the kiddos to Greenwood & Ashworth Parks off of 45th & Grand. There are forests of oak trees and supposedly even rose gardens in there somewhere in the summer.

There's a playground near Bergman Academy that we attempted to play at. I missed the turn first and ended up at Ashworth Swimming Pool. I'll have to remember that discovery in the summer! There was a trail head near the pool for the Bill Riley Trail, which I guess winds down through Water Works Park, across the Raccoon River, and into Gray's Lake. The part I saw was paved, which made me think of bike riding. It's under two miles from one point to the other, so it might be really fun to do with the kids sometime soon! Soon being when they are riding bikes, I guess...

We only attempted to play at the park because it was soaked through from melting snow! It was the first warm day in a while. It was probably in the high-50s when we arrived and was mid-60s when we left. We played there for about 20 minutes and left soaked & muddy. Oliver wasn't very happy about all the water.

The kids cheered up when we left the playground equipment. They scavenged for acorns, and Oliver buried them to grow trees.

Jo liked the large oak leaves.

I love trees, especially oaks. I think I was the happiest of the three.

From there, we parked near the pond and hiked around there a bit.

Muddy face!

Oliver wanted me to help him get up on a small tree. I helped Jo, too, but she wasn't too sure about hanging out on a limb!

By the time we left, our feet and ankles were soaked. The kids had muddy knees, and Jo had a muddy butt. Oliver's face was dirty, too, and our hands were filthy. We definitely had a good time! We warmed up with a Starbucks afterwards, and I bet the baristas were wondering if we ever bathe.

Garden Bounty

Vegetables are growing, and fruit is ripening in Oliver's garden at Grandma Judy and Grandpa Larry's house.   Two and a half weeks ago, the first pairs were ready for picking. Oliver had the time of his life picking pears!

We ate our fill, and then I made spiced pear jam.

The weekend before last, we picked even more! Oliver and Jo both enjoyed fresh pairs, and I made a cranberry pear crisp with what was left. The pumpkin vine has gone crazy, and, now, the first pumpkins are starting to grow.

This past weekend, we went to visit Andrew's great-aunt and -uncle. I love their house because we can sit on their sun porch and watch Oliver roam the fenced-in yard.

George's garden was full of ripe veggies! Oliver delighted in the fact that he could just pick tomatoes off the plant and pop them into his mouth. No exaggeration, he ate two to three dozen cherry tomatoes.

And the zucchini! I can't forget to mention the zucchini Oliver picked with his Great-Great-Uncle George. Check out the size of this this thing!

We took the monster zucchini and a load of cherry tomatoes home with us. Andrew immediately got to work making salsa with the tomatoes by blending them in the food processor with a few garlic cloves, chopped onion and green pepper, some jarred roasted red peppers, Tabasco sauce, and some of my homemade corn relish. Home grown tomatoes have so much flavor, and the salsa was out of this world!

With the zucchini, I made some chocolate-cinnamon zucchini bread, and I made a vegetarian lasagna using thinly sliced strips of zucchini as a substitution for the noodles. How much fun it is to eat fruits and vegetables that you pick yourself! What's great is knowing that Oliver feels the same way. I'm glad I finally discovered a way to get Oliver to eat his fruit and vegetables--just have him eat them straight from the plant!

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.