Butterflies

One of Rachel's most favorite birthday presents was her live butterfly garden. Today we released the butterflies. On her birthday she received the net cage and a coupon code to order some caterpillars. A few days later we received 5 caterpillars in the mail. We watched them form their cocoons and then we pinned them to the inside of the cage. About 5 days later, the butterflies came out:

We kept the butterflies in their cage for about a week. This morning when we checked on them we discovered one had died (butterflies only live 2-4 weeks). So, we decided it was time to let the others free. We had to wait for Daddy to get home from work. Once he was home, we let the butterflies go:

 

They were all monarchs, so unfortunately we weren't able to keep them straight. I believe they all just had the name, which was Cassie. Rachel really likes butterflies, so this was a perfect little project for her. And for us, it's the perfect little pet scenario as well. Very little upkeep and it keeps them happy. We haven't ordered more caterpillars yet. Maybe once all our summer travels are over. The girls both enjoyed watching the caterpillars turn into butterflies!