Cabin fever set in FOR REAL a few days ago.  We have been a little cranky and restless around here over the past few days.  By "we" I mean Reed, Echo, and me.  Especially me.  And by a little cranky I mean super-duper cranky.

I have been a very cranky Mama!  There- I said it.

I get cabin fever so bad in the winter.  Just leaving the house won't cure it.  I need fresh air!  I need to be outside!  GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!

​So before I lost my marbles, we did!

Jacob has been traveling for the past week, so Reed, Echo, and I bundled up and made our way to the Cincinnati Nature Center.  It was a brisk 32 degrees this morning for our little hike.

"Little hike."  Ha!

In my cabin-fevered state, I let Reed pick the trail.  That's right... I let a 4-year-old who can't read maps but does like the color purple pick the trail.  So, he picked the purple trail.

​The "Geology" trail.

Did you know that the purple trail is 2 hours long with a preschooler and a pointer?  Did you know the purple trail goes over a river three times?  In FEBRUARY?!  Did you know that I had to carry Reed over the river three times because my boots are, thankfully, waterproof? 

I also found out that Reed thinks crossing the creek with Mama is the funniest thing ever.  Especially when she is laughing hysterically at the crazy situation she has found herself in and tugging a pup along, too.

​I usually make better life choices.

The river was also absolutely beautiful.  Once we were across, of course, we did take a moment to throw rocks and appreciate the waterfalls and river sounds.

The purple trail also has FLOWERS!  Tons and tons of little yellow flowers.  Spring is coming, people!

Amidst the river crossings and staircases, we had an excellent and memorable hike.  The cabin fever is definitely gone.  I am ready for a nap!

​  I am so proud of Reed.  Even though I didn't have to encourage him along at all, I had to give myself a pep talk or two along the way.  I had better get in shape for summer to keep up with these two!

I am on spring break this week so I am really soaking in some extra time with my little guy.  He takes after my husband with his patience and love for observing and interacting with nature.  So we took the opportunity this past week to visit the Krohn Conservatory's Butterfly Show.
My sister has been telling me about the butterfly show for years.  She is also a teacher and is someone who always knows the neat educational events going on around town.  She is really good about getting me to try new things. 

A week or so before the show, the Little Outdoorsman and I read through Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar a couple of times.  Enough times for me to hear him say "salami" for the first time.  Pretty cute.
Anyway, if he could get past the pages with all of the snacks, he was able to see the life cycle of a butterfly for the first time.  We were ready for the butterfly show.
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We arrived right at opening time, and the line was long!  It wrapped through the desert plants section, and although they were beautiful, it was totally a spiky valley of temptation for anyone under the age of 10 to learn the hard way why one never touches a cactus.  It was a full ten minutes of terror for toddler moms.  I made it to the entrance without having a heart attack, so that was good.
At the entrance, each visitor was given a brochure and a cute little landing pad to protect the butterflies. The idea was that you hold out the landing pad so you don't touch the butterflies or accidentally hurt them, like a 2 year old trying to grab a butterfly by the wings, as a completely random example.

The Little Outdoorsman is really grinding his teeth here.  Thanks, two-year molars!  But you can see the cards in his hand.  There was also a section of the show where you could view little caterpillars and they had signs explaining the life cycle of a butterfly.

Reed was so content to stand and wait patiently for the butterflies to land on his little card.  He definitely gets that from his daddy.  Me, I'm like, "Come on, buddy, let's go look at more butterflies over here!"  His reply: "No, I'll be patient for more butterflies."  Out of the mouth of babes.
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And he "caught" a couple!  I think he caught one on his own and others were kinda transferred to him by nice people who were also patient.  I didn't catch any.

It was a really neat experience. I hope we can go back again next year.  When we got home, we read back through The Very Hungry Caterpillar and I think the life cycle made a little more sense.