Meet Mr. Turtle!

I was driving down Holmes Road this morning when I noticed a turtle getting ready to cross the road. I haven't seen a turtle in such a long time - too much city living. I didn't want the turtle to get hit by a car, so I stopped the van and chased after him. He was about to cross into on-coming traffic... I picked him up and put him the van to show the kids at home.

The kids were impressed by Mr. Turtle, and so was our neighbor in Apartment 5 - he brought us some turtle food that he feeds his own turtles in his aquarium.

Charlie is very, very interested in the turtle. He isn't shy and doesn't understand about personal space because he went right up to Mr Turtle and sniffed under his shell and even licked him on the head!!! Mr. Turtle didn't appreciate the kiss on his head because he hissed and immediately hid in his shell...

So, now Mr. Turtle is in the bathtub making a muddy mess! He has been crawling all over the place, probably looking for a way outside. I want Benjamin to be able to see the turtle after school today, and then we'll probably release him.

After Alex, Christian, and I got the turtle settled into the bathtub with some food and water, we decided to go on a nature walk and enjoy the beautiful day! We saw some bumble bees - they were extremely noisy, BUZZING around the flowers!

Alex and Christian posed for me on a bench while we took a little walking break!

I took a photo of the nature center at Overland Park's Arboretum because I realized that I didn't have a picture of it, even though we've visited many, many times.

I really like the way the clouds look reflected in the water - I know that I've done shots like this before, but the bridge's reflection in the water plus all of the greenery made this one different.

Here is Christian standing on the bridge that is reflected in the photo above!

And here is Alex standing on the same bridge!

An Oriental Poppy

Sometimes I get more pictures of one kid than the other, but it all really depends on their moods for the day. Alex was happy to have her picture taken today!! Christian, on the other hand, was a little more camera shy. It pretty much evens itself out though!
Isn't she such a sweetie pie?!