botancal gardens

matt went out of town today, so miss finley and i met my friend, kim, for an afternoon at the botanical gardens! it was a beautiful day...high only around 85 degrees. perfect blue sky! sunshine!...ive never been to the gardens and have always wanted to go. i am such a flower/plant person....and the gardens sure didnt disappoint me!!!

there were PLENTY of photo-ops!!!!

we sat in the QUEEN's chair!!!! because of course, thats where we SHOULD be sitting!!

we found a neat little shade spot with a fountain, for a brief rest, diaper break, and to get out of the sun for a bit...

finley warmed up to kim quickly...and was watching her in amazement all day....she also was "talking" (aka...screeching) to her a lot as well...

we played in a few fountains...letting finley get her hands and feet wet! and she ended up splashing us all!!!! she thought she was soooo funny! i rolled her stroller through a few sprinklers...and she giggled!!!! i also rolled her up next to this fountain as we were leaving, she leaned and reached real far to stick her hand in the water one last time....then started flinging it every where! she thought THAT was too funny too!!!

the gardens have fountains EVERYWHERE! some big like above...and some very quiet and peaceful like the 2 below... there also are ponds, hidden streams, and waterfalls....its so neat, you never know what you will come up on around the next bend! like those gourds (pictured below) growing over a walkway all hanging down! how cool! and all the plants and flowers were just amazing! i didnt take nearly enough pictures...but pictures just dont do a place like this justice!

finley had a fantastic time!!! she just was looking around at everything....she was such a doll baby! and only took a 20 minute power nap! (who wants to nap when there are at a beautiful place like this anyway!)... i sat her down on the ground in front of a tree to get a few pictures, and she ended up leaning to one side (see the bottom right picture below!?!?!)...it soooo looked like she was a model posing for the pictures!!!

there were several pools with lily pads and water lilies in them! i just love these flowers! the colors are so vibrant!!!! there were also dragon flies all over these flowers, i was able to capture a few in the photos below...

these lily pads were HUGE! i tried to get kim to go lay on one so i could take her picture....but she opted not to....PARTY POOPER!!!!

then, of course, we tried VeRy HaRd for a group photo...first with the timer on the camera...

1. finley isnt looking and i look like i am a rooster with my hair...do over
2. finley is reaching for me as i jump into the picture..we both laugh...try again
3. i chopped of my head and finley is looking at "me"...she getting hungry..lets try once more
4. my shirt is wrinkled funny and finley still isnt looking...oh well....lets feed her and try again...

so i fed her, changed her diaper again...and we headed for the door...but tried once more for that perfect group shot, this time in front of a fountain....no timer, just a self portrait...
and this is what we got...not once would finley look at the camera! she actually kept turning around and looking at that NoIsEy water fountain behind us!

oh well....

we had a GREAT day...

and i will have to drag take matt back there some time!

have a great weekend!!!!