A Creepy-Crawly Birthday
Before the festivities began, we took the kids to the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado (about 25 miles northwest of Denver). Alex's buddy from school, Kevin, joined with us as did Anna, Patrick, and their kids.
Our first stop in the Butterfly Pavilion was the Crawl-a-See-Em. This room was lined with aquaria, each filled with a different living critter. We saw Madagascar hissing cockroaches, American cockroaches, darkling beetles, ants, honeybees, toe biters, a black widow, cat-faced spider, jumping spider, and at least a dozen different kinds of tarantula. There was even a tarantula named Rosie that you could hold. Only Alex, Kevin, Anna, and I were brave enough to let her tickle her way across our hands. We were rewarded with a sticker that proclaimed, "I held Rosie!"
The American cockroach exhibit was swarming with the insects. They were climbing all over one another with little care and even resting two and three deep. I asked Alex why they were all over each other. "Probably mating," was his offhand remark.
I learned quickly that while Alex loves arthropods and all aspects of their world, Lucas really doesn't like "yucky skiders," especially when they move. He whined through the Crawl-a-See-Em, and held tightly to my hand. He has sharp eyes and was often the first to find the spider hiding in its aquarium but shied away from it even as he pointed it out.
Next up was the Tropical Conservatory, a 7,000-square-foot room that's kept at 80% humidity and between 70 and 90 degrees. It felt nice in there! Especially when I looked out the window and saw the snow on the ground. There were tropical plants all around and hundreds of beautiful butterflies flying everywhere. As we followed the meandering path, we came to what I thought was a huge butterfly. "Look at that, Alex! What a huge butterfly." "It's an atlas moth, Mommy...I think." At almost the same time, we saw a woman peek from behind her Butterfly Guide and say,"That's an atlas moth." I'm glad I didn't shell out a buck for that guide. I'll just keep Alex with me. On our way out of the rainforest, there was a display of chrysalids and just-emerged butterflies.
After thoroughly exploring the rest of the Butterfly Pavilion, we returned home for homemade pizza and delicious cake with ice cream. The smile on Alex's face shows the day was definitely a success!
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