2022-23 School Year–Week Thirty-One

The penultimate week of the 2022-23 school year is complete!

On Monday, we visited the Missouri Botanical Garden for the “Chihuly in the Garden” exhibition. The glass works are beautiful, and we’re looking forward to going back next week to see it at night!

We spent a lot of time wrapping things up this week. Ladybug completed the last chapter in her algebra 2 book, which was on vectors. All she has left is the final exam. She finished the chapter on kinetics in chemistry, and all she has left is the exam (do you sense a theme here?). She also finished reading “Everyman,” and just has to write one last paper on it. In history, she about Henry IV, the King of Germany (as well as Holy Roman Emperor)…she just has a few more chapters to go.

Chickadee learned how to read different types of graphs in math (she still has a full week of math lessons to go). We continued to read about dinosaurs in science. We finished Smoke on the Wind and started reading Meet Felicity…I’m hoping to keep reading those books over the summer. She had her last spelling test of the year this week, too.

We don’t have too much left to do next week, and a good bit of it is just for fun (including one last field trip I hope doesn’t get rained out)…stay tuned!

Chickadee Thursday

On Monday, we visited the new “Chihuly in the Garden” exhibition at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and it’s amazing! We’re looking forward to going back next week to see the displays lit up at night!

Chihuly in the Garden

Today is the opening day of the “Chihuly in the Garden” glass exhibition at the Missouri Botanical Garden! Chickadee, Ladybug, and I visited the Garden yesterday, and while they were putting a few finishing touches on the displays, for the most part, it looked like everything was ready to go. Here’s a look at some of the outdoor pieces (we’re going to take a look at the indoor glass in the future):

And a closer look at a few of my favorites, starting with a display featuring a boat on the Central Axis:

Speaking of boats, another one appears in the lake in the Japanese Garden:

The pink color of the piece in the Boxwood Garden is lovely, and I also love how it’s displayed:

But the Chinese Garden, which has elegant blue glass, might be my favorite display of all!

Next week, we’re going to “Chihuly Nights” to see the installations lit up…I can’t wait!

Flowers

Here’s a look at some of the spring flowers I saw at the Missouri Botanical Garden last week…tulip time is one of my favorite times of year!

2022-23 School Year–Weeks Twenty-Seven and Twenty-Eight

Catching up on two weeks of school since Holy Week was so busy, but first, we had a fun Easter Monday field trip to the Missouri Botanical Garden to see the beautiful spring flowers in bloom!

Trying to think back over two weeks of lessons…Ladybug solved systems of equations and solved for mixtures in algebra 2. She read “The Literature of the Priest,” in literature, including a selection from The Venerable Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. In chemistry, she wrapped up thermodynamics with entropy and Hess’ Law. She read about the unification of Korea in history. In creative writing, she wrote a villanelle poem.

Chickadee learned how to calculate percents in math. We continued reading the second Kaya book, Smoke on the Wind. She wrapped up her chapter in science by learning about amphibians. In grammar, she did an extensive review of pretty much everything she’s learned so far this year. In history, she read about Attila the Hun, Stilicho and the Visigoths, and the Vandals destruction of Rome.

We’ve only got about a month of the 2022-23 school year left to go!

Chickadee Thursday

We really enjoyed our visit to the Missouri Botanical Garden on Monday!

Chickadee Thursday

Last week, Chickadee and I gathered up all the change we had lying around the house and ran it through a Coinstar machine. We then took our riches to Starbucks. It was Chickadee’s first time to order Starbucks beverage…she got a pineapple lemonade!

We also visited the Orchid Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden for the first time since 2020:

I wonder what adventures we’ll have next?

The 2023 Orchid Show

After three long years, it’s finally time again for the Orchid Show at the Missouri Botanical Garden! And the show is being held in the new Emerson Conservatory in the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center for the first time!

It was so good to be back. The flowers are beautiful, the new space is bright and welcoming, and the smell of the orchids was just like I remembered it. This is always a bright spot in what is usually a pretty dreary month, and I am so glad I will have it to look forward to every year again!

The Top Five–Photos of 2022

Since all of my other 2022 in Review “Top Five” photo lists have six photos, this one had to also, right? Right?!? I’ve already looked at food, drinks, desserts, and our trip…these are my favorite photos from the past year that aren’t food or vacation related.

I’ve taken hundreds (thousands?) of photos at the Missouri Botanical Garden over the years, but there was something special about this one featuring Henry Shaw’s final resting place in front of his country house:

This photo taken in downtown St. Louis in May reminded me how much I love an urban environment:

Speaking of urban environments, this spring was the first time I’ve visited the Chicago Water Tower in many, many years, and I discovered just how photogenic it is!

That’s a quality shared by the entire city of Chicago…I loved having a bird’s eye view of the city from the Centennial Wheel!

A little closer to home, I really like the beautiful gingko tree outside of our town library, especially in the fall:

Our town is also especially pretty at Christmas:

That wraps up what ended up being my top 30 photos of the year. In light of all of the fun things we did in 2022, I think I should get at least some credit for keeping the number that low!

The 10th Anniversary of Garden Glow

Can you believe that this year marks the 10 year anniversary of Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden?!? We attended the Member Preview night on Friday, and it was, as always, a great time!

I think it’s especially fitting that such a significant anniversary is taking place the same year the new Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center was opened to the public…it’s a beautiful space!