Last Friday evening I attended one of the Bright Nights events at Lauritzen Gardens. If you love any of the things on this list - beautiful lights and decor, toy trains, poinsettias, gorgeous flowers, festive food and drinks, holiday photo ops, outdoor games, visits with Santa, cheerful music, beautiful plants, or just celebrating the holidays this event is for you! My family and I are going closer to Christmas but I also wanted to go early in the event to take photos. It is GORGEOUS!

What do you think of when you see or think about a butterfly? I always think of Spring and colorful flowers. I also am enchanted by a butterfly’s flight - how they flit here and there but still manage to make it to where they want to be. In short, butterflies make me happy.

I absolutely love aquariums of all kinds! Well, I actually prefer the ones that don’t smell too “fishy.” Yeah, I know. 🙄

Anyway, I can spend all day in a large, well-done aquarium and Scottsdale’s OdySea is definitely both of those. There are more than 65 exhibits to explore and I’m not just talking tiny tanks I set in a wall.

I had a blast today at Lauritzen Gardens new BRICKLive Dinosaurs exhibit! I have always loved learning about dinosaurs and today was no exception.

Last night I went off on my own and toured the Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo. It is a special holiday attraction with more than 4 million lights that runs until January 14. It was absolutely gorgeous

Because mid-October is prime leafing time in Iowa, I have explored three Iowa parks this past week.. And the leafing did NOT disappoint. While I have been to all three parks before, it is always fun to see the seasons change in all three of these parks.

Another little secret about me is that I am a Dale Chihuly glass artist nut. Consequently, I was dying to see his temporary exhibition at the St. Louis Botanical Garden.

While I enjoy festivals of all kinds, few festivals bring me more joy than hot-air balloon festivals.

There’s nothing quite like a county or state fair in the Midwest.