Bok Tower

Yesterday, we took a family trip to Bok Tower Gardens We had a nice time checking out all of the flowers, the carillon, the swans, and the hillside.  BTW, I must give credit where credit is due - most of the following pictures were taken by JA (with some coaching from me). 

This picture is of the kids in front of a PVC sculpture located in the gardens. 

This is the end of a fern as it is "growing out".  I love how it is curled up like this. 

Who knew peppers could be so pretty?  We saw many ornamental (and edible) pepper plants and have decided to try and plant some for our garden this fall.

A grasshopper that CP saw on a tree while sitting down for a rest.

 This is a shot of the entire Bok tower and the reflection in the "reflecting pool" in front of it.

We celebrated our 18th anniversary on Sunday!

In another pond, there were these HUGE lily pads!  I had never seen lilly pads this huge before!

One of the two swans swimming in the reflecting pool (along with a bunch of Koi).  You could buy food to feed the swans, but don't get too close.  They were very protective of their pond and would snap at you if you stood too close for too long.

The tower has 60 bells in the carillon. The smallest one is 16lbs and the biggest is 2 tons! (I think).  Anyway, the shape behind the kids is the actual size of the largest bell!  Just to give you an idea, JA (the oldest) is 5' tall!

The kids decided to take a long run down the hill!

Cousin It decided to join us for part of our tour!

Oops, it was HJ!

Earlier in the day, we took a break and had a picnic under the big oak trees.  CP said it reminded him of The Sound of Music while watching our four kids run around crazy-like under the trees.  Later in the day, we got caught in the rain and found refuge under a porch at a house on the property.  The kids started singing/humming, etc, so I proudly present to you

The Von(thunder)Clap Family Singers