Botanical Gardens Family Adventure with a Lake, Sprouts & Flashlights

We talked about this butterfly adventure for a while, so morning of the Grand Opening of this exhibit, we pick up Grandma and were ready for fun!
Mom Confession - There were a lot of people! My 5 year old twins had so much energy, they didn't want to stop to do crafts or wait in line for the awesome butterfly bikes. They got in, they wanted to get straight to the caterpillar tent! It was a bit frustrating when they weren't very interested in hearing all of the great info at the stopping points, but, what we experienced after, made it all worth it! Keep reading!

The exhibit was fun and interactive, just what we were looking for! One highlight was definitely the zip line at the end! After the exhibit, we decided to walk the grounds, so we went up to the Overlook to see the city. An awesome view!

Then...we heard there was a lake? Did you know there was a lake? I was embarrassed that I did not know this before AND that I did not look at the map enough to plan out our visit! So we followed the paths...and we found some beautiful Sycamore trees, by a lake, with ducks and a turtle, and a log cabin!

It was such a peaceful moment,  I forgot about the craziness of the morning.
We talked and walked around the lake, in the shade of the trees... and although it felt like we were at a campground, far far away from the city, we were just minutes away from our home or any other city adventure! Another gem, right in our downtown!
Like any other family adventure, the unexpected can occur, kids can be rambunctious and excited (as they should be) and moms can get frustrated. BUT, we work through it and the overall and ending experience is great! Totally worth it!
Upcoming events at the Botanical Gardens are:

• Amazing Butterflies runs thru January 8, 2012
• Little Sprout Mondays - October 10th - 10 to 11:30am - 3/4 year olds - Animals in the Garden 
• Saturday, October 23 - Bootanica - 10am to 2pm
• Friday, November 5 - Family Flashlight Night - Guided Tour - 6:30pm
• Little Sprout Mondays - November 14th - 10 to 11:30am - 3/4 year olds - Terrific Trees!
• Little Sprout Mondays - December 12th - 10 to 11:30am - 3/4 year olds - Winter in the Garden 

Please check out www.sabot.org for more details/prices. And follow @SABotGarden on Twitter!
Related article:

• Amazing Butterflies at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens via Wandering Off