They're a little late, but these are the last pictures I took on my old camera. I went to Longwood Gardens, outside Philly, to see the garden's Christmas decorations, and I took my Molly along for photos.
They're pretty blurry because that camera REALLY needed to be replaced, but I loved my visit to this Christmas light display so much that I just had to share.
I got a gift certificate as a birthday present this year, but there has been so much snow, I didn't get to go until the VERY last day of the display. The good news is that, I can take more pictures with my new camera next Christmas!
Since my old pictures were blurry, I got some portraits taken yesterday, with my winter coat outfit on in front of the nice white backdrop that our snowy city street provided. (Also, two in my house, too.)
Which one do you think should be my new profile picture?
Anyway, back to Longwood:
Here are me and Molly in the car before we went in.
All the lights outside were beautiful!
And so were the ones in the greenhouses.
Molly loved the indoor children's garden.
(Hmm... you can't see how awesome this spooky, lit-up web was when the flash is used...)
That flower statue shoots water up to ring that bell!
Molly loved seeing all the greens growing inside.
Molly also loved the Christmas stocking hung in the children's space.
Can you see the pretty acorns? They were hanging all over in the trees at the entrance to the children's garden.
This was the BIGGEST tree in the greenhouses.
That fancy swirly decoration is made up of hundreds of red and green apples floating in water.
I love the idea of wrapping pretty sparkly ribbons through the limbs of a tree, and I think I may try it next year.
Look how sparkly!
Orchids are so pretty!
They had a whole room FULL of orchids!
This garland is made from dried oranges - sliced or peeled.
There was a whole display of trees local kids had decorated.
Molly LOVED all the handmade ornaments.
What awesome inspiration for next year!
This penguin tree topper is awesome!
Love the wreath! And the brown paper decorations look like gingerbread!
Mmm... cupcakes!
A banana tree topper and cool beaded decorations!
Birdhouses!
And... back in the main greenhouses, another tree.
There were lots of "trees" made of unique things - these are pomegranates!
Molly found one filled with pinecones.
With the flash, it's easier to see how the pinecone one is held together.
The blurriest pictures I have also show the coolest idea - a tree made of orchids!!!
There were bananas growing inside, too!
And a wreath made of little cacti.
The tree in this room was so beautiful!
And dinners in this room must have been very elegant!
While we were in here, a volunteer handed Molly a bookmark with a scavenger hunt to do!
Keep reading to find her favorite clue.
We headed back outside to go to the family's house... and passed more lights.
(And took a detour through the train display. It was all lit up, too!)
Finally, in DuPont's library at home, we found the answer to Molly's favorite clue.
She was supposed to find "a teeny-tiny bowl of fruit on a teeny-tiny table."
Molly argued that, no, she'd finally found a normal-sized bowl of fruit after exploring a world of GIANT things!
Everything in this room is just her size.
Molly insists she wants a fancy dining room like this one at home now.
Finally, she found the REALLY teeny-tiny table.
Can you see it in the corner?
And here's the bowl of fruit!
Here's a little more of this little room's story.
Molly was especially impressed by all the table settings.
They needed a separate room just to store them all!
Another pretty tree, before we left the house.
The nature-ornamented tree in the treehouse!
Acorn wreaths!
Pretty lights outside!
Decorations made out of leaves, cinnamon sticks and... okra?!?
Tiny cross-sections of sticks, strung together.
The next tree was especially for the wildlife to enjoy, and was covered in decorations that could all be eaten.
I see gourds. What other yummy treats to you see?
Inside the "nature cathedral," we found another tree made out of pinecones.
And a very silly looking dragon.
Off in the woods, on the way back to the entrance, we walked under a whole grove of trees with branches that looked like they had caught the stars from the sky.
It was magical!
One of my favorites was this partially frozen little lake with lit-up trees floating on top.
It's what Anne Shirley's "Lake of Shining Waters" might look like today, I think.
