Today was a big day for learning new things. First, I escorted Eleanor to her very first day at Avondale Elementary School. Eleanor was a little nervous because she had never worked with first graders before, but it ended up being a great morning. She was able to do two read-alouds, small group teaching, and more! The kids loved her right away. Here's a photo from this morning, just before going into the school! (She looks pretty scared!!)

After finishing at Avondale, I went over to Mr. Andrew's (Eleanor's husband) warehouse to learn the process of the flower wholesale business. I loved seeing all the flowers!

Here's what I learned:

First, the flowers are picked from farms in places like Ecuador, California, Holland, and Miami. Then, they are put into boxes and loaded on big freight trucks to be rushed to Mr. Andrew's warehouse. They have to get them there fast because flowers don't live long once their picked! The flowers have to be kept cold and refrigerated for the whole process!
The truck drops off boxes and boxes of flowers to the warehouse, where Mr. Andrew puts them in his giant cooler until he is ready to cut and deliver them to florists. (Can you find me in this picture?)

Next, Mr. Andrew fills up thirty or more buckets with a little water and flower solution. He and the other employees cut the end of the flower stems to help them drink water faster and stay alive longer. 

After they cut all the flowers, they quickly put them in the buckets. Now they are all ready to be loaded on the refrigerated delivery trucks!

Once the flowers are loaded, the drivers are ready to leave to sell their flowers to florists. Now, the florists are the people who actually design and arrange the flowers to make them pretty in vases! 

When the truck arrives at the florist, the store owners are able to walk right into the truck and "shop" for the flowers they want to use for arrangements. The picture below is what the inside of Mr. Andrew's truck looks like. It's cold in there so you can't stay inside for too long! I was freeeeeezing!

It was so fun learning about where cut flowers come from. So, next time your mom or grandma gets a special bouquet of flowers, you'll be able to tell her exactly where they came from and how!

If you'd like to order flowers for a special someone this Valentine's Day, here's a great local florists to order from!: 

 Continental Florist