Country Sunsets

I love a good sunset at the farm.  This trip we had a ton of very cloudy evenings, but at the end of the trip we finally had a gorgeous evening with beautiful light and just enough clouds to make things interesting.  The warmth of the glow really romanticizes country living.  About 98 percent of the time I am really happy with living in suburbia, but if you were going to try to convince me that I should give country living a go...you'd take me out at sunset.

Lake Erie

We made sure to hit up Lake Erie while we were in Michigan which is always a favorite.  A little beach, a little bit of waves, lunch at a picnic table...what's not to like?  The kids always have a grand time although the water was a bit chilly this visit so we probably spent more time playing on the beach than in the water.  After a few hours of fun we hit up Danny's Frozen Custard for some tasty sweet treats

The Lavender

The lavender is always fun to photograph.  It's fun to try to come up with new angles, to play with the lighting, and to try to capture a honey bee hard at work.  Gabriel even got in on the fun this year as well, bringing along his little point and shoot camera capturing everything from a kid's perspective.  

The Chickens

The chickens were definitely the highlight of the trip for the kids.  Yelling out "Chicken on the deck!", chasing them down, holding them, driving them around in the golf cart, singing to them, and checking for eggs in the morning are all memories they will treasure forever.

Navarre Farm 2017

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Yesterday we returned from another trip up to Michigan, and boy oh boy are there a lot of pictures.  I'm still culling through them and editing, and figuring out how to share them.  I thought it might be fun to share them in groupings of related activities/locations rather than chronologically.  This year was our first year to spend a good bit of time down and Rod and Dorothy's home, which Grandpa and Grandma have moved into.  We played with the chickens (pictures of them to come soon), drove Mr. Green Jeans (the golf cart), ate, and ate some more, and then we'd head back to the cottage to watch some TV, hang out at the fire pit, drive Mr. Green Jeans some more, craft, play, and sleep.

Disney World 2017

The first week of Summer Break was spent hanging out with the Wood Family in Disney World!  We had a great time enjoying the attractions, parades, characters, shows, dessert party, parks, pools, and all of the super fun activities there are to do there.  The icing on the cake was that we were able to do all of it together!

The kids met loads of characters and for the most part I just let the Disney PhotoPass photographers capture those moments as I wanted to be able to sit back and just enjoy the memory making and not be constantly behind a camera.  So, I only have a small number of our encounters with Disney characters.

Grandma booked us a table at Cinderella's castle and the girls attended in their gowns complete with character appropriate hair and makeup.  It was really special being able to meet some of the princesses actually in the Castle.

Of course there was loads of just fun times in all of the parks, on the buses, and around the hotel.

Even rain couldn't get us down.  We may have missed one of our planned fireworks viewings, but I think our evening of pin trading, running through a down pour, and a good movie were just as special, if not more so.  Thanks for a GREAT time Grandma Wood!!!  It definitely was the trip of a lifetime.

Light.

With the kids being a bit older I'm able to spend some of my time at the farm taking a closer look at the beauty that surrounds us.  It's amazing how the gorgeous golden hues of sunset embrace the landscape, how they create a warm purple haze in the lavender field, or how the morning sun's rays peak through between the slats in the old 1800's barn.  I'm fascinated by the busy bees and butterflies working into the wee hours, or how one day waves of amber sway in the light breeze and the next day they're harvested in the blink of an eye.  

Uncle Jerry & Aunt Annie

Throughout the trip I had been texting a bit with my dad, and at one point he mentioned that Uncle Jerry and Aunt Annie only lived 2 1/2 hours from the farm.  We jumped at the chance to visit family, and we were thrilled that Uncle Jerry and Aunt Annie were in town and were happy to have us visit for a couple of days.  We packed SO much in.  My kids fished for the first time, we visited a bird sanctuary, and Gabriel learned how to shoot a BB Gun.  Not to mention frisbee golf and ping pong.  It was a whirlwind of a trip in the best of ways!!!  I couldn't ask for better fishing instructors for my kids.  ;)

The Troxels

After two failed attempts to visit with our family friends, the Troxels, in the past year we were so glad that we finally squeezed in not one, but TWO visits!  Our time with them flew by as always.  The Troxels are those type of friends that you pick up right where you left off with them.  My favorite kind of people!  Thanks for squeezing us in y'all!!!

Navarre Farms

Life at the farm is always busy, and this trip was no exception.  Our first few days were jam packed with "doing all the things."  We had a nice big breakfast after our early flight, followed by meeting the new farm animals.  There are two pigs named Elizabeth Taylor and Zsa-Zsa, and four chickens.  Of course the kids were eager to get to the swing and Mr. Green Jeans.  There were "new" toys to be played with, the garden to pick through, the massage chair, and I spent some time photographing the lavender.  Then to top it all off we had this gorgeous sunset on one of first few nights.

Fall at the Farm - Part 2

Spending time tromping through the woods and fields is always one of the highlights of our time at the farm, and this trip was no exception.  The kids were very excited to learn that new paths had been made through Aunt Ann's Woods so the golf cart (aka Mr. Green Jeans) and the Gator spent a lot of time driving the trails.

Gabriel asked me to take a video of him dancing through the field like Bert in Mary Poppins...so here ya go!

Uploaded by Amanda Lipscomb on 2015-10-22.

Fall at the Farm - Part 1

We spent the kids short, but fun, fall break at Greg and Cherlyn's farm in Michigan.  Our first couple of days were cloudy and chilly but jam packed full of good times gathering in the garden and at the local apple orchard.