One of my friends from work, Tina, is the mother of twin three-year-old boys (Lord, bless her). She does a fabulous job of finding fun and creative things for them to do. Last week, she invited some friends to meet her and the boys at
Homeland Creamery and Dairy Farm in Julian, NC. I was so excited! Anna and I picked up our friends Jennifer and Noah and made the hour trek to Julian. We learned so much about cows and milk!
Anna posing on our hayride
She got to feed the baby calf her bottle!
Anna was not a fan of the big turkey.
After the hayride, we fed the baby calf and saw the different animals. It was really neat because dogs and cats and chickens and roosters were just running all over the place. The kids especially liked watching the rooster do his "cock-a-doodle-doo"! They also had a modified milking station set up so you could see what it would be like to milk a cow. Anna didn't want to try it once she realized it would get her hands wet, even though it was just water! Crazy girl!
After the tour of the "milking parlor", they brought out cups of their homemade ice cream--so creamy!
Anna with her friends Noah and Jace
This is the third generation that has kept the dairy farm going and they now provide dairy products to much of the piedmont NC region. Because everything is done on sight, their products can enter the stores within 24 hours of milking! Isn't that amazing? I'm going to have to look out for them while I'm grocery shopping!
We topped the trip off with a McDonald's Happy Meal for lunch. What a treat!
I was pretty jealous because instead of that icky fluoride mouthwash that we had to swish around until that dreaded timer went off when we went to the pediatric dentist as kids, they just "painted" this fluoride gel onto her teeth and told me not to brush her teeth for 24 hours. How much easier is that??! They also filled me in that studies have shown that the dreaded mouthwash was completely useless in protecting against cavities! I was pretty bummed that we had gone through that torture for nothing, but was relieved that she didn't have to endure it. She was pretty excited afterwards when she got a Dora and Diego sticker and a bouncy ball!
I can't believe the school year is almost over! This week is Teacher Apprec- iation Week and I wanted to do something special for Anna's teachers. Although it's "just" a Mother's Morning Out class, Miss Linda and Miss Kelly have been wonderful. They have done so many cute things with the kids and have gone out of their way to make things fun and exciting. I know that Anna's first perceptions of "school" could shape her opinion of it for years to come. I love that Anna loves being there and quickly became so comfortable there that she barely looks back when I drop her off. That is so reassuring! I wanted to let her teachers know how much we appreciate all they have done this year. After talking with my mom about all the useless things that she has gotten as teacher's gifts, I decided flowers would be our best bet. What woman doesn't like getting flowers? So, before school this morning, Anna and I headed to the Harris Teeter to pick out flowers for Miss Linda and Miss Kelly. She picked out beautiful hot pink and yellow arrangements, perfect for summer. She was so proud of herself marching into that classroom carrying her flowers. I just had to get a picture!
