From Farm to Farm

With the glorious early autumn weather we've been having, I suggested to Christi that we consider doing a photoshoot with the girls at some of the farms we visited.  She was in full agreement and it seemed like the perfect way to spend a Friday.

I outfitted Whitley in a flannel shirt and boots I'd found in her size and put her hair in pigtails to try to complete the full country look... She had fun posing for Mikayla before we even left the house.  =)

Our first stop was Johnson Farms just about 2 miles from our house.  This was the location we visited with the TNL group last fall with the crazy hay ride to the pumpkin patch.  No hay ride on this occasion, but plenty of gorgeous locations to take shots of the girls.  

And...animals!!!!  Floppy eared goats that were very sweet and friendly.  And ready to be fed, courtesy of the employee who brought out some leafy greens to hand over to them.  

She was running to the goats - so excited...

Hi, sweet thing.

I believe at this age, Whitley was wailing when encountering the goats - so props to Elsie for her bravery.   Christi admits that she apparently got her affection and attraction to animals from her father and not from her.  (I try hard not to hold that against Christi - especially since she's such a good sport in letting her encounter all of them!).  ;)

Off to the apple tree to get Elsie to do some posing...and boy oh boy (or I should say, girl oh girl) does she know how to pour on the charm.  What a delightful girl she is!!!!!!  (And, breathtakingly beautiful!)

I brought along my cowboy hat hoping to get some fun poses.  We did....but not necessarily what I had in mind.  Instead, we got Whitley demonstrating her full personality in her silliness in trying to shake/take it off.

Another visit courtesy of Whitley's whims to the goats and chickens next door.

And, then on to the pumpkins in front of the country store.

Christi was trying to get Whitley to pose with the hat and it became a really fun game, that Whitley wanted even Elsie to participate in.... We were even singing Taylor Swift's "Shake If Off".... =)

How she really felt about the hat.

"Oh, it's got fun straps I can suck on?  On second thought, maybe I like this thing..."

I love these shots - she looks like a miniature farmer/rancher assessing the state of her property in the morning.  "I think today I'll check the irrigation in the south pasture and move the herd over to the back forty...." =)

We picked out a few pumpkins to purchase (in thanks for the photo op location) and then headed to our next destination.

Next up, Hentze Family Farm.  This place was located out in Junction City - so it was a sufficient distance for Elsie to get her shorter morning nap in before Round Two of the pics.

This was a very primitive and fully functioning family farm.  It had some animals we haven't gotten to be up close to in other places - like the chickens and geese - and cows to look at through the fence.

The biggest perk, by far, was the opportunity for us to buy chicken feed for a quarter and feed the chickens.  Whitley LOVED this.

 And, Elsie was a fan too.  

 So cute....little buddies already....

She looks like she's got them all lined up...

Yummmmm, chicken food.....

 

Catching sight of the dog running her way (just when you didn't think life could get even better for Whitley!)

You'd think all that would be plenty for a day, but Whitley asked to follow it up with a little Baby Einstein's "Baby MacDonald" when we got home.  Way to go for the "Pre-School" win to reinforce what we learned today, Whitley!

I couldn't wait to get to editing these pics, as it was such a sweet day spent for all four of us.  Christi and I happily recognize that nearly every job is made more fun with the right people to do it with.  While being "Mommy" to a child - or "Auntie" isn't really a job in the conventional sense - we both seem to do a better job at it - and are willing to experience more, when we are hanging out together.  What a beautiful gift God has given me in her and Elsie - and truly in the most God-orchestrated ways from the very start of our relationship.