the end-of-summer blues

With Lilly starting kindergarten last week, I feel like we tried to cram in as much as we could during the end of July and beginning of August. We have been swimming, having playdates, going to the library, watching movies, sleeping in, baking together, cuddling and being lazy on the couch in our pajamas all day long because it was a million degrees outside...
Here are a few pictures of some of the things we've done and places we've gone the past few weeks.

My brown little swimmers ready to hit the pool. They have both started wanting to carry their own pool bag.

Hatcher Dairy

This tour is fabulous and I highly recommend going. It is $6 per person, but well worth it. It was so hot the day we went, I thought I was going to DIE, but we still made it to the end. They get to feed the cows, pet all kinds of animals (goats, a pony, a donkey, sheep), and I learned a lot about dairy cows and dairy farming. We already drank Hatcher milk before the tour, but after going and seeing it all firsthand, it makes you not want to ever buy anything but local dairy products again. And they give you chocolate milk and homemade butter and crackers at the end of the tour. DELICIOUS.

Mamie ready to feed the cows. I never knew that they don't have upper teeth in the front and can't bite you. Don't know how I missed that fact when I took animal science.

Mamie, the only one who won't actually drink milk, would have milked that cow all day if I had let her.

My apologies for posting this picture, but it was the most memorable part of the tour for both of my girls. This was all my girls wanted to tell Jon about when he asked about the dairy farm. At first Lilly got all upset and almost started crying for the poor cow when she saw "them," thinking that something horrible must be wrong with this poor mama cow's udders. When I told her it was a boy cow and that was just his "private parts," it suddenly became the most hilarious thing either one of them had ever seen.

Kindergarten Prayer Lunch
Ashley, Tressa, Emily, and I planned to get all four of our about-to-be-kindergarteners together for a special prayer lunch the week before school started. We didn't know when we planned it that Ashley's doctor would be deciding to induce her early and that she would be in the hospital! We were sad that she and Cal missed it, but it was a happy occasion to miss out on something :) Ellie, Livi, and Lilly (try saying that three times fast ;-) had a fun time together and I am thankful for friends who can keep it together and pray for our girls going to kindergarten because I was a mess.

We got sentimental thinking about how we took pictures like this of them propped up in a chair together when they were just weeks old.

We are so proud of all our kindergarteners and know they will do great and have a wonderful year!

Williamson County Fair
Living in Lebanon (home of the great Wilson County Fair) for the past few years, we had never been to the Williamson County Fair. We decided to take the girls this year and loved it. It is so nice and small--it was really easy to take little ones. The only thing that was a major disappointment to Mamie was no pony rides. She asked when she could ride the ponies the entire time we were there. No ponies. Maybe next year... They still had a lot of fun and the little farmer exhibit was adorable. I wish I had gotten pictures.

First Canoe Trip

We have been wanting to take the girls canoeing for a long time, Jon and I used to go almost every weekend before we were married and love it. I finally got them some life jackets and he decided to take them last Sunday. I stayed home and he called me when they got close to the take-out to come pick them up. They loved it. I wish we had some of the pictures from Jon's phone to post. They were so cute swimming in the Harpeth and sitting in the boat. I hope it's the first of many family canoe trips.

Coming round the bend in the river--from the bridge on Moran Rd.

The only thing missing is a fat, black, happy dog.

Baby Drew Stiles Holland

Born on August 5th, weighing 6 lbs 11 oz (i think :) to Ashley and Jason. Lilly has baby brother envy and she and Mamie tell me every hour or so that we need a baby boy and that they wish they were Cal and Lexi so they could have a baby brother. Sorry kids!

He is the tiniest cutest little thing I have ever seen!