Today we decided to be ambitious and tackle TWO outdoor events. First we went to Oktoberfest in Germantown. Jeff and I used to go to this festival every year, but it became difficult to manage with little ones. So we took a hiatus for a few years until they got a bit older. This year, we decided to give it another try. First, we headed straight for the kids play area. And guess what we found there?!?! PONY RIDES!! I can't describe to you how excited Kaitlyn was when she saw the ponies and realized that she was going to ride one. My little animal lover has been begging for quite some time to ride a horse or a pony, but we've never run across them until today. The joy on her face when she got on her beloved pony was priceless...a little girl's dream come true. Even though they just walked around in a circle, she was in heaven. And Ethan enjoyed it too :) (I chose not to dwell on the fact that the poor ponies were tethered to a metal pole and forced to walk around and around in a circle for quite a while. It was good exercise for them, right?)
A couple of hours later after some polka music and some authentic German food (for Jeff), we headed down south to Gentry's Farm in Franklin.
 |
| Posing on one of the many photo op wagons |
 |
| Lost in the sorghum maze--Kaitlyn doing her ballet curtsy and Ethan doing some other kind of pose. |
 |
| Getting ready for the hayride through the cow pasture--we saw a day-old calf! |
 |
| Posing in front of old TN license plates |
A morning full of pony rides, inflatables, and music, and an afternoon full of farm animals, hayrides, tire swings, and pumpkins--I don't think it gets much better than that for a 3 year old and a 5 year old. And we had lots of fun, too, experiencing these simple joys of life through the eyes of our children. To quote my daughter, "Thank you God for this beautiful day!"
