What we quickly found out is that our little city-girl is quite comfortable on the farm. Grammy has a horse named Casey, who lives 5 minutes from Grammy and Papa Mas's house. The man who runs the barn, Jose, is known for taking in stray animals and making them feel at home on the farm. This mean's that Casey's barn has a million things to do for a little girl, there are bunnies to feed, roosters to pet, eggs to gather from the hens, and of course, the horses. While Mommy and Daddy were sneezing their brains out, Gretchen was busy feeding treats to Casey and his friend Moe. We also saved up lots of leftovers to bring and feed to the chickens in the pen. Gretchen had a great time throwing the food, especially the rice, and she loved bossing the chickens around. "Don't go out the door, chicken!" or "Stay in there, chicken!".
Not to leave all of the farming fun in one place, we also visited the farm of a friend of Gran & Poppa's while we were in Lexington. These friends are pretty remarkable, they raise baby goats, milk the mamas and use that milk to make their own goat cheese. They grow fruits, vegetables and herbs year round with their homemade greenhouse. They grow their own wheat, harvest it, then use it to make flour that they bake into pizza in their homemade pizza oven. So, it was a privilege to be shown around their place - and to be given carte blanche with Gretchen. She fed the goats.
She sat on a donkey.
She pet a 500 pound pig.
It was a little girl's dream.
She followed these ducks around hoping to pet them. They were not so keen.
The highlight of the visit was definitely the strawberry picking. Gretchen loved locating the ruby red ripe ones, picking them and then handing them out to everyone else to eat. She wasn't shy about trying some for herself, too.
It was a wonderful, sunny day on the farm, and we hope to return during future visits to Lexington - it was an amazing place to visit along with really nice new people to meet.
If that isn't enough, Gran and Poppa's house has a tractor! Gretchen went on a few rides with Poppa and though it may have given her a little shock at first, this was a clearly memorable experience for her because she still talks about it whenever someone mentions a tractor.
She looks quite comfortable in the driver's seat, no? She also enjoyed picking asparagus from Gran & Poppa's garden, walking the dogs and getting the mail. This little one makes herself right at home pretty much anywhere, be it the downtown streets of Buenos Aires or the country roads of Lexington.
It is pretty great for us as parents to watch Gretchen have these experiences during her limited time with family. The even better part is that she has a memory like a steel trap and says things like "There's a horse like Casey!" or "I ride the tractor with Poppa!", which warms our hearts. These pictures and the stories that accompany them have burned their way into her memory because she had a wonderful time surrounded by people who love her. Trip home = Success!
It's not just going home, it's like going on a vacation with all those fun things to do! So sad we missed you all while you were here, but hope to see you soon!
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