Fairy Gardens 2008

It's that time again!!! The Annual Fairy Festival at Summers Past Farms, a tradition my family has kept for at least the last 7 years or so.

Jake & his little cousin Bailey were SO cute, holding hands and giving hugs and kisses!

A few minutes after this photo was taken, Bailey did the QUICKEST strip-down I've ever seen. I saw the lightbulb go on, and she just pulled her dress off (lightning fast), her undies off, and unfastened her diaper- saying "water!" "water!" She was determined, I've never seen anybody move so fast! Luckily, my sister grabbed her before she actually jumped in! It was adorable- my sis snapped a quick photo as she raced over ot her. You know how important pix are!

Here are a few pictures of my {COMPLETELY} uncooperative boys. I *had* to do a little photo shoot of them because their outfits coordinated. But it was at the end of a busy{fun} (and virtually napless) day. They were both super sleepy and distracted. We could NOT get them to look at us OR smile. We looked like lunatics, a throng of women behind cameras- all jumping up and down or making arm gestures- and all making every type of crazy noise you can imagine - of course to no avail, because the kids didn't pay one bit of attention to us. I wish we had a picture or video of the adults though!

Once again, I didn't take any pics of the amazing grounds, but here are a few that I came across on the internet.

Above: part of the garden. I love this place!!! Below: the quaint little soap shoppe. I went in and didn't want to come out! They also have a darling little "country store" and an outdoor coffee bar that has the most delicious mango iced tea garnished with fresh mint leaves (for $1.50!). The petting zoo was a bit smaller this year, with just bunnies, chicks & turkeys. That's okay. If you know me and my fear of animal poop, then you know that I was completely fine with that.

On top of all this, they have a nursery and a sunflower maze! (They're so tall and, I hear, easy to grow) I always love watching the little kids dancing around to the live celtic music and walking through the rows of mini fairy gardens that people entered into the contests (like the one below).

This last picture pretty much sums up how Jake spent his day. These girls loved on him and doted on him ALL day long! I barely saw him! (Which made me a little nervous! But I knew he was the absolute center of their attention so he wouldn't be going astray.) They thought he was their BABY! They fed him berries and fruit and played house, rocked him in a chair & took him on wagon rides... oh did he ever love it! I loved hearing that little laugh in the distance as I sat and chilled on our picnic blankets. Can't wait until next year already! (Although next year I won't forget to sunscreen myself ... I'm majorly burnt. My kids, though: not an ounce of pink, thank goodness!)

P.S. What's the deal with Sodium Laurel Sulfate? From an avid internet researcher who doesn't have time to research things anymore. Is it really that bad? I thought my soap was all-natural and healthy, and I just found out that this lovely ingredient is listed SECOND! I assumed since I got it at the soap shoppe that it was fine. Ugh... Why is it in EVERYthing!?!?!