Small Town Fourth of July

To celebrate the Fourth, we decided to head up the mountain to Pops and Nana's house for the day. We donned our patriotic apparel, strapped the kids into car seats, and hit the road.

The day turned out to be one of "Plan B's." We had planned to swim, but the weather had been in the 70's the previous days, so it was determined the water would be a bit cool. As an alternative, we took in Hendersonville's downtown parade. It wasn't much by big city standards, but the the light crowds, honor guard, small town beauty queens, and genuine patriotism was refreshing. There's nothing like a huge John Deere tractor cruising down Main Street to capture small town America at its best.

After a tasty lunch at Hannah Flannigan's (not terribly American, but an awesome Reuben sandwich!), we went to a playground to burn off some energy. Easton was sporting his sunglasses and was all over the place. I call him "Turbocharge" these days ("TC" for short) as he is always on the move and always at full speed.

We then headed back to Pops and Nana's for some playtime with the piano and the pups. (See the videos below of Easton's first piano lesson with his daddy.) Our intended naptime was a rousing disaster, so we moved onto a delicious dinner and Easton's much needed haircut. The trip outside for the haircut turned into an opportunity to sit on Pops' motorcycle. Easton immediately started making "vroom-vroom noises ... such a boy.

We had planned to go see fireworks, but when naptime didn't happen, I "ixnayed" that plan. (Overtired cranky toddlers + large crowds + 9:00 pm + very pregnant mommy attempting to sit on the ground = very ugly scene.) Instead, we headed just around the corner to Farmer Gudger's to see his animals. This was a HUGE hit. We fed goats, petted miniature donkeys, watched chickens sitting on their eggs, and saw six adorable calfs playing in the pasture and nursing from their mamas.

Gudger has been on his land since 1959. My grandparents moved to Hendersonville in the 1970's. My PawPaw and Gudger used to raise two steers together every summer. They would have them slaughtered in the fall for beef, but in the months in between, they would graze the pasture on my grandparents five acres. (My parents house is now on the back section of that original acreage.)

PawPaw and Gudger always gave the cows silly names. "Clyde" and "Mable" after my great-grandparents, "Stormin" and "Norman" the year of the Gulf War, etc. The cows and their names are a sweet part of my childhood memories and spending summers at PawPaw and Momsie's house. The sweet smell of grass, blackberries growing on an old fence, and lightning bugs always make me feel about 8 years old. PawPaw died in 1997, and Momsie went to Heaven last spring, but the place that was theirs and where I spent so much precious time with them is sacred in my heart.

Anyhow, Gudger has apparently not lost his sense of humor. His female cows names these days? Hillary, Monica, Gennifer, and Paula.

After a big time at the farm, we bathed the kiddos and headed home. About twenty minutes toward home, we saw several dozen cars pulled over on the side of the highway. We looked around and spotted some fireworks going off. Assuming all these people knew something we didn't, we stopped, too. We were rewarded with a beautiful fireworks show from the comfort and air conditioning of our mini-van! Easton didn't care about the fireworks at all, so he sat back and watched a video while the rest of us "oooh'd" and "aaaah'd" over the pyrotechnics! (Catch the video of Ella's reactions below.)

We got home around 11:00 pm and dumped two sleeping kids into their beds. It was a long and unexpected day, but we had a great time and a memorable day with Pops and Nana!