A Little More of Fall....

So before the Advent season kicks into high gear, I wanted to share some more "fall" with you. I still haven't shared our whole Vermont trip with you.

I don't think I've told you before how much I loved Vermont. Oh...I have? I did?? Oh, sorry. Well I do.

So this was a day we spent at Shelburne Farms. And I use the term "farm" lightly. The farms I've spent time in England and South Dakota are farms. This was an estate that oh-by-the-way has sheep, cows and makes their own cheese.

It's 1400 acres. A Vanderbilt estate whose grounds were designed by the same guy who did Central Park. Ya, it's no ordinary farm. We hopped in a wagon for a grand tour of the estate. Check it out...

So this is the "house". The summer house for the family, when they wanted to get away to the country after being in New York. Nice, eh? It backs up to Lake Champlain and you can see the New York Adironacks on the other side of the lake. It's now a working B&B, and if I had the opportunity or the funds to stay as a guest, I would!


Here's the back....


And the view from the back....




We did decide to splurge a little bit and we all (4 adults and 4 kids under 4) had brunch in the house. This restaurant is a fine china kind of place, so we had an adult sitting on either side of a child, and we brought in our arsenal of car toys for everyone to play with. We only had one drink spill, and overall it was quite a success! We took the last reservation time, so we were practically the only guests eating, so that helped too.

It was an amazing breakfast. Everything was homemade and farm fresh. Tyson enjoyed his pancakes with real Vermont maple syrup...


Then we took a little time to let the kids play off their maple syrup and fresh orange juice high.


And then onto the "barn". No, this isn't the house. This is for the animals.



Here is our transportation. The kids LOVED it.




Tyson and Evan checking out the big tractor tires. Although I have to say, this tire has NOTHING on the South Dakota tires I've sat in.


The barn is now used for educational purposes. They host all sorts of children's programs throughout the year. This is also where the farm makes their own cheese. The whole place is geared towards children and the children's farm, so there was plenty for us to see and do.



We got to meet and pet a baby calf...


...play dress up....


...go inside the largest chicken coop I've ever seen....


....play "farm"...with John Deere of course....


....and meet and milk a cow!






Oh, and Ava and Wade learned how to identify different kind of animal poop. You never know when that life skill may come in handy!


And then back to our wagon to finish our tour back to the visitor center to taste all the homemade cheddar.

If you ever get the chance, a visit to Shelburne Farms is a must!!!!


Oh, and this is Tyson on the wagon ride. I entered my kids for the Gap casting call, and this is one of the pictures of Tyson I entered. Can't you see him hanging in Gap Kids windows nationwide???!!!


Happy Day after Thanksgiving!!