Hitting the double digits is something to be celebrated, and I had the idea that taking an overnight trip to have some one on one adventure would be how our family would make this time special. In how I love AirB&B so much, as you can create an experience through your stay, I searched for one within a couple of hours that would be a good fit for Zoe. I narrowed it down and let her have the final say. She was beyond excited, but we did have to push it back a month, due to COVID. However, we were so thankful that we were still able to go!
We left in the morning and had a good trip there, stopping to pick up lunch. Our destination was an adorable cottage in the middle of country northern Georgia.
One of the things that sold Zoe on the place was her own loaf bedroom.
A steep scary climb, at first, but she quickly became a pro at navigating.
We enjoyed our lunch on the swing on the front porch.
Then we checked out the property, including the fun playhouse.
And Zoe conquered a little more fear with the zip-line.
The homestead had some fun animals to meet, including their shy beautiful peacock.
Which we followed around a bit at a distance.
Zoe had a blast on their trampoline.
The cute piglets were not her favorite.
Then we took a walk down to the "creek", enjoying the beautiful view and weather.
I was wearing jeans, so I couldn't cross, but Zoe wanted to do so and ventured into the cold water.
I love that she has an explorative spirit.
We found a pump on the way back Zoe tried out.
Then it was time for home baked cookies our host had left for us!
We enjoyed exploring around more in the day. I really just followed Zoe's lead in how she wanted it all to play out.
She was so happy and thrived, as both of our main love languages are quality time.
One of Zoe's favorite animals was the goats.
When the owner came by, she took us into their pin, and Zoe got to get some baby goat love.
Our host even demonstrated how the babies like to go on your back when you bend down...perfect for goat yoga. The goats did have a bit of a time, though, as Zoe's back was quite a bit smaller than they were use too.
We took a beautiful walk down to the pond...
and spent time enjoying the view.
On the way back we discovered some wiled blackberries.
Later, the owner's daughter, the caretaker of all the pets, brought out the amazingly soft bunny.
Zoe requested to have dinner on the trampoline. So we whipped up the egg salad sandwiches we brought and took our picnic there. The peacock kept an eye on us.
I surprised Zoe in sneaking a couple of little toys on her bed. She was thrilled to find them!
Even though the tiredness hit me hard, Zoe really wanted to play a card game that we brought. Her place of choice...the treehouse, as we munched on Pirate Booty. A couple of more zips before, though.
My favorite thing of the day, though, could barely be captured by my phone camera. Once we were all ready for bed and it was dark, we went and laid on the trampoline, gazing up at the amazing star filled sky and snunggling together to stay warm. It was magnificent and I loved that I got to share this unique special moment with my girl, where she got to see the sky like never before.
The next morning I was excited to find that the peacock was showing his stuff!
So we crept up slowly, as to not scare him, to examine his magnificence.
Then I had a great helper in preparing breakfast, which of course, we enjoyed outside again!
Couple more jumps....
and another goat visit.
The two babies, again, both attempted to be on Zoe's back at the same time!
Then we headed down to the pond, this time in preparation of getting wet.
Fortunately, they had a life jacket, as it was really deep and this momma was not crazy about swimming in very cold water.
Zo enjoyed playing with the raft for a bit.
We then took out the kayak and I gave it a turn, trying it out before Zoe joined me in my lap.
She caught on quickly how to maneuver around with the paddle. So with some encouragement, she wanted to try it out on her own. I loved how this represented another stage of her independence.
Our host was gracious and allowed us to stay as long as we wanted. However, before we had to leave, Zoe asked to have one of the peacock feathers that was on the table. Our host did us one better, and brought out a huge vase of them, allowing Zoe to pick a few. Zoe's giving heart wanted one to give to her grammy, who's birthday was next.
One last farewell look before departure.
This was beyond a special trip for us to have some amazing bonding time. It was awesome to see how joyful Zoe was, and getting to gain some confidence in some of the fun new things that she tried. I am so proud of what an awesome young lady that she is growing into being. She is thoughtfull, aims to please, responsible, smart, and all around incredible! I am so glad I get to be her momma!
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