We had a day in September that felt really special to me. I had been talking to Michael about how much I really wanted to see a field of sunflowers, but there weren’t any in our area that I knew of. He randomly found a sunflower farm (Beaver Dam Farm) that was having a festival about an hour away, and when he said, “Let’s go”, I might have been even more excited than the kids.
We headed up there in the afternoon, after Michael attended our church’s stake service project and the girls and I had done all our chores around the house. The weather was warm but just slightly overcast, making for some of the best pictures.
I was a little surprised to see all the thousands of sunflowers facing the same direction. After a Google search, I learned that sunflowers display “heliotropism”, a behavior where they follow the sun across the sky, until maturity, when they generally face east.
Nella was really not into pictures this day. See her little hat squished into Daddy’s leg?
We had a lot of fun taking a bunch of pictures. It was so beautiful out there being surrounded by the sunflowers and seeing the mountains in the distance.
This is one of Kaelyn’s most natural smiles that I have photographed. I love it.
Daddy was the baby-wrangler this day. He carried Evie the entire time, and although Nella didn’t want to take pictures, I still love this one because it shows how much Michael loves his girls.
Sunshine feeds my soul. I’m so grateful for these outdoor days with my family.
There were calves and a miniature horse to pet, which everyone loved, especially Nella. We got some kettle corn and boarded the hay ride!
The flowers look like they stretched on for miles here.
Kaya used her camera to take pictures the entire time, too.
Nella warmed up to photos a little once we gave her kettle corn. All the girls were obsessed with it!
We ended the day with snow cones- lemon lime for me, cotton candy for the girls, and a Dr. Pepper float for Michael. I guess we just need to give Nella treats to get her to smile for me!
We bid the sunflowers goodbye and headed home. It’s one of those days I’ll always love remembering.
the sunflower festival
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Happy weekend!
She really did a fantastic job, if you ask me.
We also enjoyed watching 
Michael went to the priesthood session late on Saturday night. He came home with the brightest flowers I’ve ever seen in his hand- a surprise for me! He chose these for me because he felt they reflect my “colorful and energetic personality” and wanted to make me smile. Awww. 
We enjoyed more of Conference cuddled up on the couch together. I love these crazy cuties.
Lest you think we’ve become too serious… 
Kaya ended the weekend by making up her own song about brushing your teeth:
TWO. Our friend Katie surprised us with this gorgeous orchid! It’s the most vivid blue flower I’ve ever seen, and I love how it brightens up the room! It’s supposed to be pretty foolproof as far as care goes, so here’s to a (hopefully) long-lasting relationship with this beauty.
…even if the end result is a giant mess! 🙂
FOUR. These little baby piggies are growing so fast already! They had their first baths this week and look better than brand new. 🙂
FIVE. We kicked off our Friday with sidewalk chalk! Kaya loves creating and even tried to make a rainbow. Kaelyn just loved tasting the chalk.. haha. Playing outside with my girls is definitely one of my favorite things.
