Critter Barn Visit and First Haircut!

Megan feeds some hungry goats

Hanging out by the barn

Petting baby bunnies!

I realize I'm trying to do way too much here in one blog entry, but I haven't had the chance to sit down and write over the last few days, and I wanted to include both these events, so I'm combining them. On Saturday (May 30), we took the girls to the Critter Barn in Zeeland. If you haven't ever been there, you should go! It's a family-run animal farm/petting zoo/animal education center. We had such a blast! The girls really enjoyed the animals. Even Rachel got into the action, and wasn't too afraid. She was very excited about the bunnies. The Critter Barn is very hands-on, and our visit was no exception. The girls got to pet a rooster, hold baby chicks (well, Megan tried, anyway), pet a lamb who was only 1 1/2 weeks old, feed the goats some hay, and mingle in a barn room full of cats. (I'm sneezing just thinking about it!) We also saw horses, pigs, goats, cows, chickens, and a peacock with it's feathers on display! The lady who owns the place told us that they currently have sheep named Megan and Rachel, although they're not sisters! It was a really fun place to spend a Saturday morning.

On Monday (June 1), we finally got around to taking Rachel to Snip-Its for her very first haircut! She really needed one. The poor girl always had a shock of curls hanging in her eyes. (She often pulls bows and barrettes out of her hair so it was pretty tough to keep the hair back from her face.) We really weren't sure how she was going to do, but she was a champ! She didn't even whimper when I put her in the chair. She just sat there like a little lady and let Miss Angela give her a nice trim, complete with layers. (Incidentally, and by pure luck, Miss Angela is the same hairstylist who gave Megan her first haircut some years ago!) Rachel didn't even want the sucker she was given. She took one lick of it and gave it back to me. We tried another flavor and she didn't want that one, either. I asked Megan to hold it for me while I got my camera out, and next thing I know, Megan is eating not only her own sucker but Rachel's too (in her mouth at the same time). Rachel's hair looks really cute....pretty much the same, just tidied up a bit, which was exactly what I wanted. Bill and I were really surprised that she behaved so well and so calmly during the haircut. Rachel is a child who continues to surprise me (for better, and sometimes, for worse!). Below are some pictures. I don't have a really good picture of her with her hair all done (luckily the Snip-Its people took one for us, but I don't know how to upload that one since it's a print). Megan actually got her haircut too, and she got a good bit cut off (I'd say about 4 inches....up to her chin). It looks so adorable! She refused to cooperate when I tried to take her picture afterwards, so I'll have to get a good picture at another time and post it here for you. It's been great because we've now had two tear-free mornings of hair combing (it's a much more snarl-proof cut!)

Rachel gets her first haircut!


She did great!