The best of both worlds

Unlike the Cameron family who have lived in the same house for 30+ years, the Cox family has constantly been on the move. In the last year, they (Nana and Papa) have settled on a beautiful piece of land just outside Rome, GA, that the family now affectionately refers to as "the farm". We all got to visit for the first time this summer, and it quickly became yet another home away from home for us. Jason's sister, Amanda, her husband Jeff, and their 4 kids live nearby in Rome, so, like Memphis, Rome was a constant cousin party. Between Memphis and "the farm" we really feel like we have the best of both worlds. I know Memphis is not a big city by many standards but it does offer a lot of big city type activities- the zoo, the childrens' museum, the Botanic gardens, Autozone park etc. Armuchee, GA on the other hand, well, it's about as country as you can get, and we had a blast experiencing both worlds.

The farm is divided into sections. To the left is the pond that is situated at the bottom kind of in the middle of the cow pasture. Poor Jason was hoping for some good fishing and basically got a crowd of kids and what he started referring to as "Papa's petting zoo". Every time we would go down to fish, we would be followed by three baby calves, two ducks, 8 ducklings, several goats- it just wasn't very conducive to fishing especially when the ducklings started going for the minnows. But the kids had a blast! Notice the black boots that everyone is wearing. Nana has the garage stocked with boots in every size so that all the kids and grandkids will be properly outfitted in farm attire. Also you'll notice in several pictures the orange Kuboda- the preferred method of farm transportation. Even Abbey was driving (with a little help) by the end of our stay.

The barn is about halfway up the driveway and is home to the animal feed, the farm equipment, the playground for the grandkids, and the measuring post to keep up with everyone's height.

Naomi proudly measuring at Papa's post

Nana enjoying a picnic in the treehouse with the cousins

From blueberry picking to cutting okra to caring for the farm animals, the girls got a taste of so many fun things, but I think the favorite by far was the animals. From "Snowball" the duckling to "Laverne" the goat, I think Papa would have a hard time arguing that his farm is not somewhat of a petting zoo as Jason said in frustration while trying to fish. Enjoy the below pictures of the cousins and the animals and stay tuned for more pictures and stories from our summer.

I almost forgot to complete your tour of the farm. At the top of the driveway is Papa and Nana's beautiful new home, which I somehow managed not to get any pictures of! The best I can do is the flower garden just outside the back door...