Today, Zooey and I met up with my good friend Susan for a quick visit to her sister's farm (thanks, Julie!). Zooey has been to petting zoos before, but she's never been in close proximity to either cows or chickens. Here, she encountered both. These pictures can't begin to depict her excitement about this adventure, but if you imagine a two-and-a-half-year-old freebasing cocaine and watching SpongeBob, you might get somewhere near the level of enthusiasm on display here.

Here's Zooey with the eggs we collected from the coop. We even got to bring some of them home! Mmm, farm-fresh eggs.

Zooey tried her best to befriend Winston (the rooster by the fence) and his ladies, but for the most part they kept their distance. Not that she minded. Just after this photo was taken, she started flapping her arms like a chicken and jumping up and down like a crazy person. Hilarious.

And what farm is complete without a bunch of friendly dogs? Zooey really wants one of her own, but Nick has a rule that there can only be one non-potty-trained person or animal in the house at a time. Good rule, I think.

This last one is obviously not from the farm, but it IS the bench that Nick finished while Zooey and I were visiting with Susan (and the cows and chickens and dogs). Isn't it gorgeous? All he has left to do is stain/varnish it.

P.S. Please ignore the gray spot on the wall. We were just testing paint colors. As for the red marks beneath it, they are of course crayon and are courtesy of the same little lady who's sitting so demurely on the bench.