Have you been to Country Village in Bothell, WA? I grew up going to Country Village with my mom and my aunts, and I have vivid memories of going to Harvest parties each fall and watching Santa ride in each winter. 
My favorite store there closed years ago when the owners retired, but there are still so many stores there that I enjoy. I love that my kids now love it as much as I do, and we try and go a few times a year to shop local and to take pictures on the gorgeous property.
Located right off Bothell-Everett Highway in Bothell, Country Village opened in 1981 and has been a big part of the community ever since. There are 40 shops and restaurants on the property, play areas for children, rail cars used as shops, a tug boat to walk onto, antique shops to visit, restaurants to dine at, cafes to enjoy, chickens and roosters to watch, and even a pair of reindeer in the wintertime. 
So, as special as Country Village is to me and my family, I was devastated earlier this year when I heard that the current property owners were entertaining offers from potential buyers. The family that owns Country Village sent letters to shop owners notifying them of the potential sale and saying they could stay put until at least March 2018. 
As far as I know, there haven’t been any official announcements about Country Village’s fate, and I’m hoping that no news is good news. It would be a very sad day if something as awesome as Country Village were gone from the area. 
In happier news, we for sure get to enjoy this awesome place until March, and that means we’re going to get here as much as we possibly can.
Matching Girls Monday: Camera tees and twirly skirts
On my girls: Peek Cameras Tees and Peek purple twirly skirt {last year stock}. We didn’t specifically dress them for our Country Village adventure, but you would think we had based off of everyone’s response to their vintage shirts, big and twirly skirts, and the famous purple boots. 
These boots are still too big for the little one, but you can go ahead and try and tell her she can’t wear them. She cried and cried and cried when her black cowboy boots didn’t fit anymore {so much so that we had to remove them from the premises to stop the morning meltdown as she tried them on and cried all over again}, so too big in this case is definitely preferable. 
The chickens and roosters are always a huge hit at Country Village, and this trip was no exception. Our oldest carried around this chicken {rooster?} and they both seemed pretty happy with the situation. The chicken {rooster? seriously, I feel like I should know this} didn’t particularly enjoy our youngest who has a tendency to move too fast and not allow for personal space.
We kept warning her to keep her distance, but she refused to listen and ended up getting tapped in the cheek by the chicken in self defense. This sad face lasted all of two seconds and she was back trying to pick up the chicken and snuggle with it, so apparently it didn’t hurt as bad as this picture would have you believe. We did, however, make her keep her distance from then on.
If I was crazy, I’d get these kids some chickens. Thankfully, I’m not crazy. So, instead we will enjoy them at Country Village and hope that we have decades longer to do so. 
Want to know how I found all the matching clothing for my girls? It’s not as easy as you would think! This is why I created The Complete Guide to Matching Clothing for Baby, Kids, and Siblings. Have a photo shoot coming up and need matching or coordinating clothing? Start your search here, and be sure to pin for later!
Beautiful family. Awesome photos.