I was grilling chicken tenders and sausages for dinner, when Meg came outside and said, "This was a good day." She has been the grumpiest of the kids during our pandemic lockdown. It was so nice to hear her say those words.
What made the day so good. We started it off by going to Seven Oaks Lavender Farm. We have been to this farm several times previously and you can read about one of those trips here. We did need to prepare for a slightly different trip. We brought our own scissors to cut the stems and we were asked to wear masks while interacting with others. We, however, were permitted to remove the masks while in the fields and away from patrons. This made the hot weather much more bearable.
We did run into a problem the moment we reached the lavender. The plants were covered in bees. I encouraged the girls to move calmly and reach for stems that were away from the bees. Clare and I managed that approach perfectly well and were not stung. Anne, however, is terrified of bees. She froze and would not go near the lavender. Meg sweetly suggested she walk Anne over to the rabbit enclosure at the front of the farm. While Clare and I cut lavender, Meg and Anne played with the bunnies. They apparently came up with names for the bunnies and Anne was thrilled that one of the rabbits hopped near her and stood on his hind legs.
What made the day so good. We started it off by going to Seven Oaks Lavender Farm. We have been to this farm several times previously and you can read about one of those trips here. We did need to prepare for a slightly different trip. We brought our own scissors to cut the stems and we were asked to wear masks while interacting with others. We, however, were permitted to remove the masks while in the fields and away from patrons. This made the hot weather much more bearable.
We did run into a problem the moment we reached the lavender. The plants were covered in bees. I encouraged the girls to move calmly and reach for stems that were away from the bees. Clare and I managed that approach perfectly well and were not stung. Anne, however, is terrified of bees. She froze and would not go near the lavender. Meg sweetly suggested she walk Anne over to the rabbit enclosure at the front of the farm. While Clare and I cut lavender, Meg and Anne played with the bunnies. They apparently came up with names for the bunnies and Anne was thrilled that one of the rabbits hopped near her and stood on his hind legs.
Clare and I continued to cut lavender. We cut about 250 stems with the hope of making a lavender wreath. Typically, the lavender farm allows you to make wreaths in a tent near the field, but this year is all about social distancing so we will make our wreath at home. Similarly, the lovely play area is off limits this year, but that did not stop us from enjoying our time at the farm. While there were many bees, Clare and I were mesmerized by the beautiful butterflies amongst the lavender. There were many white butterflies and a few with bright yellow wings that contrasted so beautifully with the purple buds. Clare spotted one with soft blue wings. I tried to take pictures of the butterflies with their wings spread wide, but had little luck capturing how beautiful they were.
On our way out of the fields, we bought lavender lemon cupcakes for everyone as well as two mason jars of lavender lemonade. I also picked up a bag of some of my favorite items from the farm's online store. I placed the order the night before and it was waiting for me today. A trip to the lavender farm would not be complete without lavender infused honey, lavender soap and lavender shortbread cookies.
I had packed a picnic lunch, but due to the heat and Anne's fear of bees, we decided to eat it in the car. Our drive home was amazingly peaceful, which was most likely due to the fact we were listening to the audiobook of Framed! What a fantastic book that is. I talk about it here.
Once we returned to the D.C. area, we decided to stop by Fairlington Park rather than go directly home. Fairlington Park was a favorite of ours starting when the older girls were babies. It was redesigned in the last couple of years and was closed during that renovation. Then it was closed again during the pandemic. The girls were happy to visit it again.
Everyone was quite thirsty as we were leaving the park. I mentioned that it was a shame there was not a Sonic near us, because it was a perfect day for a cherry limeade. Meg countered, "What about a slurpee from 7-Eleven?" I told the girls they would need to wear masks in the store and they agreed. So, we drove to the nearest 7-Eleven and bought slurpees. As we walked out of the store, I thought, "This is as normal to a summer day as we have gotten this summer." It all felt so ordinary and that felt nice.
It was a good day, indeed.
Once we returned to the D.C. area, we decided to stop by Fairlington Park rather than go directly home. Fairlington Park was a favorite of ours starting when the older girls were babies. It was redesigned in the last couple of years and was closed during that renovation. Then it was closed again during the pandemic. The girls were happy to visit it again.
Everyone was quite thirsty as we were leaving the park. I mentioned that it was a shame there was not a Sonic near us, because it was a perfect day for a cherry limeade. Meg countered, "What about a slurpee from 7-Eleven?" I told the girls they would need to wear masks in the store and they agreed. So, we drove to the nearest 7-Eleven and bought slurpees. As we walked out of the store, I thought, "This is as normal to a summer day as we have gotten this summer." It all felt so ordinary and that felt nice.
It was a good day, indeed.
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