School is finally out and we are so excited to begin our summer adventures. On Thursday--the first day of break--we took it easy. Meg wanted to be lazy and we all went along with it. In the morning, I finished reading Anna James' Pages & Co.: Tilly and the Bookwanderers (review to come later) and picked up Elizabeth Peters' The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog (#7 in the Amelia Peabody series). Early in the afternoon, we joined friends for a swim. The temperature was in the 70s and rain was looming, but that didn't stop the kids from enjoying the pool. The mothers firmly resolved to stay on the sidelines and out of the cold water. A particular treat of this get together was that it included a family that had moved to Colorado a year ago. It was wonderful seeing the kids reconnect so easily after time apart.
Our first true summer adventure outing took place Friday. The weather was still cool. In fact, by 10 a.m. it had still not reached 70. We decided it would be the perfect day to go strawberry picking. We headed to Butler's Orchard, because it was one of the few orchards in the area that still had strawberries. Butler's also has a fantastic play area, so we packed a picnic with the plan to stay there for several hours.
Once we arrived, we altered our picking plans to include blueberries, tart cherries and peas as well as strawberries. The blueberries, cherries and strawberries all cost the same, so we were allowed to put them in the same bucket as we rode the tractor-pulled wagon from field to field. We drove to the field for peas later in the day. Bags were provided there and we were able to pick both sugar snap peas and English peas.
Our first true summer adventure outing took place Friday. The weather was still cool. In fact, by 10 a.m. it had still not reached 70. We decided it would be the perfect day to go strawberry picking. We headed to Butler's Orchard, because it was one of the few orchards in the area that still had strawberries. Butler's also has a fantastic play area, so we packed a picnic with the plan to stay there for several hours.
Once we arrived, we altered our picking plans to include blueberries, tart cherries and peas as well as strawberries. The blueberries, cherries and strawberries all cost the same, so we were allowed to put them in the same bucket as we rode the tractor-pulled wagon from field to field. We drove to the field for peas later in the day. Bags were provided there and we were able to pick both sugar snap peas and English peas.
Between our time of picking fruit and picking peas, we played at the Farm Park. I set up our picnic basket under the shade of a huge tree where I could watch Anne as she played in the giant wooden structures that make up the playground. Anne has a huge imagination and spent so much time in the wooden castle, ship and train. At times she played with other kids at the play area, but she was also perfectly content to play on her own. She particularly enjoyed the many tractors provided for the kids to play on.
While Anne played, Meg and Clare grabbed their journaling and art supplies. Meg and Clare have decided to keep a joint journal about their summer experiences and today was Meg's turn to write. Clare brought her art kit and used the time to do some nature journaling, which consisted of her attempting to capture the various shades of green in a leaf.
No visit to Butler's Orchard could be complete without a visit to the animals. Meg and Clare love the goats. We are all fascinated by their rectangular pupils. Anne loved the sheep and Charlie the Pig (who Clare strongly believes should be named Wilbur).
This was by far our most successful berry picking outing. In past years, we have melted under a blaring June sun and everyone became grumpy quickly. The mild weather was such a gift. I don't believe we had a single grumpy outburst during the entire outing.
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