It was a glorious, perfect day here in Massachusetts. An unseasonable 75-80 degrees and sunny, with none of the humidity we see in the summertime.  We couldn’t waste the perfection on something so mundane as a playground, so we piled in the car and hit Drumlin Farm.  Armed with snacks, drinks, a camera, and the BOB, we were all set.

Both kids spent plenty of time outside of the stroller, walking to check out the animals, find sticks, and generally inspect the place.  But I’m still glad we had it with us and could throw the kids in for the slightly longer stretches from one spot to the next.  And on a gorgeous weekend in Massachusetts, let me tell you that the farm was like a damn Double-BOB convention.  Several sets of twins (including at least one set we already knew), and other multiple-child combos.

Of course, all outings are easier with a 1:1 adult:child ratio.  It was nice that, if the kids wanted to go in different directions at different speeds, we could each just take one.  Daniel loved it when the tractor rolled by, and Rebecca was a big fan of the Welsh pony named Midnight.

It’s $6 for adults to get in, kids under 2 are free.  But they’re having a special on a membership right now, $29 for a family of four for the year.  Memberships are my new kick, now that my kids are old enough to dig animals and the like.  A lot of them pay for themselves in two or three visits, so it’s well worth it.  We’ve now got the aquarium, Mass Audubon for today’s trip, and will probably throw in a zoo membership, too.  One of my favorite parts about having memberships is that, if the day just goes south and you have to make a hasty exit, you don’t feel like you wasted the daily admission fee.

Today, though, there were no worries. We had a great time and were in no rush to leave.  Animals were pointed out, sounds were made.  “Cow! Mooooooo!”  “Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!”  And sometimes we just stopped to play with sticks, or hang out in the chicken house.

For once, we even got a picture of all four of us! I’m never happy with pictures of myself, but nice that we’re all together. I very seldom hand my camera to anyone else.

Kids took a nice nap when we got home, then we played out in the yard.  As dinnertime approached, M looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.  His idea to cap off a day like this? Ice cream for dinner.  I hesitated, but decided to just go for it.  Off we went to a favorite place of his from his college days, and ice cream was had.  And it was good.

Not a bad way to end a sunny Saturday, eating ice cream while sitting in the back of the van. A little extra color in our cheeks, the smell of sunscreen.  May the summer hold more days like this (though, perhaps with slightly better nutritional value).