Summer's a Comin'

We spent a great weekend "camping" with friends. Our WN's (wonderful neighbors) family has a house near Glenrose on the river. They use the house as a B&B so there was plenty of room for those who don't want to commune with nature.

We got there Friday evening and cooked dinner. The kids drove the mule down to the river and did kid stuff.

The next morning, there was wild flower picking, chores (for the kids, who LOVED it. Who wouldn't love feeding the donkeys and collecting eggs?).

After lunch, it was down to the river for stone skipping and playing on the tubes and just lying around in the sun. We also took the opportunity to make some "river sangria".

We heard of a place that had pick-yourself blackberries and lavender so a few of the girls headed there. I had so much fun! I learned that blackberry picking is not appropriate for kids because of the language spewed when you get stuck by the thorns. Every. Time. I couldn't tell if my fingers were stained by berries or blood. We came home with lots of berries, although only half the amount we bragged about taking home. Seems that the pain involved significantly reduces the desire for more berries. We picked lavender, too, without blood loss and bought some goat milk (for Julie to make cheese), homemade soap and truffles. Perfect day. Perfect weekend! If this is any indication of where my summer is headed, it's gonna be a great one!