Down on the farm, Periwinkle-style

Remember back in the day when we met the Baltimorian bloggers in real life? That was fun. So we did it again, but this time on our turf -- the orchard, baby, yeah! The Periwinkle family joined us for a morning of fun in the sun. This time, the Baby Human and his mom were "too tired" and stayed away. Maybe we smell? I thought it was just the goats, but I could be wrong. I totally showered yesterday.

Isaac had a fantabulous time showing Ryan around the farm. They did everything there was to do. Like adorable little deer flies, they were, flitting from this attraction to that, so fast that we didn't get *too* many pictures. They played in the pumpkin house, on the wooden airplane and train, on the huge statue of a cow, in Johnny Appleseed's school house (and got a lecture from Mr. A himself on integrated pest management! Thrilling!), with the barnyard critters, and especially in the sandbox. It was a gorgeous day to be outside, and a great place to be a toddler. Here are the highlights.

Ryan and Isaac making a lame attempt to stand together for a posed picture near some hay (as in, Look! Hay! We must be at the farm!)



At the helm of the wooden choo-choo (with an interloper named Dalton, yes, as in atomic-weight-style Dalton):



But the biggest hit, by far, was the sandbox. Luckily there were matching dump trucks.





Ryan, literally, got outside the box with his. A forward thinker, that young man. Isaac soon followed suit, and repeatedly insisted that his dump truck belonged near the apple trees and not in or around the sand box.



Even the babies were into the sandbox action. Lily got in the thick of it for a second or two:



Knowing from experience that putting Jacob in the sandbox would quickly equal fistfuls of sand in his mouth, I sat him on the nearby grass to watch the elder boys. Because fistfuls of grass are marginally acceptable. Better for the colon.





We had a wonderful time with the exceedingly lovely Periwinkle children and their mommy. Thanks for driving all that way to hang with us, guys! We hope to return the favor sometime soon.