daddy's birthday

Last weekend, we celebrated Dallin's birthday.  It was another record HOT day, and the weather forecast called for possible thunder storms--but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying a classic New England day. 

Love these long, lean berry-pickers!

Blueberries for Harper

We started with blueberry-picking at Russell Farms in Ipswich. Harper loves blueberries so we were looking forward to seeing how blueberry picking went, imagining that it would be a lot like Blueberries For Sal, one of our favorite stories (we hoped the similarities wouldn't include a bear). We were right, as Harper ate most of the berries she picked.  We still ended up with two delicious pints though, before they closed the gates around noon on account of the heat.  It was perfect timing since we were ready for the cold ocean water at the beach by then anyway!

The spoils: 2 yummy pints

So we headed down the road a little bit further to Crane's Beach.  It was our first family beach experience, and for a minute there, we were seriously questioning our decision as we trudged with all our gear through the broiling hot sand.  Once we reached the water though, all was well.  Okay, it was a little cold; with the air around 95 degrees and the water in the low 60s, that's quite a difference.  Harper was actually a little uncertain about the waves at first, being used to the calm water of the pool.  Once she realized how much fun it is to play in the sand though, she was happy as a clam.  She decided it was particularly fun to rub the sand on Mommy's back, but I'm not one to argue with a content little H--and some people pay a lot for luxurious spa treatments like that!

Want some sand?

Birthday lunch!

After rinsing all the sand off, we had one last stop on our beach adventure: lobster rolls at Woodman's, a local gem and infamous seafood restaurant in nearby Essex.  Harper didn't really care for the lobster and instead opted for french fries with a healthy serving of ketchup--but Daddy was all over it.  Personally, after a few hours in the sun, I was ridiculously excited about our ice-cold root beer!  Oh summer in New England.

We had a really fun outdoor adventure, and Harper and I are pretty sure that her daddy had a happy birthday.  Then, when we got in the car to head home, the skies opened up with the promised torrential rain.  While visibility wasn't fabulous, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.  Happy birthday, Daddy!