Maryland Day

Yesterday (Saturday) for the first time I made it to Maryland Day. It usually happens that our meetings are held on the same weekend so I can't go, but yesterday I didn't have to work, so my mom, Ivan and I headed over. Andy was working the event.

We stayed for only one hour because it got way too hot and Ivan was starting to get cranky, and besides, my mother had another event to attend to.

We only got to see the farm animals.

First the horses, whom the equestrian club took out for some galloping. Ivan was interested but only so so. I think it was really because it was to hot.

Then we went over to watch some cute pigs roll around in mud. I thought they were hysterical (and from now on there is no way I'll eat pork again.) Ivan again quickly lost interest. It could've been the heat, or maybe he really couldn't see well (the pigs or the horses) through the fence. He was in his stroller. I tried to get him out but he protested to be left alone.

Then we went into a barnyard (where it was really nice and cool and breezy) to check out some cows and sheep. We watched the cows (not the sheep) get sheered. He was mesmerized. He was observing the entire process very seriously, with that deep frown he gets on his face. (I'm not eating beef ever again. Well, at least until after the pregancy.)

Then another boy and his dad came over and stood by us. Since I was squatting the whole time to watch the cows with Ivan, I was at the other boy's eye-level as well. The boy was either really excited or somehow confused me with him mom, because he grabbed my finger to pull me away toward the sheep.

Well, that caught Ivan's attention, and he quickly grabbed the rest of my hand and pulled toward himself. "My mama," was the absolute meaning of that gesture. It cracked me up.

Then we made our way to a building where they were doling out free ice cream. We got a cup of vanilla and strawberry and sat along a wall in a shade outside the building. Ivan insisted on getting out of the stroller, so he could sit between my mom and I, and of course, be fed ice cream.

We walked around someome. In the ice cream area, they had all these natural farming, organic food type stands. We picked up some brochures.

Then it was time to wrap it up and come back home.