Monday, June 20, 2011

I let my daughter get hip-checked by a cow

We had a fabulous weekend, leaving the sizzling MidAtlantic region in favor of our roots: New England.  Most of my family has remained true to the England of New, living in Massachusetts and Maine.  Only my younger brother and myself decided to brave the more southernly regions of New Jersey and Maryland.  We planned a trip to Maine a few months ago, and then watched in horror as the weather forecast for our weekend described rain, rain and more rain.  So we were pleasantly surprised to enjoy two and a half days of sunshine!

We made much use of the beautiful weather by mostly sitting by my older brother's pool.  Yeah, I wondered why anyone in Maine would have a pool... till I had a chance to sit by it.  Heaven!  But we did leave the pool for a few excursions.  We took Laura to a nearby petting farm, where we got to see a brand new, eight-week-old baby calf.  So cute!  He looks just like Norman in "City Slickers," so obviously I loved him.  Just as I was posing Laura for an adorable photo shoot, Norman decided he was done with us: he hip-checked Laura out of the way.  And even as I saw this about to happen, I readied the camera for a shot of the carnage, rather than swooping in to save my daughter from hooves.  Don't worry: I got the photo and Laura was not trampled.

No babies were harmed in the taking of this photo.
 My wonderful sister-in-law baked a delicious cake (yellow with chocolate!) in honor of my birthday.  Happy birthday to meeeee!  Which of course warrants a carving knife and crazy eyes.
Step back! I have a knife!
We also got to test drive the most awesomest stroller on the planet, The Bob.  My brother and SIL are expecting a happy bundle at the end of summer.  They recently received their coveted Bob, and were eager to take it for a spin.  Laura, lover of all things stroller, was happy to oblige.  Judging by the three-mile nap she took, I think she approved of Bob.
Bob is good to baby.
So the moral of this story is: I want a pool, a calf named Norman, and a Bob.  And I crazy-eye love cake.