Monday, March 8, 2010

Our Day Off


What does homemade ice cream, cows, mini golf, hiking
and window shopping have in common?

Our Day Off!

Last Friday was the end of the trimester for the kids,
resulting in a teacher's work day today!

With the kids at home and a rare 50+ degree March day,
we decided to get out of dodge and visit someplace
we've never been!
I'm not sure if I mentioned this before,
but our family LOVES ice cream.
Several years ago I had heard about Young's Dairy
about 40 minutes north of us in a place called
Yellow Springs.

We will travel just about any distance for good ice cream!

And, can you believe that I forgot to pull out the camera to take
a picture of our delightfully yummy, rich, ginormous ice cream cones!
We'll get one next time!

Now, Young's is a working dairy farm, so that means they have
on site, up close and personal, one of
my most favorite animals of all times...
Baby Cows!
Obviously, not one of Madison's most favorite animals!
Madison, preferred the mommy goat with her nursing
little ones!
Madison took this photo of her favorite baby goat!
It was feeding time for the dairy cow, who had just been
brought in to eat at their troughs.

 Tweens and teens need to burn off energy
so they climbed on tires and played mini golf!
Even with 50 degrees we still have that white stuff on the ground!
We left the dairy to continue our adventure to a local state park.
John Bryan State Park!
We found a nice place to park the car headed down a trail.
The kids enjoyed hiking in the "snow".
We found...
A large square stone foundation...
A fantastic fallen tree, that was great for bouncing...
Beautiful moss...
and this nut that reminded me
of Edvard's Munch's "The Scream".
 We hiked as far as my none hiking shoes could go.
Off to the nearby artsy town of Yellow Springs...
Zac checked out the interactive art piece
housed in an old telephone booth.
We enjoyed the knitted and felted graffiti "littering"
the street signs, trees and benches...
Thanks for hanging with us on our day off!

15 comments:

corners of my life said...

Such an unusual combination - miniature golf with snow on the ground. Looks like you had a fun day.

Wendy said...

What a fun day! Isn't it soooo nice to have sun shine :) and no winter coats! Woo Hoo
Looks like it was well worth the drive!!
Wendy

Sue said...

It looks like fun! Well, maybe not hiking in the snow...but ice cream and baby animals are good...artsy shops too!

Destination Seaborn said...

How fun! It looks like you all had a beautiful day. I'm with you on the ice cream thing! Graeter's is a favorite in the Columbus area.
BTW, my husband reminded me that Mason is where the annual tennis tournament is played.
Lisa

Katie said...

I need to go to rehab for my ice cream addiction, that's how much I love it! I tell myself it's my source for Calcium ;) I have driven great lengths for that tasty treat as well. What a Fabulous Dairy Farm ya'll went to, so COOL!!! What a great way to spend the day off with your tweeno's ;)

It's been years since I have seen a Phone Booth! Didn't realize they even still had them!

Christine said...

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream!
I'm glad you didn't show any ice cream pictures. It would have thrown me off my diet.

Cute kids! Isn't it fun to have a play day?

Unknown said...

That's my kind of day off, full of fun and adventure. But you had me at ice cream!!! I love ice cream too. It's one of my absolute favorites (with popcorn coming in a close 2nd). Glad you had such a nice day.
Jane

Judy@judyfriendphotography.com said...

Yummy...ice cream....love it too! My motto is that it is never too cold for ice cream. Looks like you had a fun day with the family. Love ya....Jude

Anonymous said...

How fun! I will be glad when Hayden is actually old enough for that kind of stuff, but I won't rush it! Cute Kids, by the way!

Michelle said...

What a great day. It was fun following your adventure through your pictures. That nut does look a lot like the face in the portrait...lol.

Ryn: That's very sweet of you to spotlight my blog. You're welcome to use any pictures you'd like. ---My eyes still give me lots of trouble--along with my immune disorder, but things are much better than before. Thanks for asking. :)

Wendy said...

Loved this the first time I read it and enjoying it again!
Wendy

Linda said...

Just stopping by from Wendy's...

What a nice day off! Isn't it nice to just get up and so sometimes, and especially to someplace different! Looks like the kids certainly enjoyed the day, and mom too!

Natasha in Oz said...

I have just come over to visit via Wendy! My family loves ice-cream too and they would love to have a day like this-Looks fantastic!

Best wishes and happy week,
Natasha.

Sarah @ Mum In Bloom said...

What a nice memory and I loved the moss photos :)

Deb said...

Just stopping in from Wendy's. You had me at ice cream. What a fun day.