The sweetness of summer.....

This weekend was by far - the most picture perfect weekend I've seen here in Massachusetts in a long, long time. Not too hot, not too cold, not too humid...not too dry. It was in a word, perfect. It's hard not to be in a good mood when days like this come by. And it's impossible to stay indoors!

I took the kids on Saturday to Wellesley, which is a picturesque New England town. Yes, it's definitely a "money" town - but it's got such charm and beauty - I can tolerate some of the nouveau riche attitudes that can come along with it. We went to the most beautiful grounds, called Elm Bank. It's owned and operated by the MA Horticultural Society, and they hosted the 10th Annual New England Farmers Market there. It wasn't a farmers market in the sense of fun little local farmers selling the best tasting tomatoes ever....but it was a nice mix of artisans, local gourmet food companies and flower marketers. We had a picnic lunch on the grounds....and my kids just loved it. To quote my son, he said that the day was "better than a whole day of eating nothing but lollypops!"

Sunday, we took the kids to the North End of Boston - also known as Little Italy. This is one of my all time favorite places to go on any day, let alone a day of a feast. It was one of the smaller feasts, Feast of La Maddona Della Cava. Next weekend is the big Fisherman's Feast - and the week after that is the biggest one, the Saint Anthony's Feast. Those are a lot of fun too, but with young kids sometimes the smaller ones are better because they're not so crowded. To me, the bigger feasts are for us grownups - and at night!

To do these things is so much fun, because not only do I get to see the kids have fun - but I get to live my second childhood doing things that I didn't get to do the first time around. Lined up for next weekend: The Tomato and Corn festival on Saturday....and Peach Picking on Sunday.

Who says eating your fruits and vegetables can't be fun???