TWO trips to the Farmer's Market

This morning I looked over to the passenger seat as I drove the kids to school and saw my Farmers Market Basket. I told the kids it was 'opening day' and I'd be heading there after I dropped them off (before I went in to work). They were immediately sad because they wanted to come too. I told them how I used to take them to the Market starting when they were babies. I would lug the giant triple stroller out of the back of the van (it did not fold), unbuckle all of the babies from car seats and buckle them in to the stroller, apply sunscreen, put on the blue awning, and head in to the market. We would slowly (c'mon this was the only plan for the entire morning!) savor the sights and sounds, smells and flavors. The kids loved it. Not as much as I did. After I finished this story they said two things, "Wow mom, that must have been really hard" To which I fought back tears as I honestly said, "No not hard, it was one of my favorite things" That is the truth. The second thing they said was, "Why did you put sunscreen on us if you used the top of the stroller?" Well, that's just me folks :)
Needless to say, after I dropped them off I had a tearful and quiet drive to the farmers market by myself. It was amazing to see the local farmers including several who asked specifically how the kids were, how old they were now, and how they remember them in the big stroller. It was amazing to find asparagus, radishes, spinach, potatoes, and even cheese. But, it wasn't the same without my kiddos.
After they got off the bus and we enjoyed a simple lunch with some of my morning finds we packed up and headed down to the market. As you can see most of the vendors were gone for the day, but seeing the kids talk to "Their friend the farmer" and run to the man who sells honey sticks made my day complete.