Sleigh Ride

We all have a Bucket List.  You know, things we'd like to do before we "kick the bucket."  Well, my father-in-law, who has lived in New England for twenty-five years now, had yet to take an old-fashioned sleigh ride through the snow.  It was on his Bucket List.  So this weekend, with all our family in tow, we obliged him and headed out to Billings Farm in Woodstock, Vermont, for a Norman Rockwellian moment. 

We know how to do classic New England up here in Vermont.

Molly, Tom, and Tommy were up for the weekend so we bundled the kids up and headed out into the very chilly morning.  We had some time before our turn on the sleigh, so we had a chance to explore the barns and see the baby cows beforehand.

Uncle Tom was truly horrified by the cows and their bodily functions, and the smell was pretty horrific since there were dozens of cows all cooped up with no windows or doors open to alleviate the odor, so we quickly scooted back to the main visitor's center to await our horse-drawn sleigh.

My little family of four snuggled into the last row of the sleigh drawn by beautiful Jim and Joe (Jax was sure to thank them on the way by).  Each row had a few blankets and we huddled up against the wind together.

   When the wind wasn't blowing, it was actually a very enjoyable sunny day, but when the wind blew....well, let's just say it made us remember that it's still very much winter up here.  Not that my kids noticed.  I swear that Jax has no concept of cold weather and Em pretty much refuses to keep her hands under a blanket, in mittens, tucked in her sleeves.  She uses them too much to wave; I guess she feels she needs access to them. 

When it was all over ("Thank you, Jim!  Thank you, Joe!") we went back into the visitors center for complimentary cookies and warm apple cider.  They were supposedly the favorite cookies of some president or other, since it was President's Day weekend, not that I remember whose.  I just know that whoever likes molasses cookies is my new favorite president ever.  Thanks for the hook up!

Jax and Tommy thought it was a pretty great way to celebrate President's Day, too!

So although it was pretty cold, it was a quintessential way to enjoy a winter's day up here in Vermont.  Billings Farm is a real treat in the warmer months, too; we went there when Em was just a few weeks old and had a great time.  I'm sure we'll be spending a spring day or two there very soon, although milking a cow is certainly not on my Bucket List!  I'll just go enjoy the animals and maybe take a hay ride next time.  Although, until now, I hadn't really given the idea of a Bucket List much thought; I know places I'd like to go in my lifetime, but things I'd like to do, experiences I'd like to accomplish and share with my family?  That's worth mulling over a bit.  At least now I've had my sleigh ride!

Send me some ideas.  What's on your Bucket List?