Earlier this summer at the end of July, Ray and I also celebrated our wedding anniversary. Incidentally, it was the same day I got a call from someone who I had taken engagement pictures for just a few weeks prior. Jennifer asked if she could fly Ray and I to Jamaica later this winter, so I could take photos at her wedding.
Um, YES!!
I was more than a little happy to report back to Ray, “Guess what honey….. we're going to Jamaica. Happy tropical anniversary!”
But for Ray’s birthday, we didn’t get a single phone call like that....Nope, the day was closer to “It’s my 40th birthday, and all I got was this lousy pizza.”
But, really - - it wasn't lousy pizza at all. In fact, it was about the coolest pizza we've had in a long time.
For his birthday dinner, the kids and I took Ray to the Red Barn Farm in Northfield. Red Barn is a sustainable, organic farm that offers CSA shares and sells produce at farmer’s markets. Plus, every Wednesday evening, the farm invites visitors to join them for pizza baked in their outdoor brick oven. You simply bring your own blanket, your own beverages and accompaniments, order up a pizza, and enjoy the festivities.
It was fabulous!! There were dozens of people having pizza picnics under shade trees. Kids laughing, wine flowing (byob), and chickens running loose. (Yes, chickens!) We had a beautifully warm evening that couldn’t have been any more perfect. And to top it off, the pizza was great.
(Henry and Anna out-voted us on toppings – funny how when it's two kids vs. mom and dad, somehow the kids seem to get the majority vote - but I guess that is another story for another blog post.)
Regardless, even pepperoni tasted great with this view....
Henry and Anna were particularly taken with the free-roaming chickens. And, even more exciting was when Henry found a freshly-laid egg just lying in the grass near our picnic blanket.
Oddly enough, it felt perfectly ordinary and wonderful to be eating pizza, outside, next to chickens and eggs and strangers. It must have been all that farm-fresh air!
Now, I must admit (and as Ray couldn’t resist mentioning during our pizza adventure) that the Red Barn Farm was probably closer to my kind of 40th birthday dinner than his….All communal and crunchy and such. But, I’m grateful that Ray was gracious enough to indulge the rest of us and celebrate.
And one of my favorite parts of the evening - - no surprise here - - a chance to get some sweet shots of Ray with the kids.
Henry and Ray are giving me their "smolder." Clearly, Anna has been watching Tangled a little too much, and it's rubbed off on my boys....
I’m not sure how much longer the Red Barn Farm will be open this fall, but to those in the area, I highly recommend this dinner-time adventure.
And of course, happy birthday to my dear husband! Thanks for sticking it out with me - - for this adventure, and for all the other adventures yet to come. I love you.
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