Birthday Sunflowers

We don't really do birthday parties in our family, but we usually try to do some activity as a family, which has somehow become known among the children as the "fun thing," as in, "Do we get to do Junie's Fun Thing tonight?" So for Daisy's Fun Thing, I decided we would go to a sunflower farm I had read about in North Salt Lake. I was excited about it and thought Daisy would love it too!

Unfortunately I did not account for…other opinions about what constituted a "Fun Thing." I had gotten tickets in advance and when certain parties realized they were stuck going to a flower field for the evening, there was a fair amount of complaining (some overt, some less so), followed by a fair amount more when we got to the place and it was really, really hot outside. 

With the little boys dragging along and Clementine fussing, the atmosphere just went downhill from there, until I was on the verge of tears and vowing to give up ever planning anything for anyone again. Let alone managing to enjoy the flowers.

But there we were, having paid the entry fee already, and so we set grimly off, with poor Daisy and Junie and Goldie reading the prevailing mood and being extra helpful and cheery to compensate (bless them).

And it helped. After a while we couldn't help but start marveling at how pretty the flowers were, and how interesting all the different kinds were. I finally remembered that I'm the one who sets the tone for everyone else at these sorts of things, and feeling sorry for myself wasn't helping anything, so if I wanted Daisy to actually have a fun birthday, I had better get my act together!

Funny how often I have to have that realization.

This little cutie liked the flowers.

So here are some of the different varieties. Too bad I don't remember any of their names—

except this one. Teddy was so pleased that this kind was called "Teddy Bear"!

There were a few different reds and oranges

I liked this pale yellow one. Yellow with a yellow center.

I like the big sunflowers best, but the smaller ones are cute too.

Oh, Gussie! Let's just squish him, shall we?

Which are prettier, the yellow-and-brown ones, or the yellow-and-yellow ones?

Sunflower would be a good name for a daughter. Wouldn't it?

There was a little petting zoo with goats and donkeys. Gus liked them. They made Ziggy nervous.

We were each allowed to pick one sunflower, so we got to bring home a nice bouquet of them.

Birthday bouquets

It was sure a beautiful place! I'd go there again…maybe just not with the whole family!