It was a warm September Day, and Little L and I were headed to the Farmer's Market while Meatball stayed home with Axel – the "NO DOGS!" sign at the market subtly communicated that she shouldn't come along.

As we arrived, we headed right for Little L's favorite bakery stall. For $4, they sell miniature Pokémon cookies, and Little L has gotten Pikachu, Eevee, and even Squirtle this market season. However, there weren't any new ones this Saturday. I pointed to the table. "You could get a cookie if you want to try something new?"

For the same $4, Little L came away with a gigantic chocolate raspberry scone. I would say it was delicious, but I wasn't offered even a morsel, so who's to say? As we were waiting for our change, Little L turned around; someone had just tapped her on the shoulder.

It was Little I! I spotted her dad sitting in a prime location - he had secured a table under the shaded tent. I quickly invited myself to sit with him and his toddler as Little L and Little I ran off to check out the Children's Tent.

Soon Little I's mom came back to the prized table with a container of spring rolls. "Those look so good!" I said. "I'm going to wait just a little longer to eat so I can count it as lunch," I added. At our house, anything after 10AM constitutes lunch.

A little while later, Little L and Little I joined us at the table, the chocolate raspberry scone a thing of the past. It wasn't long before Little L asked, "Can I get a smoothie?" To me, a smoothie seemed lunch-like, or at least brunch-like, and my goal was to come home from the market without having lunch hanging over my head.

"I want a smoothie too!" Little I added.

"We can have them split it!" Little L suggested. "It's always too big."

What happened next was the thing of dreams. I handed a ten dollar bill to Little L. Little I's mom gave her three prepaid market tokens. They went on their way.

And we remained seated.

The three adults chatted while Little I's little sister played near us at the Children's Tent. Little I's dad went to buy some empanadas and returned to his chair.

After awhile, I said, "I wonder if the girls got their smoothies? It's been awhile." I did not get up from my shaded primo chair.

"The line is usually pretty long," Little I's mom said. She did not get out of her chair either.

I rotated my body and saw a woman making smoothie behind the booth. Somehow, this reassured me.

About five minutes later, Little I's mom took one for the team. "I'll just walk over and check quick," she said, while her partner and I held down the shaded fort.

She returned a couple minutes later. Alone and laughing.

"Well," she said, "the girls have decided to spend the rest of the money. They each bought a barrette and they're looking around now."

A couple thoughts went through my mind:

1) How was it that Little L, who refused to order her own food at restaurants, was out talking to Farmer's Market vendors?

2) Could this be attributed to the markets they put on at school?

3) At the school markets, there was bartering. Were they bartering here?

4) But they had to be bartering; how else could they afford barrettes after having spent $8 of their $16 on a smoothie?

5) I was going to remain seated. Thank goodness.

We continued our conversation - talking about the bus, seeing other neighbors walking by our prized table, and then, finally, the girls approached. "We each got a barrette for our hair, and we got a ponytail holder with a flower on it, and now we're going to go look for more things!"

Little L was talking 1,000 miles a minute – a sign that she was having a great time.

"Now we're going to try to buy something for you!" she announced, and they ran off again.

"Just to be clear," Little I's dad said, "That money wasn't for them to just spend, right?" We all three looked at each other.

"No," we said. We all stayed seated.

"You know," Little I's mom said, "I had thought those were $2 tokens I gave Little I. But now that I think about it, they were $5 each."

That explained a lot.

The girls returned about ten glorious minutes later and laid two wooden objects on the table.

"These are for you guys! They're supposed to cost $5, but he gave them to us for free because we're kids! They're for holding a towel!"

Perhaps bartering - or even better yet, freebies - was part of this market as well.

Off they went again, only to return with some honey sticks they had purchased for $1, along with some free pencils they had received. And a sticker that Little L thought cost $1 (but was supposed to cost $3) and Little I thought had been gifted to them.

Either way, they were having a great time.

Next they took their $2 produce tokens that they'd received for trying the market's produce samples and set off. They returned with some basil and raspberries, which they explained that we could share between our two families.

"I think I'll go get some lunch now if that's okay," I said to Little I's parents. As I made my way across the market, I saw a stand with towel holders selling for $5. I took a look at the instructions. "That's what I gave the girls," the man told me. "You should look at how it works." I thanked him for his kindness. And when I returned to the tent with my rice and samosas, my bag was still saving my shaded chair for me.

By now, the money and luck had run out. Little L ate her samosas and Little I ate a bagel (which she shared with Little L, who tried to give her leftovers back to Little I's parents who graciously redirected them to me instead).

Then the girls went over to the Children's Tent and played with the toys again for a good while.

It was well past my lunchtime by the time we gave up our treasured table. I bought some fresh strawberries and the girls tagged along with me to buy some honey. "You know, they came here earlier," the honey vendor said.

They were making quite a name for themselves.

"Oh, gosh, did they try to barter with you?" She had a stack of pencils sitting in a box that resembled the "free pencils" the girls had gotten.

"No, they didn't barter. They were so polite and kind," she said.

They were?! I tried to act like always saying thank you was a well-worn habit rather than the flip of a coin.

"What are those?" Little L asked. Little I pointed to some erasers next to the pencils.

The vendor picked up two tiny bee erasers and handed one to each girl. "Oh, I thought these were going to be much bigger," she said.

And just like that, the girls had one more freebie in their bags.

All in all, it was a great day at the market.

I know, I know. Easy to say from where I'm sitting.