Strawberry Fields

I get so excited when the spring and summer bounty of fresh fruits and veggies starts to appear. We love taking strolls through our local Farmer's Market, trying new recipes using fresh veggies, and perhaps the most fun for the kids, visiting local orchards and picking fresh strawberries and blueberries!

 I love the picking just as much as the kids, don't let me fool you, but seeing their little faces light up when they find the hidden berry under the leaf is exhilaratingly fun! My kids already eat their weight in fruits and veggies but it's fun to see them savor each berry, knowing their little hands plucked it from the vine. To see their joy over one of the simplest things makes me realize I need to slow down and enjoy the small things more.

My joy comes from scouring through my troves of recipes to find the perfect one in which to use my precious loot. The problem is that the berries are so sweet and juicy on their own that we rarely have enough to use for cooking. I have high hopes this year or buying double the quantity in hopes that I'll be able to nibble on one half and cook with the other.

This weekend we planned our first outing to the strawberry picking orchard. I packed us a picnic lunch for some pre-picking fuel and off we went. I kicked myself for forgetting the sunscreen but I didn't dare turn around because Colin was already bouncing off the booster in anticipation! He wanted to know how we'd even get there, how long would it take, how many turns, and then he repeated the directions to me no less than 10 times before I finally called off the dogs.

Wes had his afternoon fun planned to go see The Avengers, a smashing success, according to him.

When we finally pulled into the lot, I was thrilled to see there were only a few other cars - more strawberries for us!  As I got out of the car, the first thing I noticed was a big sign that read, "NO food or drink beyond this point!"  Super!

On to Plan B.  I quickly surveyed the situation and found a storage shed off to the side with some unused pumpkin display contraptions.  Seeing as that was the only shady spot on an 80+ degree day, that would be good enough.  We ate inhaled our lunch, some quicker than others, and then we were on our way to pick.  Or so we thought.

Sadly, we had a freeze a few weeks back that killed several of their plants and they aren't sure they'll be able to offer "U-Pick" at all this season.  Colin was crushed.  They did have some pre-picked baskets in their shop for purchase and I let him choose one of those.  Thankfully, they have a few attractions in the front of their store that seemed to appease him.  He did ask if I could bring some money next time so that he could ride the rides in the back.  I would have considered it if I had another set of hands to handle Sawyer or someone to help Colin maneuver about the huge slide.  There's always next time though.

Here are the few pictures I managed to get from what was supposed to be our afternoon of fun.

Climbing the enormous chair.

First failed attempt.

At least one of them is looking!

The seasoned picture taker.  I love that you can see Sawyer in the distance coming for a closer look!

Sawyer looking longingly at the "rides" that his cheap mother wouldn't pay for.  Seriously though, couldn't you just see this near 2-year old flying off the side of that 30 food slide?!