Picking Strawberries, Eating Strawberries, and Eating S'mores

We have been so excited for strawberry season. We couldn't wait for the farm to open up for picking. I had such a perfect picture in my head of the great time we would have and imagined all the wonderful pictures I would take.... THIS DID NOT HAPPEN! Simon was being such a stinker the whole time. He complained non-stop about how hot it was. Miriam was fairly helpful. Levi picked and ate every strawberry he saw creating such a mess. Finally we had enough. Michael sent me to the van with the kids to cool off while he finished picking strawberries. Once he was done and we were ready to head off I realized we didn't get a family picture (and going through these pictures I realized I didn't get a single picture with me in it). I knew no one would be very happy if I made them get out of the van for a picture so I just decided to forget it. I know when it is time to surrender.

Thankfully, Michael picked a lot of amazing strawberries. Even though the day was a bust we still get to reap the reward of his hard work. (He even made a bunch of freezer jam, he is a gem that one). Later that night we decided on grilled pound cake with strawberries for dessert.

The next day we went to Grandma and Grandpa Bishop's house for some s'mores. The kids love playing over there. It is really starting to feel like summer is around the corner. Now we just need school to get out!

Farm

While the older kids were at school we took the younger kids to the Fyring Pan Park Farm. I love going to the farm on slow days. It is nice to have the place practically to yourself. Simon and Levi loved seeing all the animals with their cousins. We missed Miriam, but had a fun time.

We tried a couple of times to get a picture, you know the one. The impossible picture where all the kids look and smile at the same time. At least they are all so cute.

Picking Apples

I love that picking apples has become a yearly family tradition. Last year by the time I thought about picking apples we had missed my favorite apples. This year I was determined to remember to go early in order to get the honeycrisp. We drove out to Marker Miller Orchards so we could pick our own. Miriam and Simon really love picking the apples off the tree. Even Levi tried to pick a few. After all the hard work picking apples the kids played at the playground and ate ice cream.

Apple picking video:

Since we drove all the way out to Winchester we just had to stop at Sonic for lunch.

the farm

It feels like the summer is getting away from us. We hadn't been to the farm in three months, so we decided to go one morning before it got too hot. It was the first time Levi got out and really saw the animals. He absolutely loved it. Miriam and Simon had fun showing him all the animals. We always love a trip to the farm.

Annual Strawberry Picking

Once again we headed to Mackintosh Fruit Farm for our annual strawberry picking. There is nothing sweeter than fresh picked strawberries right from the field. The kids were in heaven picking (and a little bit of eating) all the strawberries they could find. We ended up picking about thirty pounds of strawberries. Since we bought a chest freezer a couple of weeks ago we knew we could freeze some for later. It is hard for 5 people to eat all those strawberries when none of them really likes strawberry jam.