Determined to get this summer started off on the right foot, the girls and I planned our strawberry picking adventure for the last day of school. School let out two hours early so as soon as they walked in the door we headed off to Butler's Orchard. We have been berry picking at Butler's for years now so the girls are almost professionals, but this time we brought along my sister and two nephews for the first time. Off course, doing anything with six kids in tow requires A LOT of preparation so before we could even begin we had to make sure that everyone was lotioned up and that water cups were full. The baby was sleeping so I lugged her car seat out onto the field and set her up with an umbrella. The only umbrella I had in my car was a small, broken one, but we made do and somehow managed to get the baby set up in the shade.
The kids all chose their containers and got to work. The teeny one immediately woke up and wanted out of the car seat so I then had to juggle the baby, the umbrella, a water cup, and a container. All the while, trying to take pictures of all these kids who looked so cute hard at work. Girly got right down to business and I am sure Butlers will be hiring her in the near future because she filled a container in no time at all. Bug was more interested in eating the strawberries, Peanut was looking for bugs, and the boys, being boys, were picking them and throwing them. Tired of lugging the baby around, I set her down in the container where she promptly grabbed a strawberry and took a huge bite that her little seven month old self was not prepared to chew. So I am then trying to fish the strawberry piece out of her clamped jaw while trying not to squish the container of strawberries. Finally, I gave up and just watched helplessly as the poor little thing gagged the strawberry down. Phew, she didn't choke. So that was a bad idea, back to lugging the baby around the field. Thankfully, me sister took pity on me and held the baby while I tried to take pictures of all the kiddies. After about ten minutes, we realized as we do every year that it is HOT strawberry picking. And to add to the fun this year, mosquitoes were eating us as we were trying to eat the strawberries. Fifteen minutes into the adventure we have two containers of strawberries, six hot and sweaty kids, and countless bug bites so we decide to head to the market for smoothies. All and all, I would say it was a fun, successful day. One item checked off the list, only about twenty more to go!
The kids all chose their containers and got to work. The teeny one immediately woke up and wanted out of the car seat so I then had to juggle the baby, the umbrella, a water cup, and a container. All the while, trying to take pictures of all these kids who looked so cute hard at work. Girly got right down to business and I am sure Butlers will be hiring her in the near future because she filled a container in no time at all. Bug was more interested in eating the strawberries, Peanut was looking for bugs, and the boys, being boys, were picking them and throwing them. Tired of lugging the baby around, I set her down in the container where she promptly grabbed a strawberry and took a huge bite that her little seven month old self was not prepared to chew. So I am then trying to fish the strawberry piece out of her clamped jaw while trying not to squish the container of strawberries. Finally, I gave up and just watched helplessly as the poor little thing gagged the strawberry down. Phew, she didn't choke. So that was a bad idea, back to lugging the baby around the field. Thankfully, me sister took pity on me and held the baby while I tried to take pictures of all the kiddies. After about ten minutes, we realized as we do every year that it is HOT strawberry picking. And to add to the fun this year, mosquitoes were eating us as we were trying to eat the strawberries. Fifteen minutes into the adventure we have two containers of strawberries, six hot and sweaty kids, and countless bug bites so we decide to head to the market for smoothies. All and all, I would say it was a fun, successful day. One item checked off the list, only about twenty more to go!
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