strawberry fields

over Memorial Day weekend (yes, i'm slow at posting), Ry, K, H, and i went strawberry picking with our fabulous friends (and neighbors), the Weigles. :) it was a beautiful day...a little warm, but still gorgeous. and, after a fabulous month plus of illness for the family, it was a very needed day of fresh air and fun! :)
K was NOT a fan of picking berries initially... she was overwhelmed, i think... the fields are pretty big, and while it wasn't busy with people, she had never seen such rows of plants, etc. :) after she watched us pick for a few minutes, she was ready to jump in. :) i gave her careful instructions about picking berries that were red, which she was good to follow. she picked an occasional not so ripe berry, but for a 2 1/2 year old, she did beautifully... :)
and, with every berry she picked, she would ask me if it was a good one :) it was so cute...even for the hour we were there...
"this one, mommy...."
"this is red, mommy...."
"mommy, yuuuk...a staw-berry...."
"i yike staw-berries today..."
"this is fun..."
"this one, mommy...put it in the box?"
yes, this was my sweet music for picking :)
we picked over 7 pounds of berries on this outing. the price was decent (i think we paid around $25)... :)
here are some pics of our adventure... :)
Katherine and i waving at the camera :) (notice the beaded Mardi Gras necklace that she's wearing...the necklace phase lasted for over a month... this was her favorite - a heart necklace :))

my little strawberry farmer :) busy pickin' berries :)

another picture of the mommy/daughter team :) i love this pic of the two of us... :)

and....here's poor Hannah's perspective of strawberry picking...stuck in a stroller in the super warm temperatures... :) she was so good...but i still felt bad that she couldn't take part in the fun... :) yet... :)

here is K and her strawberry loot :) she did a great job! :)

the challenge after the strawberry picking was what to do with the 7 pounds of berries we picked.... and since i don't have a lot of spare time, it took me 3 or 4 days to get through all the berries... and, fresh berries don't keep long, either... so i washed berries one night and in the morning of the next day (i actually sat on the floor in the living room during Hannah's morning nap so that i could hang out with K while she played and i could also cut the stems off of the berries and slice them)...

i made over a gallon of strawberry freezer jam... :) somethin' about the taste of this jam takes me back to my childhood at my grandma's :) and, we have shared several jars and still have enough in the freezer to take us through the cold winter months :)

and when i taste the jam (K will not eat it :( ), my mind will take me back to our fun afternoon the strawberry fields... :)