Strawberries 2011 - Part 2

Well... we managed to go through 15 lbs of strawberries in about 10 days without making a single batch of jam.  The whole reason I'd gone to pick strawberries in the first place! (but those 15 lbs of strawberry shortcake made for some tasty dinners, and snacks... and breakfasts)

When we went back for round 2 I knew I would have to be a more efficient berry picker since I was going to have both girls with me.  Yes, Dani got to go on her very first trip to the strawberry field.  To say she enjoyed herself would be an understatement.

While Michaela once again befriended the girls working the U-Pick trailer Dani managed to eat a steady stream of strawberries as provided by her big sister and momma.

See for yourself why it took an entire package of baby wipes to get Dani clean enough to ride home.

By the way, this time I picked another 14 lbs. of berries myself and almost doubled that with another 8 quart flat that we bought from the barn.  Nearly 25 lbs of berries to eat here this weekend!!!

Yep.  That is Dani underneath all that strawberry pulp and juice.  I still need to hose out the nicely stained stroller.  Just look at her face though, you can see how much she's enjoying herself. :)

"Hmmmmm.... should I eat it? Or should I smash it and then eat it?"

Michaela is super cool with her water bottle.

Seriously.  All the cool kids drink from water bottles.

This is where Dani lost patience with 'cool' and demanded a drink.

"Ehhh, whatever.  I'm going to go make faces at mom."

The best part of this photo was that I had to edit out a booger that she'd wiped onto her cheek while I was picking berries.  Yeah, I didn't notice until later that afternoon that she'd wiped snot onto her face.

Strawberries 2011

It's strawberry season again in Michigan and I am so excited!!! Seriously, I was hoping and praying that strawberries would start before Father's Day weekend since I'd volunteered to bring strawberry shortcake to the family grill-out with my Dad on Saturday. (Whew!)

Thankfully Morse Brothers Farm started U-Pick on Wednesday and we were able to make it out there to pick on Friday morning.  We dropped Dani off to play with my cousins and Michaela came along while we met some friends at the field.

I'm pretty sure Michaela ate every berry she picked.  You can see her face and hands in this photo and I think it helps back up my theory... ;)

All in all, we ended up with 15 lbs. of strawberries from this trip.  Half of them are already gone from all our strawberry shortcake meals and snacks this weekend (Chris LOVES strawberry shortcake so we had it for Father's Day breakfast even).

I'm going to try to make jam with the rest, but I know we'll have to make at least one more trip to the field for berries.  They're just SOOOO good!!!

Gardening is hard work

A couple weeks back we went up to Chris' Dad's place to help plant the garden.  Here's some fun from our day of planting (well, Chris and Michaela's day of planting, Dani and I showed up a couple hours after them).

Chris planting heirloom tomato plants.

Michaela snitching red-vines from Pop's truck and supervising.

That is the face of "I don't like sitting in this dirt." We're working on toughening her up. ;)

 Michaela planting potatoes with Pop. She was so very excited to be helping!

"Dad, I'm ready to go nap now."

Apple Blossoms 2011

Every year I take the girls out to the farm in the Spring to get pictures with the apple blossoms.  This year I didn't have any help to corral them so I didn't get many photos of them with the blossoms, but we had fun taking lots of pictures that day anyway.

 Proof that we saw the apple blossoms, and the industrious bees working their bee magic. :)

 Silly faces from the girls who don't like to hold still... Dani is eating some uncooked asparagus and Michaela is holding her stalk of it from Great Grandpa.

Do you see the asparagus in this one too?  Michaela is now feeding her stalk to Dani, this is how you get these two to hold still for half a minute.  Of course, sitting still and facing mom at the same time is a skill we are still working on. hehehe

Michaela thinking and Dani with a dirt rimmed mouth.  She is still learning that rocks are NOT for eating.

Picking up all the rocks out back at Grandma's pump.  They were very content to "helping" Grandma with this special job just for little girls for a very loooong time.

Proof that I was there watching. :)

Another fun trip to the farm playing outdoors, running around, visiting Great Grandpa & Great Grandma, swinging, and even checking out the neighborhood bison farm (complete with sunbathing bison calves).

Just off center

On our trip to The Lodge the other week we took a trek through the woods while we were walking around.  I was having fun playing with the camera and when I was looking through my shots from our walk I decided it mus have been designated "off center photo" day.  I like them though so I thought I'd share. :)

The Lodge

Occasionally we all take the trek to go visit Chris' dad in Sand Lake.  We set up base in the 1970's camper trailer at the top of the hill that has been dubbed "The Lodge."  It is a bit rustic at The Lodge and we go knowing the whole day will be spent outside playing in the field, the little bit or yard, or the woods.  Last year we only ended up there a couple times because it was really hard on me carrying Dani around everywhere, but now that she can walk I'm sure we will make the trek many more times this summer.

Pop got the girls a special surprise... gardening tools!!! They were excited to try out their new kid sized shovel, rake and gardening hoe.

Chris all ready to go make the trek to the woods at the edge of the field to find a good tree for our new tree swing.

If that's not cute I don't know what is. Michaela was so very excited to be able to help hold Dani's hand while we walked through the field to make sure Dani didn't fall on her face.  It always makes me smile to see how much they love each other. :)

Michaela taking a ride on The Original Tree Swing.  You can see my review for this over with SIMPLE, there's even a giveaway for one until the 19th!

And finally, proof that I was there with them all that day.  We needed a photo of us all rocking out our boots, because we don't go to the lodge and wear anything else. :)

Welcome Back Snowbirds!

After Easter my grandparents came back from Florida.  Grandma had decided that the temperatures weren't so cold as to keep her away any longer (plus there were two new great grandbabies to visit!).  After making sure we were a germ free family I took the girls out to see them.  We visited indoors for a while and then Grandma came out with us to play.  She took the girls around the yard and I'm pretty sure that given the choice neither one of my girls would have gone home that night. ;)

 

Dani checking out the tire swing for the first time with some help from Great Grandma.

I'm pretty sure Nicole was performing her cousinly duties and giving Michaela rope swinging lessons before all the adults came out. ;)

Apples 2010

Here's some of my favorites from our trip out to the farm last week.  Thankfully we were already planning on going that night since we found out harvest was only going to last a couple more days (officially done already!).

Strawberries

Oh, how I love strawberry season!  I was able to take Michaela with me yesterday to Morse Brothers Farm to do some U-Pick.  We managed to pick 30 pounds of berries in about an hour and a half and were back to my Mom's to get Dani by 11:30 am. (Thanks Grandma for having baby duty while we were in the field!)

Super CHEESE!

Michaela and her 'strawberry facial'

She did a pretty good job of staying in our row. Running back and forth was SO much fun!

After working for the Morse's for about 4 summers during strawberry season, I could not imagine going to pick anywhere else and was really glad to share this experience with Michaela.  Maybe next year Dani will make the excursion with us? :)

Lilacs and Deer

I took Michaela and Dani out to the family farm last week to try to get some pictures with the apple blossoms.  Unfortunately, the trees were cleaned of their blossoms the day or two before by the winds but the lilac bushes were in full bloom by then.  Michaela LOVED visiting (as always) and was especially excited to visit the cement deer in my grandparents' front yard.  Sometimes she is such a goof!

You can see a small part of a cement deer ear on the lower left corner in her hands.  She was plucking leaves from Grandma Rasch's rose bush to 'feed' to the deer. :)

A rare shot of me and the girls.  Michaela is putting on her 'cheese' face. :D