Raspberry Pickin'

 We loved the great summer we had.  There were some hot days, but nothing too terrible.  It really allowed us to head out and have some fun together without melting in the heat and humidity.

One sunny morning we went raspberry picking with our good friends, the Moranos, who had recently moved back into town!  We collected so many yummy berries and the kids always have a great time with their friends!

Emily, Stephanie, and Alexa

Andy, the pickin' pro

Christian, busy filling up his basket

Even Kari, who won't so much as try a raspberry, still loves to pick them.

Kari and Alexa, showing off the fruits of their labors (literally).

 After our picking, it was starting to heat up so we took some time to relax in the shade.  I think the girls mastered the relaxing aspect of it better than the boys though!

My sweet friend, Stephanie, and me

Strawberry Pickin'

I took the four big kids strawberry picking on a beautiful summer day.  It's always fun to put children into nature.  They fuss and complain a bit, but once they get going, it's like finding buried treasure; looking for all of the best berries!

I am so blessed to be able to go and have these experiences with my children!

Raspberry Picking

"Ready to pick!"

With the weather being a whole lot less hot/humid than normal last month, I ventured out with the kids and some friends to the Berry Patch to pick some raspberries! The purple raspberries were in high season and the bushes were just packed full of them!  Yummm....

 And while Juliana liked picking the berries, she wasn't thrilled with the tasting (I KNOW!  The girl eats dirt, but yummy raspberries are not quite her pallet??).  So, we switched to pretzels and that was okay.

If looks could kill, huh?  Apparently, Kari wasn't thrilled with me taking her picture.

 The kids actually picked quite a bit!  We had 7 or 8 pints when all was said and done.

 Christian was my hardest worker (no surprise there!) and he did a great job filling up those pints!

Our little pickers!

Not sure if we'll get lucky with another July as nice this last one--sure glad we made the most of it and went pickin'!