Jul 8th, 2008
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch
So two weeks ago whilst Missy was enjoying an Equestrian experience…really she’s enjoying herself, I don’t know what the deal is with her scowl in this photo! 
I decided that bringing my boys berry picking at the local U-pick farm would be a wonderful experience for ALL involved…umm…yeah. I guess I forgot about my experience berry picking with my mom as a child. The first fifteen minutes were delightful, and then I spent the next 2 hours wondering how my mom could search through every leaf, gleaning off the strawberries, moving down the long row at a snails pace. It wasn’t fun for me. It was torture!
Like I said, I must have forgotten all this, but it came flooding back to me in visions as I tried to pick as many berries as my pregnant body could handle.
This one did okay for about 30 minutes. I had him sit across from me and I made it into a sort of contest. Buster is very competitive and was able to concentrate for the most part.
The problem was…my 2 year old.
Don’t let the care free exterior fool you. He liked being in the strawberry patch, but he also like playing sword fights with the stakes at the end of the rows, throwing dirt clods, and running far far away until he just couldn’t hear mom call “COME BACK.” And when the 7 year old was sent to retrieve his little Bubba, fights ensued.
Oh it was a joyful day. My only goal was to get to the end of my rown. Scooting along on my bum because you KNOW I wasn’t leaning over with my big pregnant belly. I should mention that the row I was assigned was half the size of a normal row and I thought the goal was attainable.
In the end, after one tantrum and having to take the little one to the car to show him how serious I was about his behavior, we ended up with two whole flats! That was 11lbs. Not bad for two hours work and two bored children. 
And the best part was what happened later when I made my very first homemade strawberry pies.
So worth it.
Every bite washed away the pain and agony of a hard day’s work!


Good Enough




Juicy! Any rhubarb in that?
thanks for entertaining my husband and son for a few hours out there. bobby couldn’t stop talking about the maze. and when he comes home with grass stains on the knees, that’s definitely a good sign. i can see why you guys love it out there, and i’ll keep the beautiful image in my head making sure to never visit in january so my beautiful image won’t go away.
congrats on number 4!
so happy for you guys. i can’t believe how big your other babies are.
What wonderful photos!!! Oh, and that pie looks deeeeeeeeeeelish!! I’m in my 2nd month of pregnancy and for the most part of this trimester, the only thing I really feel like eating are strawberries!!! I can’t seem to keep anything down, except for strawberries, red grapes, pineapple and clementines!
Your pies are making my mouth water!!
Ooo Yum. I still plan on someday writing a post with those berries. It won’t be nearly as yummy as your pie.
MMMMmmmm Love the Christmas plate too! Hey how much did it cost for all those berries? Just curious. Great post, love the adventure.