mmmmm....strawberries

After reading the book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver this spring/summer, I was highly motivated to buy all local produce and buy only organic meats, etc, from now on. I can't say that all my ideals have been held to since then, but a valiant effort has been made, and I think I will need to force myself to read that book yearly to stay on track. So, with all these good thoughts in mind, a trip to the strawberry patch was definitely in order. In fact, my original plan was to head out to Neepawa to visit my aunt and uncle's strawberry farm, as it was their last year, but in the end it was just too far for a day trip and I didn't feel I could quite manage it. Jaimee, being of the same mindset, and actually putting a lot of these things into regular practice, was more than game to join me and off we went to pick some berries. Once again, my fabulous mother was at my side, helping out, picking more than all of us put together I'm sure. (Jaimee and I did have a bunch of munchkins to watch, so it wasn't like we were slacking off. :) ) Anyhow, pictures to prove it was a great day. The kids all had a blast (except maybe for the babies!), we got a ton of berries, we cooked in the hot sun, came home tired and exhausted and with pails and pails of berries to deal with, red fingers for a week and happiness in our hearts. Truly. I loved it all.
A berry enthusiast. A hard-working Jaimee.

the fabulous Gramma Anne, hard at work. Sam, the spectator. I was hoping it would be more of a participating kind of experience but the boys were more like foreman, making sure we were doing a good job.

Strawberry Shortcake.

Helpful big brother.

Our loot!

Driving in the back of a truck was a huge highlight for the boys...

Beautiful lady.

Isaac was simply adorable this whole day. He really got into the strawberries, literally.