Strawberry Picking at Washington Farms

Today we loaded up in the van and headed to Washington Farms to pick strawberries with some great friends. I hadn't been strawberry picking since I was a kid, and this was my kids' first time to experience it. Caleb was not too thrilled when I announced what we'd be doing, since he doesn't care for strawberries. But Jacob and Abbi were pretty excited. We were blessed with a gorgeous afternoon - warm and breezy. Perfect for strawberry picking! We all met at Chik-Fil-A for lunch and then headed to Washington Farms.

I had to laugh at 6-year-old Jessica (in the red, above). About 5 minutes after we began picking, she announced that she couldn't find any strawberries. I had to say, "Are you kidding?! Look behind you, look in front of you, look next to you! They're EVERYWHERE!" I think she was a bit annoyed with my response, but really, they were everywhere!

Above- Tanya with her two boys, Jake and Josh.

Below - Caleb saying, "Look at this BIG one!"Above - Jessica and Bethany

I guess Jessica found some berries afterall!After we filled our two buckets, the kids couldn't wait to clean a few and try them! And oh-my-goodness! They are SO super-delicious!Remember me saying that Caleb doesn't care for strawberries? The above photo is him right after he took his first bite out of one. Crack me up! We got home and cleaned all the berries and got them ready for the freezer. The kids, of course, were sampling as they helped. Caleb ate 5 more and decided they're not too bad!So, you may be wondering what I'm going to do with all my strawberries. Tanya asked me if I'm going to make jam. Jam? Me? I don't think so. Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Come on, Amy! You make your own bread for goodness sake. You even grind your own wheat!" I know...but jam? Isn't that, like, an all day event? With my bread-making, I can get it made, have it happily rising in pans AND have the dishes done and counters wiped in 45 minutes. And that includes the time it takes me to grind the wheat. Maybe next year Abbi and I can attempt jam. I guess I should try it at least once, right? For now, my strawberries will go in our breakfast smoothies.