Blackberry Picking!

Nothing makes me happy than seeing my kids happy, and it's always the simplest of things that do the trick. Looking at this photo with the kids grinning tells me that they were having a good time. Noah seemed a little annoyed that I interrupted his blackberry picking by telling him to get in the picture with me. His little grunt that he makes is a sign telling me (without any back talk), "not now mama." Nonetheless he obliged, and as you can see is smiling up at the sky. 

We drove out to Moods farm yesterday, and for the first time I let him, and Chelsea roam around to pick out the darkest of blackberries on their own. Of course I was supervising from a distance, but still let them have a little bit of freedom. That is until I saw Noah picking the unripened ones! No matter how many times Chelsea and I kept telling him to grab the "black" ones he would still grab the ones that were half red and half dark. He'll get it, and I'm sure next time he'll be better. Chelsea was the same way, and now she is a pro at distinguishing the ones that are ripe from the unripened ones. Last year we came in late July, and I remember the blackberries being super ripe, and not too picked over, but luckily we managed to snatch a few good ones. 

The day was beautiful and sunny, but so very hot. I always manage to forget to bring bottled water, but when the farm is only 20 minutes away you don't really think to do that. I least I don't. These kids are so resilient though, and didn't even think about the warm sun beating on them. They're too busy having fun...and picking. 

We also managed to pick a few nectarines, raspberries, and only picked four peaches. I wasn't in a peachy mood because there have been times where we picked way too many, and they ended up going bad. Besides Noah began stomping on the ground. At first I though he was on the brink of having a meltdown because he had mentioned getting tired at one point, but then I realized that he was stomping on the peaches that had fallen onto the ground! Luckily he wore his boots so that the juices did splash all over his feet had he worn sandals. We picked what we'd eat, and we were satisfied. 

The kids had so much fun today, and it makes me feel good knowing that at the end of every activity, trip, or a simple outing that I'm still pretty good at doing this mama thing in my 40's...especially with a toddler. Summer is definitely a time to bond with family, and these kids have been very good at doing that. There was no bickering, or grumpiness. Just pure happiness, and of course when you have that mixed together with these two our day just goes by so much better.  

Fall season is going to be here before we know it, and when that time comes we'll definitely be back to pick some more peaches, and apples. Now that's the perfect time to be baking (not when it's hot!)

See ya in the fall moods...

and a happy weekend to you!