Blackberry Picking At Terhune Orchards!

When we came home from our trip to Texas we realized that we hadn't gone to the orchard as much this summer. So after getting much needed rest we went the next day to Terhune orchards to pick some blueberries. Well, as soon as we got there we had a change of heart and decided to pick blackberries instead. The last time we went blackberry picking Chelsea and Noah were ten and five! It had been too long since we went blackberry picking, and I'm so glad we chose to pick those instead of blueberries!

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! 

a crisp morning at moods farm.

I felt as if we were in the wrong season when I woke up yesterday. The 70 degree weather felt too much like fall to me. It felt nice, and it was the perfect day to go out and go blackberry picking. 

We do this every year, and orchards are our favorite thing to go to in the outskirts of Jersey, and going to Moods Farm is the perfect place to go for picking in the summer and fall.

We all headed out to the orchard and picked big, ripe, juicy blackberries! You can see here where Noah and Chelsea are really enjoying picking blackberries. They had too much fun. Red fingers, and everything. Noah was shoving blackberries into papas mouth without notice. 

Peaches were a little picked over, but we managed to grab a few good ones. He tried to pick some on his own, but to no avail. I vined his disappointment and you can watch that here. He began picking some up from the ground, and we explained to him that those are no good. After a while he was excited to be pulling them off of the tree from papas shoulders. 

And Chelsea just wanted to get on his shoulders for fun! 

Since it felt like a fall day we decided to buy some apple cider donuts, and sit down and enjoy the breeze. These are the best donuts, and the main reason we keep coming back. It was a yummy treat for these two. 

Someones hands are dirty! 

As we were walking back to the car from peach picking Jon was telling us a childhood story about a peach tree he once had in his backyard. One year they noticed a peach bore on their tree, and in their last year their tree ripened with peaches the size of softballs. He said they were huge, and his family went to town eating them. 

Stories like that are great memories for Jon, and I'm grateful he has so many to share with our kids. I hope that when our kids grow up they will be able to tell stories to their children about their days going to Moods Farm in Jersey picking all kinds of fruit with mom & pa.

This day was total perfection!