Family Fun in the Summertime
So, I’m all packed up and I went up to my mom’s to drop my kids off before Nationals. The sugar levels are at an all-time high. On the bright side, we’ve done some fun family activities. I took my son to the Smithsonian Museum, thinking that he would love the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. While he enjoyed them, his all-time favorite museum was the Air & Space Museum. I took them down to that end, intending to stop there for lunch, but once he saw the rockets and airplanes, he had found his own personal Mecca. 
My daughter humored us by tolerating the museums, but at the end of the trip she wanted only one thing: to ride the Merry-Go-Round. I let her, because after all, museums aren’t that much fun for a three-year-old. It was the highlight of her trip. 
Today we went berry-picking. My mother and I used to go blackberry picking at a field near our old house in Virginia. Every July we’d bathe ourselves in Deep Woods Off bug spray, gather up baskets, and pick for hours. The wild blackberries aren’t as large as the farm berries, but they were free, and we spent many happy hours talking and picking. Then, of course, we’d bake homemade blackberry pies. 
I grew up baking pies, and my favorite is probably peach pie. Mmmm…
Anyway, we went to a Pick-Your-Own farm this morning. They had peaches and blackberries in season, so I knew there would be pies in our future. Turned out the peaches weren’t as ripe as we’d thought, but we picked about 10 pounds worth and we’ll just let them ripen over the next few days. My son started out enjoying himself and then the gnats started swarming. 
At this point, he pulled a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, transforming from a happy five-year-old into a victim from an Alfred Hitchcock movie. He was screaming, clawing at his face, and sobbing. Yes, family quality time indeed. I tried to calm him down and have him walk away from the bugs, but the child was in hysterics and could only be calmed down with a popsicle at the general store. My daughter eyed him as if he were an alien from another planet. Sigh. I still wanted my blackberry pie, so I let him cool off in the store with my mom while I took my daughter out berry picking. We had so much fun. She delighted in finding the lower berries, exclaiming, “Look, Mommy, I FOUND ONE!” 
After picking six pounds of berries, my son finally joined us with much gnashing of teeth and wailing about the bugs.
Did you ever go berry picking or orchard picking as a child? What experiences do you remember?
Michelle posted in Writing @ 3:28 pm | Viewed 2069 times
Heidi Dahlquist Says:
I grew up in Wisconsin and in the fall we always went apple picking. I remeber the cool October air and the beautiful fall colors while my little sister and I picked apples, drank cider, and enjoyed the horse or tractor pulled hayrides. I miss those days! I wish Virginia had some nice apple orchards.
Nicole Reising Says:
I grew up picking berries and remember the heat, and the bugs! We seemed to always have to wear long sleeves, hats, scarves and so forth–to keep the nasty bugs away–the horse flies. They take a huge chuck out of you when they bite.
But despite this being the number one thing which comes to mind when I think of berry picking, I’ve dragged my kids every year to a pick your own strawberry farm. For some reason we’ve never had issues with bugs…??? Maybe because all the berries we pick now are on farms and when I grew up they were all wild.
This year was interesting. Only the kids and I went so dealing with a 3 year old was…interesting as well. It was funny yet tiring. The one thing which had me laughing the most, was my oldest–I was letting my youngest move the flag wherever cause it kept him content for another moment. So when the oldest asked why I was letting him do it, I responded with, “because its keeping him happy and thus he’s not driving me nuts yet.” My oldest’s response? A grumbled, “He’s already driving me nuts!”
Have fun at nationals!
Cole
beth Says:
Heidi, not sure where in VA you are, but there are some really nice pick-your-own orchards near Charlottesville. (Or maybe I’ve never been to a really nice one so I have low expectations - but we always have fun apple picking with a side trip to Monticello!) I think our apple excursions are the only ones we’ve gone on.
Have fun at the conference, Michelle!
Jean Says:
We grow strawberries and raspberries and are surrounded by wild blackberries. In fact, my daughter and sil are thinking of going commercial with our very own pick-your-own berry farm.
Wish I were going to be with you in Dallas. Next year in SF. Have fun.
Melissa Says:
We used to pick chokecherries (sp?) from some trees we had. My great aunt and grandmother would make jelly from them.
Cute pics!
Phillipa Says:
Hi Michelle, It’s been ages since I caught up with you and just wanted to say have a wonderful time at the RWA and also congrats on your pregnancy (that’s how behind I am).
Do you remember when we both only lived in hope of being published?
Melissa Mc Says:
We still go berry picking. The kids love it!!
I’m at Dallas. Let’s try to connect!