7.11.2011

Scenes from The Weekend...

Before we set-out on our lake adventure, we had a birthday feast for my friend Achlee involving an obscene amount of fried shrimp and a chocolate cake that sort of imploded... (We hid the damage under a bunch of raspberries and powdered sugar.)



















For the second weekend in a row, we embraced the bucolic...

Last weekend it was in the form of floating down a river and picking an insane amount of tomatoes, and this weekend it played out with a visit to our friend's lake cottage where we had dinner at a winery, explored the vineyards and let the kiddos get good and sticky eating peaches and watermelon from the adjoining garden. The next morning we continued the fun with an excursion to a blueberry farm where we picked baskets full of berries in the blazing sun.

Now let me just say that if you have any sort of obsessive tendencies whatsoever, blueberry picking may not be the activity for you, as you might find your self so hyper-focused on sleuthing out every. single. perfect blueberry on the bush and filling your basket to the absolute tippy top that you ignore your overheated kids crying that they're having heat strokes...This might be something that could possibly happen, but I'm not saying for sure.

Bad parenting aside, our pastoral adventures of the past couple of weeks have been the ideal antidote to our overly air conditioned, technologically-heavy weekday existence. We unplug and go outside for hours at a time...We are sweaty and hot and exhausted at weekend's end. All of which is immensely restorative and just somehow feels, right.

15 comments:

Simply Mel {Reverie} said...

love the photo of m indulging in the blueberry bounty ~ the 'heat strokes' were worth it!

Kelly said...

oh jos, i know that OCD feeling waaay too well!

Kate said...

That sounds wonderful! It's so good sometimes to get out of the AC & feel the full heat of summer. Have a great week!
x
P.S. Looove that UO skirt!

Ana Degenaar said...

That wouldn't be an activity for me but it would be perfect for my Emma. I love this photos and I love how relaxed all of you look.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lovely weekend! Berry picking is like some personality field experiment, isn't it? I tend toward the obsessive-compulsive end with my son. Meanwhile, my girls are running down the rows decorating themselves with berry juice and my husband is a "grab them and go" type of guy. But our berry OCD tendencies just teach our kids about how intense focus can reward you, right? ;)

Anonymous said...

it's been hot here too, not as hot as there probably. but hot nonetheless. and it does feel good to be out in it swimming and eating watermelon and grilling. everyone seems to sleep so well.

Heather Taylor said...

you are so cute. sounds like a heavenly summer weekend.

Our Green Nest said...

Looks fantastic!! Mind if I ask what blueberry farm?? We've been trying to find one somewhat close that's still open but haven't had any luck! TU!

JRA said...

I'm right there with you on the OCD. My boys' school has an annual fundraiser where we basically pay to pick blueberries. I am so focused on getting the perfect blueberries and filling our 5 gallon bucket to the rim that the first time we went I freaked out because the boys were NOT picking at all, they said they were too hot (it was 100 degrees that day). Turns out they were playing in the fields with their friends...and they said it was one of the best times they had and wanted do it again this year. Guess I get too focused on the actual activitiy :)

Joslyn said...

it was blueberry hill farms in edom...about an hour outside of Dallas

http://www.blueberryhillfarms.com/

TX Girl said...

We go picking in Edom every year and I will confess that there have been many tears shed by my littles. I've also learned to no longer trust them with the big bucket. Blueberry picking very cathartic for me.

Unknown said...

Looks like a blast! last year we went blueberry picking and I kept exclaiming "they just taste like what blueberries should taste like" silly but true right?? makes you not want to ever eat them from the grocery store again...yum!

Sarah Buttenwieser said...

Sounded great to me; we've baked our kids whilst picking blueberries too. Totally worth it.

Megan Taylor said...

Oh, I just love berry picking. It always reminds me of summers in Maine. And I totally get that hot sweaty feeling. And fingertips stained by berry juice. Oh, I need to pick me some berries soon! xoxo

mb said...

My daughter went to Edom last year with her hubby and daughter. Great experience... heat stroke and all.

Glad you had fun.

mb from Dallas