Strawberry Picking

When the strawberries are ripe in North Carolina, it starts to feel like it is officially summer.  We went with a couple of our favorite families to a local strawberry farm this week and had a great time picking.  

Kaden in particular had a great time.  Eating.  His mouth was covered in berry juice by the time we were done.  More than once, when I proudly showed him a perfectly red berry, he snagged it and proclaimed, "Oh!  Good! I will eat it!"  before plopping it into his mouth.  I sure hope the farmers factored in preschooler taste-testing to their price per bucket.  With Kaden's berry consumption in the field alone, I'd say we got our money's worth.  

He didn't just eat though.  In true Kaden fashion, he was a great helper.  I hope his work ethic sticks.  He is the best little worker bee.  It makes me so proud.

Everett helped by staying super happy as he off-roaded through the strawberry field.

Had to get a closeup of those dreamy thighs:

 Mia agreed.  She had to give them a good caress after the picking was over:

My friend, Rachel, has the sweetest boys.  They love babies.  Little boys who love babies.  Is there anything cuter?  I think not.  

Even after all the snacking in the field, Kaden couldn't wait to sink his teeth into more strawberries.  Which is why he is pictured below smuggling some from the Pearson's stash.  Ours were already packed away in the car at this point.

It was the perfect night, with the perfect company.  

When Chad went to pay, the lady complimented us on our strawberry picking skills.  "I can tell you've picked strawberries before," she said.  "Why yes, farmer lady, we have.  We have indeed."  And we know how to pick them perfectly ripe, red,

and ready for strawberry freezer jam (which always makes me think of my Grandma Jensen).

With a few left over to make something delectable, fancy, and scrumptious, of course.  I made a strawberry shortcake cake to welcome Chad's brother, Cameron, back from BYU.  You can find the recipe for this beauty here.  And, in my humble opinion, she tasted every bit as good as she looked.

Which is why I quickly shared the leftovers, before I finished it off myself and went into a cake coma.

And now that the strawberries are ripe, it's time for the humidity to commence.  Which excites me about as much as the memory of this.