strawberry picking

on saturday, we went to a strawberry festival at a local plantation. it was the 10th anniversary, although we had never been. but, i've never met a ripe strawberry that i didn't love! so, we got up early to go. michael was skeptical, but even he enjoyed it.

ian was in his glory the minute he saw the tractors! it's his dream come true--anything that involves wheels and moving is right up his alley. of course, these didn't move, but that didn't stop him from exploring.
we rode a few rides to start. even i rode the ferris wheel. i have no idea why i thought this would be a good idea. addie thought it was funny to make the car rock and scare me to death. the whole time i was thinking, this was definitely a job for daddy. the pictures from up so high were not worth it. at all.

then, it was off to pick strawberries. we could either go to the field right by the main festival area or take a golf cart to an unknown destination. well, ian saw the golf cart and made the decision for us. the cart took us over a bridge and down a long dirt path to a virtually empty field. literally, only two other families were out at this field. the strawberries were red and ready and waiting to be picked.

ian thought he'd bite them right off the vine (and, truth be told, i saw that others had the same idea when i noticed a few other strawberries with bites out of them). so, we nibbled on a few as we picked our seven pounds of strawberries. then, took the golf cart back to the main festival to pay.

it was a lot of fun and we'll definitely go back before the end of strawberry season. we've been snacking on the berries ever since. i even made milkshakes for the kids and a smoothie for me (gotta lose the eight pounds i've gained since january-ugh).
all in all, a good day.