Summer Fun: Blueberry Pickin'

As many of you already know, we usually pick berries at a local You-Pick Farm.  This time we went for the blueberries.  We met a new friend, her husband and their two daughters at our recent Circuit Assembly.  We finally settled arrangements to meet and pick berries and then go bowling afterward.  The kids had a blast!  Here's some pictures from the morning of blueberry picking.

(Haylei and Hunter picking berries)

(everyone picking berries)

(Hunter was taking a "break")

(Haylei showing off her blueberries)

(all the kids with their picks)

(Hunter was so funny!)

   (At first he didn't really understand to pick just the dark blue blueberries.  )

( But by the time we were ready to leave, he had found a small patch under a bush 

and wouldn't budge until they were ALL picked!)

(He kept giving me these funny little looks...so cute!)

If you haven't checked out my blueberry pie recipe, you should.  It was so delicious!

I didn't actually use these blueberries, but ones I got at Aldi for $.99 a pint. 

Have a great day and enjoy the Wordless Wednesday linky below:

This post has been linked to the following:

• Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
• Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Wordless Wednesday at A Lot of Loves
• Wordless Wednesday at Newlyweds Blog 
• Wordless Wednesday at A Daily Dose of Toni
• Wordless Wednesday at A Beautiful Mess

Summer Fun: Camping at the Lake

A friend and her family went to a campground a few months ago and looked like they had a great time.  Since we were planning a trip, I called her to get the lowdown on the campground.  We loved it!  The campground is wooded and near a lake.  There's a beach with sand.  A Nature Hut where a Naturalist is on site to share her knowledge with the kids.  A playground and ball field.  Oh, did I mention there was a lake?  So beautiful!

Nana & the kids at Toccoa Falls

That's our trip in an nutshell :)

Summer Fun: At Home

Summer fun this week was not as glamorous as you might have thought.  We've been dealing with sickness from stomach bug to random high fever to sinus infection.  Needless to say we weren't really in the mood to go out and do any swimming or museum going.  However, that doesn't mean my kids needed to suffer just because I was suffering from a sinus infection.  Instead, we went over to my parent's house and the kids drew masterpieces on their car pad.  

Haylei drawing

her masterpiece

And every artist has to autograph their piece...

Hunter decided he'd join in by drawing some squiggle lines.

But then he got bored and decided the chalk was better in his ears!

Silly Goose!

It was fun.  

And it is summer.

Enjoy!

This post has been linked to:

• Just for the Joy of It at Good True and Beautiful
• Things I Love Thursday at the Diaper Diaries
• Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things
• I'm Lovin' It Friday at Tidy Mom

Summer Fun: Spray & Splash Park

A few years ago, the kids and I visited a spray and splash park in Whitesburg, Georgia at the urging of my cousins.  They live nearby and had been before and loved it.  It's a great place for little children under 10.  The water isn't deep.  In fact, the deepest part is about 4" deep.  The most fascinating feature about this park is the eco-friendliness of it.  Water is pumped from a nearby lake to provide the splashing and spraying.  It looks like they might have used a recycled rubber flooring.  This is great for little kids because they are always falling.  You don't have to worry about your kids hurting themselves too badly.  Last time we went, Haylei was 2 and Hunter was about 4 weeks old.  Now they are 4 and 2 and rippin' and roarin'!  They had so much fun.  We're going to plan to go back a few more times before summer is over.

Here's some of the pictures of our morning:

This post has been linked to the following:

• Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
• Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Wordless Wednesday at A Lot of Loves
• Wordless Wednesday at Newlyweds Blog 
• Wordless Wednesday at A Daily Dose of Toni
• Wordless Wednesday at A Beautiful Mess

Summer Fun: Blackberry Picking June 2010

We went blackberry picking at a local U-Pick farm.  We usually visit this particular farm every summer to pick blackberries, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.  The kids usually have a great time.  

This day, the sun was hotter than expected and I did most of the picking.  

Which is completely fine, since my son decided he wanted to pick all of the pink, unripened berries.  I think he was confused since we picked strawberries a few months ago.  After about 15 minutes, they were done so I worked faster to fill up our pail with about 9 lbs of blackberries.  Some were almost the size of my thumb!  

When we got home, I placed them on a sheet pan and placed them in the freezer.  After they were frozen solid, I transferred them to a large plastic freezer storage baggie.  

We'll use them for smoothies during the summer months.  I'm also going to make a Blackberry Cobbler when my step-son gets home.  He loves them as much as I do!

Have you been to visit your local U-Pick farm?  What have you been picking this summer?

This post has been linked to the following:

• Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus
• Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom
• Wordless Wednesday at A Lot of Loves
• Wordless Wednesday at Newlyweds Blog 
• Wordless Wednesday at A Daily Dose of Toni 

Summer Fun: Plan for Summer 2010

My plan is to keep the kids busy!  My step-son will be here in July and I don't want him to get bored.  One of the challenges I need to address is finding age appropriate activities which 2, 4 and 13 year old children can participate in and have fun.  We're planning to take a camping trip one weekend in July and we also have our District Convention one weekend.  I'm looking for weekly activities for the kids.  So here's a run down of some things we might be able to do over the next two months:

Free Movies provided by Regal Cinemas (check your town for listings)

Tellus Science Museum - Free admission 1st weekend of every month (Cartersville)

Fernbank Museum of Natural History & IMAX (Atlanta)

Fernbank Science Center & Planetarium (Atlanta)

Coca Cola Space Science Center (Columbus)

World of Coca Cola (Atlanta)

Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta) Purchased Mommy & Me tickets earlier this year (woo hoo!)

Noah's Ark (Locust Grove)

Cochran Mill Nature Center - hiking and picnicking near the waterfalls

Bowling - check out specials, you can bowl for $.99!

Welcome All Park - swimming

Adams Farms or other farm for Blueberry picking

Skating - Fayetteville or Douglasville

I don't know if we'll do all of these things but at least I have a list I can check and see what we can do or what they might want to do.  It looks like most of these places have a variety of activities for children of all ages.  

I'll share what we do under my new "Summer Fun" button.  Isn't it cheerful!?!

Do you have any suggestions for our area in Georgia?

Enjoy!