strawberry fields

We joined L's preschool for a little family activity over the weekend to pick some strawberries. 

But first we had to dig and play in a huge sand pit. 

And then we took a hayride with all his preschool buddies.

(I LOVE it when Ry can join us for good family fun. It just feels right, as it should.)

Anyone else singing The Beatles "Strawberry Fields, Forever" with me yet? This place was huge!

The keeper of the berries.

Funny story: We starting picking, and LE was in heaven because strawberries are her favorite. Mean Daddy was concerned about eating them (pesticides, jumping to crazy emergency-room hypothetical situations), and told her she was not allowed to eat them. So we went with it, and tried to make the picking aspect of them fun. Didn't work, and she was mad the entire time. This girl looks really sweet, but she has some serious attitude when she wants to. She walked away, cried, pouted, cried some more.

She eventually walked back to Daddy, picked up a strawberry and brought it to her mouth while just staring at him. He said her name in that I'm-warning-you voice; she glared at him through her eyelashes {it's truly a signature-look that is unique to LE. I'm trying to catch it on camera} and chucked the strawberry all while glaring at him. Then she plopped down and started bawling again. Oh the drama!   

At this point I tried to interject and persuade Daddy to soften up a bit. After a little bit of convincing, he consented and said we could eat them after all. 

{I know, definitely not the best stick-to-your-guns kind of story ... but under the circumstances I thought it was cruel and unusual punishment for us not to be able to eat the berries!} 

She sat in that same spot for the rest of the time, just picking and eating. And by the end of our visit Ryan had eaten more strawberries than anyone else!

They were really good. :)