Bringing My Past Into Their Future....

Growing up one of my favorite foods of all time was my Aunt Sandy's freezer jam. I can remember having it numerous times in the summer and early fall and being so sad when the last of the jam for the season was gone. I also thought that Aunt Sandy had magical powers because she could create such a yummy treat. My mom also made jam just as tasty but not nearly as often, which lead me to believe it was some huge feat to make such a yummy treat. It wasn't until I was about 21 that I learned how incredibly easy making jam can be. When Aunt Sandy showed me her recipe, she created a monster. I have been making jam ever since and when I make jam I make TONS!

I can also remember visiting Aunt Sandy and family in the summers and going to U-Pick berries at the Twedt's farm. I have such fond memories of these times with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins and loved every minute of my summer visits. Little did I know I would grow up to live in their farm hands house with my two children for over a year. The hubs and I moved in to the farm hands house just before Lynner was born and lived there until we began our journey as a traveling military family. It was just a fluke that Aunt Sandy's co-worker was moving out of the house at the same time I needed a place to live and the rent was amazingly low so we were doubly blessed. Mrs. Twedt always got on my case when I came to their roadside stand and *gasp* paid for my fruits and veggies. I had to pay when she wasn't looking as they were on the honor system and if she saw me putting cash in the coffee can she would tell me I wasn't allowed because I already paid rent. We did eat a few berries without paying as we walked up the long dirt road on hot summer days, so it was all good!

Because I have such great memories of going to the farm to pick berries in the summer I decided it was about time I took my own children out to build memories of their own. My munchkins have picked berries in Aunt Sandy's yard a few times but haven't gone out to the farm to pick as a family yet. So yesterday we loaded up the car and headed to Biringer Farm in Arlington, WA. We were on a mission to get raspberries and strawberries, unfortunately we were a little too late for strawberries, but ended up getting TONS of raspberries, and boy are they delish! I can only hope that my children carry this tradition on with their kids. Next week I hope to get out and pick some blue berries, I smell some scones in our near future!

The kids picking...

*The Fish*

*Lippy Lou*

*Ky Guy*

*Lynner*

(he's such a boy picking rocks instead of berries!)

Our Haul, or 1/2 of it at least ;)

Tomorrow I will be posting about the wonderful jam we made last night after a trip to the ER with The Fish who as pneumonia :(. He was acting totally fine up until about 2 pm yesterday when I noticed his breathing was a little labored so after a few phone calls I ended up taking him in to get him checked out. He is home with us and doing great, breathing treatments work wonders!