Pickin' berries

Sophia scopes out the strawberries.
Gigi in the berry patch.
My beautiful daughters in a field of strawberries.
No, Gianna is not eating a strawberry. She's eating straw.
And then Sophia thought it would be really funny to put some straw on Gianna's head.


We pick strawberries each year, usually in June. This year it had been so rainy that we had to wait until July to hit the berry patch.

We lucked out and got to the farm the last day they were offering u-pick.

The soggy spring/summer weather did a number on the berries. Many were unripe and some were moldy. But we were able to get nine good quarts of yummy strawberries.

Both of the girls enjoyed picking the berries for the first half hour or so. Gianna tried a few -- some that weren't ripe until I showed her what good ones looked and tasted like. And Sophia loved helping.

But then they got bored, so Daddy finished up picking while the girls and I walked along the dirt path between the strawberries and the soybeans. It was so quiet and peaceful.

Fourth of July

Sophia runs back after catching some goodies.

The firetruck had squeaky wheels.
Gianna loved the parade!
Yes, that is Uncle Sam on a scooter.


OK, so this is a few days late. But better late than never, right?

The Fourth of July wouldn't be the same without a parade (or Uncle Sam!) and this year was no different. Our city has a great parade that marches down Main Street. It features dozens of firetrucks, so it's always a hit for Sophia. Oh, and many of the marchers throw candy. So Sophia wouldn't miss it.

Gianna really liked it too. It's great seeing her awake for all the festivities this year. She kept waving and squealing.

After the parade, we had a nice picnic on our deck (I love that it's finally usable!) Although it was a little chilly for July -- note the sweater and long sleeves in the photos. I'm hoping summer feels like summer soon.

We skipped the fireworks this year. Both of the girls were out by 9 and there was no way I was waking them up.

Corning Museum of Glass

Sophia "making glass"
A glass flower
The girls running to check out the exhibits.
Gianna checking out a glass display.


Last week Sophia woke up and said, "Mommy, when can we go to the museum of glass? Kids and teens are free." (You can't tell me kids aren't influenced by television!)

George and I couldn't resist that marketing, so we packed up the kids and headed to Corning.

I was a little skeptical about spending a day looking at glass, but we had a great time.

The kids loved looking at all the glass displays. And there were scavenger hunt games for Sophia to play -- find a turtle in a glass sculpture, etc. She loved it!

And the exhibits were really neat. Glass eyeballs. Stained-glass windows. Huge glass flowers.

We also saw several shows. Two hot glass shows -- one where they made a pitcher and another, "You Design It, We Make It," where they made a firefighter's helmet. It was amazing to see the glass made. I hadn't realized it was more than 1,000 degrees. After the pitcher was made, they showed us just how hot the glass still was by placing a paper towel inside, and it caught on fire!

After we left the museum, we headed to downtown Corning. We had dinner at a local pizzeria and walked along the main street. It's such a cute town. We listened to a bluegrass band and ate ice cream cones in the courtyard. It was lovely.