Strawberry Picking 2020

I'm so excited to be able to share our adventure to the Watts Farm to pick strawberries! We did not think we were going to be able to go this year due to masks being required. While I fully support businesses requiring patrons to wear a mask, our family will not be visiting such establishments unless absolutely necessary. And, well, to be perfectly honest picking strawberries just isn't an essential for our family. Thankfully, the farm did lift their mask requirement and we were able to pick 14 gallons of strawberries!

We actually tried to visit the farm two days prior when our oldest son was in town, but, unfortunately it started to rain the moment we pulled into the parking lot ~ sigh!! Still getting used to him not being around for all our fun family excursions, maybe next time. 

Abby Lou thoroughly enjoyed her first visit to the strawberry patch. I gave her a strawberry to taste and she didn't quite know what to think of it. 

I was really just trying to get a cute picture of Abby Lou holding the strawberry when she decided to lick it, but then she couldn't figure out if she liked it or not, and it was so cute. I honestly think if she had been able to she would have scarfed it down, because goodness gracious, those strawberries were extra sweet this year!

So thankful my husband is always up for my crazy shenanigans! It's not easy wrangling our wild crew to go and do anything, much less an outing to a local farm where there is delicious food at their finger tips. The kiddos were actually pretty well behaved and picked their fair share of berries for our family's needs.

Unfortunately, most of the toys at the farm were stored away due to them being 'contact items'. They did manage to negotiate with the powers that be to leave their Army jeep and tractor out for the children to enjoy. 

We ended up staying for a couple hours, picking our necessary strawberries, visiting with the owner, letting the children run around and play, and of course allowing mama to take a bazillion pictures, lol.

We love supporting small businesses especially when it's local ~ add in that it's a fellow farmer and we're in 'hog heaven'. It's such a blessing to be able to talk 'shop' with someone who is familiar with the ups and downs of growing food. We've also spent many of our visits over the years discussing canning and delicious recipes made with homegrown food. Trust me y'all it's so wonderful to be able to support and encourage the community of local small businesses. I really wish we could get back to those days on a much broader scale.

Look how pretty all those strawberries are. We must have had the perfect weather for growing strawberries this year, because they were HUGE and extra sweet! This isn't even all of our buckets, we picked a total of 14 gallons. Watts farm provides gallon buckets for their customers to use while they are picking and upon payment the buckets are returned. Thankfully, we remembered our big six-gallon buckets to bring home all of our beautiful strawberries! 

We've tried to no avail over the years to grow our own strawberries. Unfortunately, we've never been able to, which is why we are intentional to plan our yearly trip to Watts Farm to pick strawberries. Our family really likes strawberry jam. We typically add in our homegrown figs to make the jam stretch just a little further. I'll be sharing soon all about our strawberry jam making fun!

Once we returned home with all the strawberries, we went straight to coring and filling freezer bags. I have several berry corers which the big kids use to help core the strawberries. We create an assembly line of sorts with the buckets of fresh strawberries, a bowl for the core, and a basin for the cored strawberry. Once we were all done, the strawberries are placed into freezer bags and into the freezer. I kept about a gallon out to make a pie  (I will be sharing that recipe soon) as well as for strawberry syrup to pour over homemade poundcake. You can find my strawberry syrup recipe here.

Watts Farm is not technically an organic farm due to the hoops they'd have to jump through to get the certification. But, they do not spray they're strawberries and they are planted brand new each year. While organic is not a necessity for us, it is a bonus and something we would prefer if at all possible. We  have spent quite a bit of time talking with the owners, learning about their process and how their farm works. I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to visit Watts Farm this year. Not just to pick strawberries, but to support local small farms, and to enjoy quality family time. Plus, y'all know I'm a sucker for traditions. Hopefully it will be a continued tradition for many years to come. 

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

February at the Zoo

We were blessed with a family pass to the Birmingham Zoo from an extended family member this past Christmas. It was really an awesome gift for us because honestly, I'm just too cheap to pay for what it costs for our family to go to the zoo. When weighing out whether or not to purchase a family pass to the zoo, I always envision the dozen of activities I could plan and do with my children for the same price. It doesn't help that the zoo is a solid hour away. That's with no pitstops along the way (and lets face it there's always one who has to go to the bathroom in that *one* hour). 

Due to the size of our family, it's far more economical to purchase a yearly pass than to buy individual tickets. Which is why we were so grateful for the zoo pass. Plus half my kiddos had never even been to the zoo, so trust me when I say they were stoked to receive such a great gift!

Since the pass is good for 12 months, we are hoping to visit the zoo 12 times. Ideally this would be once a month, but that just isn't practical due to inclement weather. We missed visiting during the month of January, mostly because of the weather but also because Abby Lou was just a few weeks old. Since the weather cooperated twice in February we were able to go to the zoo twice. 

The first visit was just me and our nine youngest. (Our oldest lives on his own and is of course working full-time, since he is an adult, lol ~ but I still miss him, especially when we go on family adventures). The first trip to the zoo was an adventure to say the least. My three year old screamed the entire time, my five year old puked all over himself and the van on our way there, and then proceeded to NOT behave very well at all. UGH!! Thankfully, my children remember it as a fabulous time, but for this mama, fun would not be the word I'd use to describe that little zoo excursion.

Our family was able to work in another trip to the zoo with Daddy on Presidents Day. The weather was a little to cool for my comfort zone, but it was perfect for everyone else. We had a fabulous time, and everyone was extremely well behaved. We ended up staying for three hours and then we concluded the trip with a picnic outside the zoo premises. 

It was wonderful to be able to experience the zoo twice in one month. We were able to see different animals each time. We are all looking forward to watching and experiencing the zoo transform throughout the seasons. Hopefully, since March is upon us, it won't be long before we can plan another trip to the zoo.

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer

Fun at the Apple Festival & Christmas Village

Our Fall schedule is typically slammed with family fun activities and two of our favorite traditions includes attending the Ellijay, Georgia Apple Festival and the Christmas Village at the BJCC in Birmingham, Al. Last year we took everyone to the Apple Festival, but have since decided to make it a yearly tradition only for my husband and me. We love visiting festivals and craft shows, and since our anniversary lands right around the same time, we thought it would be a perfect overnight getaway for just the two of us.

We headed out to Jasper, Georgia to our hotel late Friday afternoon. But, first we stopped and ate at our favorite local Mexican restaurant. We ended up renting the cutest little hotel room which basically consisted of a bed and bathroom. It was perfect for just the two of us. Once we got settled we headed out to find some coffee and local fun. We ended up at the nicest Dunkin Donuts either of us had ever been to, then we went to Walmart, 😂 Yes, we're officially old!!

The Apple Festival is an outside event located at the Ellijay Fair grounds. Unfortunately, the weather was dismal and it rained off and on throughout the entire day. 

Thankfully, the yucky weather didn't deter the festival craftsman/craftswoman from peddling their wares. 

The fair grounds were filled to the brim with booths set up selling all sorts of fresh baked goods and hand crafted items. Our typical plan of attack when we visit a craft fair, is to walk up and down all the isles and make notes of items we might be interested in purchasing. Once we're done, then we evaluate the list and decide what we really want to buy.

Once we were done enjoying the Apple Festival we went looking for some local food and we ended up at the cutest pizzeria called Ellijay Wood Fired Pizza. The food was so delicious and fresh!! This was my salad and it was AMAZING! Best salad I have ever eaten! 

I'm not typically a fan of pizza, mostly because I usually end up not feeling well after I eat it. But, not this time. I didn't get sick and we enjoyed every last bite!

The pizzas are baked in this wood fired oven, which was shipped in pieces from Italy.

Finally we found ourselves in the quaint Ellijay Coffe shop, trying to warm up before we drove home in the pouring rain. Despite the rain, we really did have a wonderful time enjoying the Apple Festival and celebrating our 20th anniversary.

After the Ellijay Apple Festival we went on our family vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains ~ I shared all about that trip over here. Then the next weekend it was time for the Christmas Village. 

I started attending the Christmas Village with my mother-in-law when I first married my husband. After she passed away (five years into our marriage) I quit going. But, as my first-born daughter was getting older, I realized I wanted to rekindle that tradition with her. Now Lydia goes with us too and so will Abigail. This year my husband tagged along because I was so far along in my pregnancy and I was concerned about navigating the downtown traffic. 😬

This year we were blessed with a gifted over-night stay at a hotel which connects to the BJCC (where the Christmas Village is located). It was absolutely fabulous not to have to find parking or walk in the cold to the craft show. Maybe somehow the girls and I can make that a new addition to our tradition of visiting the Christmas Village.

The Christmas Village is a giant two-story craft show. We approach this craft show the same was as the Apple Festival; walking through, taking notes, and then going back and buying what we really want. This particular craft show is very strict about NOT taking pictures, so I don't have much show-casing how awesome the event really is.

They do set up a few 'picture-taking booths' to help all of us crazed picture taking women commemorate our visit to the Christmas Village. 

We don't usually spend a whole lot of money at any of the craft shows we attend. It's mostly about enjoying the atmosphere, food, and visiting with the craftsman/craftswomen who labor to create awesome baked goods and crafts. Much of the items sold, are perfect for holiday gift giving and/or decorating. 

After we wrapped up our fun at the Christmas Village, we went to another town which has some great shopping and dining locations. So we indulged in some really good food and did a little shopping at some fun stores we don't have around us. We ended up cutting the day short and heading home as the girls and I were starting to get sick ~ sigh.

I had all but decided not to attend either craft show because of how far along I was in my pregnancy, but I am glad we decided to go anyways. While neither trip went as planned, they were both fun and now a treasured memory I get to hold onto forever. I'm grateful my family enjoys doing all my crazy traditions, even if they seldom turn out the way we plan, lol. 

With Love & Hope,

Jennifer