Huber's Strawberry Season

On Sunday, we headed to Huber's for our annual strawberry picking! This is one of our favorite things to do. Our usual group (K and D, obviously) couldn't come this year (something about a vacation to Bermuda!). We thought about asking some neighbors but decided to just go the four of us. And it was AWESOME! 

Sometimes when you're in the orchard, it feels as hot as the face of the sun, but not Sunday. It was perfect. 

We got there early and were the first on the wagon! 

We reviewed what to look for in the perfect strawberry.

We had to coach little miss on being gentle. She would spend a lot of time looking for the brightest, reddest berry...and then throw it in her box. There were some samples along the way of course! Strawberries hot off the vine are SO good!

The fruits of her labor. 

We had some cider and fudge samples in the store and paid for the our fruit. The girls asked to go into the Farm Park. We never do this, but decided to let the littles have some fun and run around. They had a blast! There are climbing structures, big slides, inflatables, wooden play houses, bamboo maze, train, etc. So much to do.

The grain train was super fun. It took us all over Huber's so we got to see a lot of their different farms - berries, grapes, Christmas trees, peaches, etc.

We drove a four person cart around. Chris almost crashed us twice which the girls found hilarious.

We had lunch in the Farm Restaurant and Maddie tried her first bite of chicken and dumplings. Those things always make me think of my childhood. YUM!

We had a great day together!

HOMESTRETCH!

We are on the homestretch people! Everyone else is out of school, but we are finally in our last week. I had one last lunch with Maddie and her friends.

She had her last field trip - this time to the Children's Museum. I was out of town so Tia was her chaperone.

Sydney's preschool is wrapping up as well for the summer. They still do a lite curriculum throughout, but a lot of her friends are leaving to head to their elementary school's summer programs.

Both girls are doing awesome at gymnastics. They both moved up to the next level for summer. Maddie is one step away from competition team, so we'll have to see if that's something she's interested in when the time comes. For now, it's excellent at building their strength, discipline and coordination. I am 99% sure I could never climb a rope like this. Maddie does it all the time!

In addition to gymnastics, Sydney has started her private swim lessons.


Swimming is such a critical skill in my opinion. We are literally surrounded by pools and swim several times a week. 

Chris had his BIG race and we headed to Chattanooga with another couple. 

He did awesome!! It was a much harder course than the one he did last year, but he kept his same time. As a spectator, I much preferred this course. Chattanooga is beautiful and Lauren and I were able to shop and eat during each leg while the boys were racing.

Spectating is more fun with a friend!

As I was pulling in pictures for this post, I had to laugh. There were about 6,148 of us eating ice cream. 

Other than eating ice cream and swimming, we're spending a lot of time with our neighbors.There's a great sense of community in our neighborhood and we really love it!

I'm soaking up my last Friday this week with Sydney. Starting next week we will have Maddie with us on Fridays. Lots of summer adventures to come, I'm sure!

Three more days girls - it's almost officially summer!

Stella

We said goodbye to our sweet Stella this weekend. It was very tough, and continues to be. 

I take comfort in knowing she didn't suffer very long though. On Wednesday, she jumped on the counter to eat my lunch I made (pulled pork) while I answered the door. She was her usual mischievous self. On Saturday we knew something was very wrong. She wouldn't move and, for the first time in 9 years, she didn't eat her food. We took her to the animal hospital and found out she had cancer and was bleeding internally. 

*****

When Chris and I got married he immediately wanted a dog. I asked him to wait a year thinking he would forget. He didn't. And, right around our one year anniversary, we went to pick out Stella. Chris found a breeder in Tennessee and we drove to meet all of the pups. We played with all of them but only one stayed by our side the whole time. It was obvious which one was our dog.

We picked her out but didn't get to bring her home for a few more weeks. And y'all. She was the CUTEST puppy that has ever lived. I mean look at her.

She was a total rascal though. Mischievous to her very core. She was playful and silly and kept us on our toes. She ATE everything. We got dog toy after dog toy and she destroyed all of them. 

She loved to dig. She dug up until last week!

Having a dog made Chris so happy.

We took her to the dog park to burn off energy. We also took her to Swim Day at Tom Sawyer Park which she thought was the best day ever. 

Most of our girls friends were scared of her (she was a big gal) but not Maddie and Sydney. They loved their Stella. She was here before they were and loved them so much.

No matter where we were, Stella was right there with us. She loved sitting under the swing set while the girls played or at the trampoline entrance keeping a watchful eye over them. It could sometimes be difficult to play hide and seek with her around. She was a loud breather!

She loved chasing bunnies, eating ANYTHING she could find and car rides.

Before her arthritis set in she loved taking walks.

She loved the snow!

Mainly she just enjoyed being around us.

The house is very quiet right now. With working from home, I talked to Stella a lot. We ate lunch together almost every day. It didn't matter what I was having, she liked it and wanted me to share. There is a space under our kitchen counter that is empty - she laid here every morning while we were all getting ready and out the door. 

Stella, we miss you so much!