Strawberry picking and big catch up

I remember when my boys were toddlers and my friends with older kids would tell me how CRAZY hectic the month of May was.  I was skeptical.  How could May be so busy?  Well, now I know.  Just last week we had National Honor Society inductions for both boys (yeah!), two sports awards banquets (water polo and lacrosse) and a dress rehearsal for Kate's recital. We had to divide and conquer most nights. This week Kate has her ballet recital, her violin recital, and she was chosen to read one of her poems at Rice University and have it published in an anthology.  It is busy!

I am not complaining though as I am very grateful that my kids are involved in so many good activites  and that academics are important to them.  I also know (because now those friends with older kids have emptying nests) that there comes a time when all of this is gone.  And that is hard in a different way.

This weekend is Kate's ballet recital (so excited), the father daughter dance, and Mother's day.  You know I will be taking ton of photos!! I figured I had better get caught up to date on the blog now because there will be lots more virtual scrapbooking for me to do after this week!

A few weeks ago, strawberry season began here in Texas.   It seemed early but we decided to take a chance and go before it go too hot here.

So, Dave, Harry and his friend B, and Kate and I went. Will was either working or had a water polo tournament. I took photos while they picked.  I also ate the hot little fruit pies they sell. They are so good. YUM!

Dave is a very serious picker.

I think that hooded creature in the background is Harrys friend.  

Those teenage boys stayed pretty far away from my camera!

Please excuse how overexposed the top part of this photo looks.  It was overcast and then the sun would peek through so my exposure was off but I love her little hand with the berry...

We came home and baked a giant tart.  It was soooo good. Dave found the perfect tart crust recipe from a french pastry site but I don't know where.  It was firm but not so hard that you cannot break bites.  The pastry cream filling was adapted (we had a much larger tart pan) from here and it was divine.  We will definitely make this again.  It was a family effort.  Dave made the crust, I made the cream and Kate and Harry decorated with strawberries.  Will helped to eat it!!!!




(I-phone shot)

And here are the boys on their NHS induction nights...





Harry and his principal.



Will and Father Lahart,  the President of his school.



(all I-phone shots)

And one more thing while I am playing major catch-up (could this post be any longer?)

My Moms group holds an Easter Egg hunt at our church each year.  This year my oldest may or may not have been the Easter Bunny...

He could not really see out of the head, so Harry led him around...

Will The Easter Bunny was so sweet to all the little kids...






Okay, I think I am all caught up for now.  I will probably be posting a lot this week and next as there is so much to post about:)  Have a lovely Mother's Day weekend everyone!!

Strawberry Picking

We have lived in the Houston area for about 20 years (minus the 4 years in VA) and I never knew there was a place here to pick strawberries. One August (many years ago) we went to pick blueberries (or was it blackberries?) and we almost died passed out from heat stroke and dehydration.  So we never did THAT again.  There was absolutely nothing fun about picking berries in 107 degree weather.

However, every Autumn, when my bloggy and real life northern friends visit the apple orchards, I get a little jealous.  It is a "happy for them, sad for me" kind of jealous.  It's HOT here.  We don't grow apples in South Texas.  So that whole fall, boot wearing, apple picking experience doesn't happen here.  Sad, isn't it?

Anyway, back to the strawberries.  One of my facebook friends had posted about picking strawberries in Houston and I quickly did some research and made a plan.

We went super early to avoid both the crowds and the heat.  But the only peanut that wanted to get up early on a Saturday morning was Kate.  Our plan worked as we were the first ones there and had a few minutes to kill before the strawberry patch opened up...

Kate had fun with these wooden things to pass the time until we could pick some berries:)

We were the first ones out in the fields and had them to ourselves for a little while.

We had such a great time.  It was breezy and not too hot.  We had the fields to ourselves and we discovered a fabulous little produce market inside. They sold THE BEST little fried fruit pies we have ever had.  In fact, Dave and Will drove back for some more last weekend!

I think this will become a new summer tradition for us.

And belive it or not, we ate BOTH buckets that weekend.  They were delicious!