Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Hopping across the pond


Asher and I pick some raspberries on the farm.


Me and Ash grin at daddy.


Asher tries to pick berries on his own, with a little help from mom.


Asher sits on a stack of cannonballs near the lakefront.


Asher and momma in the blueberry patch.


Asher collects blueberries in his hat, so he can save some for later.

First, let me explain why these are all Asher shots. We took them all in the same one-hour period, and Gabriel was off galavanting about with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jon. He will be featured in a future post, I promise!

Anyway, we spent a wonderful weekend in St. Joe, Michigan for the past few days. It's almost directly across the lake from us, and usually only takes about 3.5 hours to get to. We decided not to leave Friday night because Nate got done with work pretty late, even though I had off work. So we got up at 5 a.m. on Saturday and were out the door by 6 a.m. Oh what a trip! Chicago was a mess, and once we hit 80/94, traffic was stopped dead, due to the fact that there was standing water further along the highway and they had decided to empty the ENTIRE five lanes of traffic off onto the nearest exit. So we sat. And we sat. And we sat. The trip took over 6 hours when all was said and done. And if you've ever been trapped in a car with 2 small children for that long, you know that it takes an amazing effort to keep your sanity!
But the trip itself was a blast! We spent the days roaming around my Uncle's farm and eating anything and everything that was in season. We also went to the beach twice with the boys, which they LOVED.
And there are a few simple things in life that I learned to enjoy all over again:
1. The sight of my smallest son chasing butterflies. He did so on the farm at every chance he got.
2. The taste of fresh blueberrires picked right off the bushes in the morning, still covered with dew.
3. The taste of a fresh peach off the tree -- and how the juice dribbles down your arm when you eat it!
4. Being far enough out in the country that there is no highway noise and looking up to see two hawks circling, and then giving that screeching cry they do only on TV or in the movies. Asher LOVED it.
5. Seeing my oldest son, Gabriel, riding his bike through the orchard, and simply enjoying a place that holds so many fun childhood memories for me!

7 comments:

DawnK said...

I have no idea what it would be like to be so far out in the country to not hear traffic! That must be lovely! I'm jealous that you got to eat all those fresh-picked berries. My fingers would have been permanently stained! LOL! Cute pictures!

C Staude said...

Ohhhh, I love this blog.... I miss you! Asher and blueberries... adorable!

amy7252 said...

How on earth did Colin and I never get around to meeting you guys in St. Jo - just once - while we lived in Michigan?? Rats!

amy7252 said...

And oh my goodness, you are pregnant! We haven't seen any belly pictures in a while ... you definitely have something in there! Cute pictures.

marzi said...

wow, what a beautiful place! beautiful pictures too!

Anonymous said...

hey why dont you have any picsd of gabe????

+gmjameson said...

I am envious. It's awesome how you capture St. Joe ... and I can completely resonate with everything you share. How awesome will it be to watch our DAUGHTERS running barefoot there in a few years?

**sigh**

Gret