Berry Picking

Despite the cold this morning, we made our first family trip to a Pick-Your-Own Strawberry farm.  It turned out to be the perfect weather for berry picking, and the kids were way better behaved than I expected.  I had originally thought of going with a group of moms during the week, but was worried about being able to keep up with Jason on my own.  Plus, I thought it would be fun to do as a family. 
I was right, by the way, about Jason.  After a short while of helping pick berries, he wandered off to check out the chickens with Tony, leaving Abbie and me to finish the picking.  We had a nice time, though, and got plenty of deliciously sweet strawberries.

After berry picking, we picked up ingredients for our strawberry dessert, then headed to the park to play.  I always like going to the park when there are lots of people out, because you're bound to strike up an interesting conversation.  Today, I talked with a guy, who is a counselor at a local high school, about the discouraging direction of our public education system, especially related to standardized tests. 
Following our time at the park, we got up the courage to take the kids our to lunch at Nantucket Grill.  This is a big deal, because we very rarely eat out with the kids.  It's less than pleasant, as Jason doesn't have the patience to sit in his chair the whole time, and he's obsessed with the adult glasses of water and straws.  It makes for a difficult meal.  But, Nantucket worked out well.  We sat outside where the kids could get up and run around, checking out the fountain and statues, AND they had hard plastic cups.  So, allowing Jason to play with one was not such a big deal...oh, except for when he poured about 1oz of water in Tony's lap!