A couple weeks ago, we took advantage of the beautiful weather (that was before it started getting above 100 degrees) and had a picnic in the canyon. It was just gorgeous. Sometimes I forget how lucky we are to have the mountains and canyons so close–this was a great reminder.

Enjoying the food.

I call this one, "Boy and Tree".

Chasing butterflies. Better watch out, butterflies. Calder looks like he means business!

Just hanging out on a rock with some kind of lizard carved into it.

We’ve also been having lots of fun at Farm Country, a nice little petting zoo just up the road from us. We have a membership there, so I take the kids at least once a week. It’s a great way to get out of the house, run around for a bit, and get to see the animals.

Lounging on the cow bench. Oh, and that shirt that Calder is wearing is one from the Haymond Wardrobe Archives. I love that he gets to wear clothes that his daddy and uncles wore.

This was a special day at the farm and they had this great little cow train that the kids could ride. It was heaven for these two.

So, it’s been a fun summer so far. Can’t wait to see what else it might bring!

So, this is a little late, but I wanted to share some pictures from Strawberry Days back in June. Strawberry Days is the weekend when we celebrate the city of Pleasant Grove (I guess they grew a lot of strawberries here once upon a time) with a parade, art shows, a carnival, and a rodeo. We didn’t go to the rodeo this year, but we had a lot of fun at all the other activities.

Amelie loved loved loved the carnival. She's definitely a ride junkie.

See what I mean? Total glee on this roller coaster. She went on it several times.

Riding carousels is serious business.

Enjoying the sights and sounds of the parade. Brad and Michelle brought Hayley, too, so that was lots of fun.

Happy face.

Amelie really enjoyed the parade, too. She's a fan of floats, especially if they have princesses on them.

So, happy Strawberry Days everybody!

Whenever Calder eats, it seems like some (or most) of his meal ends up on his face or in his hair–or both, if we’re lucky.

Exhibit A:

Look at that innocent grin.

Exhibit B:

Pointing as if I'm the one with yogurt all over me!

This last one has nothing to do with eating, but doesn’t he look like a swimmer from the 1920s? Thanks Aunt Angela for the cute outfit!

Bobbing along...

Well, the time has come! We’re now receiving our weekly share of produce from our CSA farm, Jacob’s Cove in Orem. On Monday, we drove about 2 minutes down the road to our pick-up spot and got our box of goodies. Wanna see?

Ta da!

We got tons of greens, many of which I’m still trying to identify. There’s kale, swiss chard, arugula and other mixed greens. The squash looks lonely, doesn’t it? The guy that packed our box must have been new on the job because we we’re supposed to get a couple more squash and/or zucchini. I contacted the farmer and we’ll get them added to next week’s share. Aren’t the radishes cute? When I washed them off, they looked like little jewels. And then there’s a bunch of peas.

Our recipe plans for this week include omelette-style eggs with greens added in, kale hash (hashbrowns, kale, and other yummy stuff), fresh pesto for our pasta, sauteed peas, fried squash, and lots of good salad (I’m about to have one for lunch, actually). I’d love to try making green smoothies, but our blender is kind of lame and I don’t think it would do a very good job. We’ll see.

Next week, we should see some great heirloom tomatoes and as the season goes on we’ll get things like cucumbers and melons, too. I think Dale (the farmer) has plans to contract with some local orchards in the fall for fruit, so that should be fun.

I’m just so excited about our locally grown organic produce. We got to go tour the farm a couple weeks ago with the kids and it was fun to talk to the Allreds (the farm family) and taste some recipes made from the produce they grow. I’m hoping to take Amelie down to the farm in the next little while so we can help out and lend a hand. They’ve repeatedly told us that we’re welcome any time and I think that would be a great experience for both of us–to see exactly where our food comes from and have a hand in getting it to our table.

Anyway, just wanted to share! Wish us luck in our produce consuming adventures!