02 May 2012

Field trip in the rain

A few Fridays ago, we went on a field trip to a local farm where the kids would learn everything about farm produce.  This is the season of strawberries, and knowing my kids' love for those, we had to go.

It's a bit of a trip, which 'scared' me at first, but once we were on the road, I enjoyed it greatly. It's a beautiful country sight, and I enjoyed the climbing roads that made sudden turns. The kids in the back of the car went "weeeee" a few times when the car went up the hill and then dropped down quickly at the top of the hill.
On the way, it got darker and darker, and I said to the kids: "It looks like rain." I am not a person who checks the weather (at all!), so I had no clue..... and sure enough, a few miles farther, it started to rain. First a few drops, than a few more, until soon we were in the middle of one of those Texas thunderstorms. I am a very good driver, so bad weather doesn't slow me down..... actually, I enjoy it to drive, when everybody else stays home. So we kept on going.

We arrived at the farm a bit early, because we had planned to picnic our lunch there..... oh well, that had to be eaten in the car now. To the kids, it's still an adventure, so they didn't mind.
Eventually, our group was all together and we could start our tour. The kids learned all kinds of stuff, from farming to animals to produce. They learned about the ladybug and even put one onto the strawberry plants.

They planted a pumpkin seeds - let's see if that one will survive summer!?!

We got to take a group picture - more or less. The funnest part was when the kids were allowed to shoot (yes, shoot) strawberries out of a contraption (that resembled a gun very much!) to a target. They all had a blast. Then we fed some goats that were really hungry (after our unsuccessful trip to the zoo where the animals were totally overfed that day).
Finally, we came to the part that most parents liked: picking our own strawberries. By now, the rain had stopped completely, and the sun could be assumed behind the clouds. The fields were muddy and wet, but what kid cares about that, right? So I went with Peanut, figuring she'll need lots of help - which she didn't. Her little basket was full in less than a minute. So we decided to check on Coqui, who had all but three strawberries in his. When I asked him why there were so little in the cup, he told me that he is only picking perfect berries! Uh? So I said: "Buddy, I think you need some help. There is no such thing as a perfect strawberry. God made them in all kind of shapes and sizes just like humans, and they all will taste quite good." Thank goodness, this child is my compliant one, so he did not object any further but let me help him fill his basket.


After all this hard work, the kids (and adults) got to enjoy some homemade ice cream, vanilla for the dairy eaters, strawberry-sicles for the Vegans. It was delicious.

And then it was time to go home. What a great trip! We were tired by the time we got home, but it was all worth it. Daddy got to enjoy some strawberries as well that night - I love that the kids really wanted to share with him.

1 comments:

C. Beth said...

Glad you had so much fun! I know Chickie enjoyed her trip there recently too. Unfortunately, we saved a few strawberries for Daddy, and then I forgot about them on the countertop and they went bad!