Sophie was bummed she couldn't go pick with us, but I reassured her that we'd go to the peach orchard again this year and pick peaches, blueberries, and blackberries.
We actually hit the strawberry patch late this year, almost missing a good opportunity! Next year, we'll go in late April or early May.
Anyway, I invited some friends of ours since I wanted to share some "fruit love" with them and especially after finding out that they'd not been strawberry picking before. They seemed to have a good time, so I was relieved.
Bryce LOVED finding the little red treasures under the big green leaves. It was almost like an Easter egg hunt. "Momma, LOOK! Here's one" and "I found one!!!" was heard quite often in a 1-hour period. The weather was nice, and we had a big blue sky with big, white, billowy clouds.
After picking for a while, I headed to the stand to weigh and pay. The boys (3 of 'em!) were running and jumping over the rows and having fun. At the back of the patch, the rows had standing water (MUD!!!), and when I turned to see where Bryce was, it happened in slow motion...
...I saw his little body tumble and slap down into the mud.
I didn't get angry. In fact, I kept a rather humorous mood about it. The boy was covered!!! Shirt, shorts, socks, underwear, AND shoes - disgustingly, sopping wet and muddy.
The most horrid part? It wasn't "fun" mud. It was the kind that smells somewhat like a mix of sewage and dog poo. It was HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Between the other mom and myself, we began to "MacGyver" a plan. I had a size 3 baby diaper, some semi-dry baby wipes, and a bottle of water... She had a 4T shirt, a pair of 4T knit pants, and another bottle of water. The guy working there had an old, dirty towel.
I began stripping my son down... I tried to keep him covered at first, but with as much mud that had found it's way UNDER his clothes, I finally just took it down to his porcelain, white skin and began pouring the water on him.
Our friend was giggling like mad as I discovered more and more mud with each layer removed. Even his belly button was full of this horrible, stinky muck!!!!
How he managed to fall, clothes on, and fill the entire waistband of his underwear with this stuff is beyond me!
Either way, my skinny, lily white little dude stood there, never once fussing or crying, and let me clean him up.
I got so tickled that I wrapped the towel around him and told him to go stand by the rows of strawberries for a picture. I just had to take pictures of him in his pretty red towel. Hahahaha!
If there's ever been a quote I've enjoyed stumbling upon, it's "Little boys are noise with dirt on it."
Once Bryce was cleaned up enough to climb into the car, we headed to the mall. I had to exchange some shorts, which I later changed him into, and also got him a shirt and some socks... In the mall restroom, I rewashed him with soap and rinsed his shoes off really well with soap. I figured I'd try to clean him up as best as I could considering we had a few more things to do before going home.
We enjoyed lunch with our friends (who have the patience of saints!) and rode the mall's carousel before saying goodbye.
Once we left the mall, while driving home, I saw this big ol' turtle trying to cross 7 lanes. Now, wouldn't you know that I made a U-turn in the middle of this mess WITH MY SON IN THE BACKSEAT, parked the car, flung the door open, said a prayer or two as cars passed over this obnoxious little turtle, and then ran to pick him up (all while spazzing about someone hypothetically jumping in my running vehicle and taking my baby)!?!!
Turns out, this guy was a snapping turtle. An ANGRY snapping turtle. You'd think he'd be thankful, right? A black truck parked in the center lane, too, and out jumps "McDreamy" in his blue scrubs to save the day. He mentioned something like "good for you" recognizing that I cared enough to stop traffic, risk my son's life and my own, to save an ungrateful turtle.
Finally, Dr. Animal-Saver grabbed hold of the guy, dropping him onto the concrete like 4 times as the turtle came dangerously close to locking onto his hand as he tried to carry the rescuee across 4 lanes. The turtle was fine and was tossed back into the trees and wild growth on the side of the street. Hopefully, he didn't turn around and head back to play chicken across 7 busy lanes.
Needless to say, Bryce and I had an ADVENTUROUS day together! I love spending one-on-one time with my youngin's, and today was a fine day to do just that... even if it was a bit messy... and stinky... and dangerous!
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Too bad I didn't get pics of the doctor... Uh, I mean turtle!
B-cubed! Bennett, Brady, and Bryce!
Not the biggest, but they were still really good. Bryce had a whole bowl when we got home while waiting for his bath water to fill the tub.
UH-OH!!!! Be glad you can only SEE this and not SMELL this!!!
You may not see my face, but I was somewhere between gagging and laughing... "Gaughing?"
He'll kill me for this photo one day, but check it out! This was AFTER I'd cleaned his poor belly. *gags*
*hee hee*
Oh, Nic, that 1st pic with all the mud on his clothes is priceless! Sorry I giggled so much. But, you have to admit, it was a comical moment. Poor Bryce. He handled it like a champ! And so did you! Thanks for inviting us to tag along. We had fun. My yummy strawberries are in the freezer just waiting for summertime shakes and smoothies!
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