Pregnancy Craving: Cherries! (Tree-mendous Fruit Farms in MI)

While I've been pregnant this time, one of my favorite flavors has been cherry.  Whether it's in pie, soda, or fruit form, I've not been able to pass on it for anything.  I rewarded myself for running a 5k at 21 weeks pregnant with a cherry pie from Mom's Apple Pie Shop, found some delicious cherry soda in the Pop Shop at Frederick, MD, and enjoyed sweet cherries as soon as they came into the grocery.

So when my husband was reminiscing about cherry picking in his childhood, and I found out the farm they visited had an industrial PITTER you could use, I immediately jumped at the chance to try it out for ourselves.  I hate pitting cherries, especially when I have to do it for not just myself but my children also (tried giving one to Eli to just eat around, and he ate the entire pit!).  And I've never even attempted making my own fresh cherry pie since it would require so much pitting (and I prefer my hands not be stained purple).  Even though that has long been my favorite type of pie.  But I am happy to report that this has been rectified, as we were able to visit the Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm while in Indiana for July 4th, and now happily have a freezer full of pitted, ready-to-pie, cherries.

There's a bit of paperwork to be done to pick fruit at Tree-mendous Fruit Farm.  Your first stop is in the store to pick up a permit and see what is available for the day.

Then you drive out to the orchard and find the rows of trees and pick up your buckets.  There are two very different types of cherries to choose between.  We chose some of the darker, sweet cherries to eat raw (left the stems on thinking it may keep them fresher), and then mainly filled up on bright red tart cherries to be used in pies and other cooking endeavors (they will be pitted, so you don't need to leave stems on).  I think my boys like carrying buckets more than they like actually picking.

 Tart on the left, best for baking while the sweet cherries on the right are great raw.

 You would think Elijah did all the work!

After this you head to the pitter station, where they will pit all your tart cherries for you ($0.30/lb).  There are several steps in getting the cherries ready, and the boys really liked getting to help and observe the process.

I want one of these!  (and a few dozen trees)

Then, you finally head back to the store to pay for your fruit (and anything else you can't resist picking up).  (Of course there is still more work to be done once you get home.  We decided to portion all the berries into 2 lb packages each, using zip-lock freezer bags, that would be ready to thaw and use in pies.)

 There are plenty of areas around the farm for photo ops, picnics at tables, and playground type areas for the kids.  They can also check out some goats as well.  And there are nice clean bathrooms in the store (or port-a-potties around the farm).  Pretty much everything you would need or want for spending some time out with little ones.

After we had picked (raspberries also, which the boys love), and picnicked on the grounds, we headed to a nearby beach.  Despite growing up in Indiana I rarely spent any time in Michigan, and I think this was actually the first time I've set food in Lake Michigan, and was the boys first time into any of the Great Lakes.  We just waded in and let the boys play in the sand for a while, and walked out on the pier.  Made for a beautiful day.

The "Other" Air and Space Museum (and things toddlers say)

I let Brian plan our itinerary today, and when we checked the weather this morning he decided we should stay indoors and try out the Udvar-Hazy Center for the Air and Space Museum that is located in Virginia.  An accompaniment to the Smithsonian museum on the National Mall, this center is likewise a collection of artifacts of flight.

We told Theodore where we were headed, and he was reminded of the time that he went on a date with his Grandpa E to an airplane museum, where grandpa showed him the kind of airplane that his great grandpa used to fly in.  And parachute out of.  And land on the moon.  And would apparently then fly back home in a rocket-ship.  (As far as I know, only the first two of those things are true.  But it was so cool that Theo remembers this about his great grandpa.)

This was a photo of him from that day at the Grissom Air Museum.

But, back to today. Some quick facts first.  Like all Smithsonian museums, the museum was free of charge, but charged $15 for parking.  There are some simulators and IMAX movies that charge for tickets, if you have some older kids with you, but we were not interested in those today.  There is also a McDonald's restaurant available if needed, and family bathrooms located near the entrance.  We were happy to save 10% at the gift shop with our new National Zoo Membership.

Apparently, we came during their Super Science Saturday.  The second Saturday of every month is dedicated toward a specific topic, with lots of extra activities and demonstrations focused on that topic.  Today's was helicopters.  Even though many of the things were too advanced for him, some were right on his level and I really liked how festive the atmosphere was.

 The observation tower overlooks Dulles Airport.

 Helicopters were on hand for the special Saturday session.  We got to watch, feel, and hear them take off and fly away.

 Theo got to "fly" a plane.  Eli wasn't so sure about it.

I really liked seeing all the different planes, especially the ones from our old favorite The Jet Alphabet Book (a book we picked up when we were touring the Midway Aircraft Carrier in San Diego, can you tell my husband is very interested in all things that fly).  These included:

C is for Concorde

L is for Lear Jet

O is for Oxcart (SR-71)

P is for Phantom (F-4)

T is for Tomcat (F-14)

The space section was also interesting, especially since Theo is a big fan of rocket ships.  Seeing the Discovery space shuttle:

Now, Theo's been talking about building Coriander (our dog) a plane.  It will be black and gray and blue and white.  And daddy will help him write her name on it, because he doesn't have a pencil.  And it will be the most best.  And the biggest one of all.  And he will be Cori's driver.  (He's starting to ramble, can you tell?)

2013 Huntington County 4-H Fair

I had started a post on the fair, going into the details of all the tradition involved, and realized it was going to be way too involved of a post.  I think I'll save it for next year when my brother finishes his tenth year in 4-H.  My mother requested the photos from the fair, and I decided to just turn them into a photo book for her instead.  You can see the results below:

Click here to view this photo book larger

Turn your favorite photos into a photo book at Shutterfly.com.

Vera Bradley Outlet Sale 2013 Experience

View from the "choosing floor".  When you enter, you immediately start down the aisles, bagging everything you think you may want.  Then at the end, you spread everything out on the floor to make your decisions before going to check out.  Your return the things you don't want to shopping carts throughout the area. 

A good thing about being in Indiana in the spring is the chance to go to the Vera Bradley Outlet sale.  My mother has gone for years now, sometimes getting tickets to go in the opening days, some years going several times.  This year, we were all pretty busy so we had to wait until the open session on Saturday to go.  We got there around 3:30 and it was busy but not too crowded.  There was still a pretty good selection.  Prices may have down a bit more on the last day of the sale, but I felt there were quite a few good deals there on the second to last day.

This time was special because it was little Maci's first time to get a VB.  She loves clothes and accessories already, so she was happy to look through the rows of VB items.  She was literally dancing through the aisles to the music, and did very well for being two years old and missing her nap.

We also took Eli.  He didn't get anything, and he slept throughout the whole event.  But, it was great that we had a stroller and a toddler because... we got expedited check-out!!!  I had no idea they did this, but apparently they let those of us with young children or guests with wheelchairs go through a separate (hidden) check-out.  I think tour groups also have a similar check-out.  It was great, we waited all of about 2 minutes and were at the counter!  After the several hour wait last time, this was unexpected and fabulous!  We will definitely be taking the babies with us in the future!

Got her purses (two of them-she knows you grab everything first and make decisions later).

A bag for pre-school in a couple more years.

Making her final choice.

Still in good moods after the short line!

There were quite a few new (to me) items that I thought were pretty neat.  There are now attache bags, that I would have to have if I were still teaching full time.  Perfect for taking papers back and forth to school in.  And the best was the contact lens case!!  I was super excited about this, but didn't find any in my patterns.  Will have to wait for an online sale or pay full price on this one.