Mackrory Family Fun: Berry Picking

Monday, June 29, 2009

Berry Picking

For our FHE activity tonight we went berry picking with the Allens, an amazing family in our ward that we really enjoy being with. We all had a blast. Then we came home and made crepes with which to enjoy the freshly picked berries. Yum!

Libby (Brielle's age), Whitney, Everly, Chris, Kanza, Cheyenne, Nathan, Kristen, Jared and Brielle...fun, fun, fun!

We were told that the motto for this kid-friendly picking spot is: "If you don't come back with a red face, you haven't done your job." I guess Nathan did his job really well! :) He loved them.

Brielle is quite the strawberry picker!!! She won't eat them, but she LOVED picking them. She had the most fun of any of us I think. It was hard to convince her to leave.

Nathan and Jared. A great team!

Great work girls!

Check out the rainbow!

The welcoming committee

Happy 4th of July!

Looks patriotic eh? Jared and Brielle made fresh strawberry lemonade as well. Yum!

7 comments:

whitney said...: This was great fun! Thanks for the memory!; June 29, 2009 at 8:36 PM
Shonna said...: How fun! I want to go. Brielle looks so pleased with herself and her picking, it's too bad she wouldn't eat any. Are strawberries still your favorite fruit? I know you loved them when we were little.; June 30, 2009 at 4:51 AM
Kay Hinton said...: It's so fun to see pictures of your adventure and fun friends. I love the one of Nathan eating the strawberry. It's comforting to see the pictures of Brielle and see that she's just fine after the night before.; June 30, 2009 at 7:11 AM
Jamie said...: Yeah, your kids age looks MUCH funner than my kids age! Jackson was dropping the strawberries in the mud and then picking upt he mud and eating it too. Then I put him in my back pack (which KILLED my back) and he got strawberries all over my hair. Looks like you had fun and I am very impressed with your food to go with them. All I could think to make was jam (which we have way too much of!); June 30, 2009 at 8:37 AM
Meagan said...: I've noticed in your pictures that Jared wears the same things on the weekend that he used to wear to the office. Haha. I love the pictures of the berry-picking! So fun! I think a great thing about the mid-west is that there are a lot of farms like that to go to. You guys are doing so much and seeing so much, I feel like I'm standing still!; June 30, 2009 at 11:31 AM
The Freed Family said...: The crepe with the strawberries and blueberries made me smile. I still remember your lesson where you used the blueberry analogy. I think it might have been the last lesson you taught here.; July 1, 2009 at 1:33 PM
Mitch said...: What BIG strawberries; it reminds me of shortly after we arrived in New Zealand and we went strawberry picking. We picked a BIG bucket full but there was only about half a bucket left when we got home. Clue: Jared was in the back row of the van (with the bucket)!

I love the rock! Happy 4th of July!! What a country!

What an impressive looking crepe. When I used to make pancakes for the kids they never looked at all like that.; July 3, 2009 at 10:35 AM

Quote of the Month

“’Whenever darkness fills our minds we may know that we are not possessed of the Spirit of God…When we are filled with the Spirit of God we are filled with joy, with peace, and with happiness, no matter what our circumstances maybe; for it is a spirit of cheerfulness and of happiness. The Lord has given unto us the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is our privilege to have that Holy Ghost reign within us so that from morning till night and from night till morning we shall have the joy, the light and the revelation thereof.” -President George Q. Cannon

Why you say that?

9/4/10 Nathan (looking at a picture of him and Dad fishing) in a very excited voice: "I went fishing with my Dad!!!...That made him happy."
Nathan's Prepositions:
"I'm hungry about oatmeal."
"I will share it to you."
8/26/10
Brielle: "Mom! I made some chocolate milk for you!"
Mom: "Yummm. What is in it?"
Brielle: "Grass, peanuts, dirt....um, I mean, spagetti, jelly beans and chocolate."
Brielle ("reading" Mom a story): "And then she went...long pause. Mom, do you know why I stopped reading?"
Mom: "No, why?"
Brielle: "Because I saw a word I knew! "in"!"
8/14/10 During family scripture study:
Brielle: "Who are the Lamanites again? Are they the ones who dress in army clothes and carry swords?"
Mom: "Yes, they like to fight."
Brielle: "They like to push and hit and kick and bite."
I'm okay with her thinking that that is the type of fighting they did. We are almost to the war chapters though, so her image of Book of Mormon fighting may change.
8/12/10
Background: Nathan woke up at 6:45 this morning and one of the first things he did was go to the sliding back door and open it to go out, despite the fact that there was a DOWNPOUR of rain, lightning and thunder...which is probably the reason he woke up so early. Jared jumped out of bed to stop him from going out into the storm.
Mom (later): "Nathan, why were you going outside in the rain?"
Nathan: "I was going to save the world. Dadda wouldn't let me."
8/9/10 Brielle: "Nathan, Jesus is the bestest man. He doesn't hit. He doesn't bite. He doesn't do anything that is wrong."
8/4/10 Brielle: "When I am 8 I want to get baptized on Tuesday because that is my favorite day."
Mom: "Why is that your favorite day?"
Brielle: "Because my brother was 2. Hmm. Now I am going to have to call it "threes"day."
Nathan: "I'n going to get baptized yesterday."

Nathan Updates

11/30/09
Nathan's verbal ability is improving by leaps and bounds. We got full sentences often. As I was blogging the reunion, he saw the picture of the gingerbread houses:
N: "Made ginger houses. Lisa help me a candy!"
11/23/09
During an FHE lesson about showing love to our family members from Elder Bednar's talk, Dad planned an activity where we practice showing each other that we love them. First Brielle showed Dad that she loved him by giving him a hug and a kiss and telling him that she loved him. Then Dad showed Nathan (who was seemingly completely oblivious to the lesson and the showing of love as he played with his plane in the corner). Then as Dad was trying to get Nathan to show Mom that he loved her and Nathan was completely ignoring him Brielle started to cry:
B: "Dad, you are supposed to show me that you love me!"
D: "Oh, yes, but for this activity we are going aroung in circles."
N (perking up in the corner): "CIRCLES?!?"
After a few seconds of somewhat confused silence:
B: "Okay! Let's go around in circles!!!" With that Brielle jumped up and began running around in circles in the living room (one of the kids favorite games to play is to chase each other in circles giggling the whole time).
Nathan has started calling his sister "brielley" like his Mom and Dad do. So, so cute.

Why you say that? (A common Brielle question. Here we ask her the same thing.) Archive

9/22/09 At preschool today:
Addie: "Can we have some more snack?"
Kristen: "No, because your moms will be here to pick you up any second."
Brielle: "Mom, can I have another snack because you aren't coming to pick me up. You are already here!"
8/17/09 During breakfast as we are talking about going for a walk:
Brielle: "Is it hot or cold outside today?"
Mom: "Right now it is medium. It isn't real hot and it isn't real cold."
About 15 minutes later while getting dressed:Mom, pointing to the corresponding drawers: "Here are your winter clothes and here are your summer clothes."
Brielle: "Mom, is fall medium?"
Eating frozen yogurt:
Brielle: "Is this a dairy product?" She's 3 for heavens sakes! What 3 year old cares, or even knows about, the food groups. Our budding doctor does. She is always asking if something is a grain, a fruit, a vegetable or a dairy. With almost every meal she asks if it is healthy for her body. And, being a child who has struggled with constipation, she LOVES anything with fiber. If you tell her it has fiber in it, she's in man! Blake and Shonna got her to eat a baby carrot and an orange slice after explaining fiber when they visited in WI. When I went to throw away the carrots (a vegetable that until then she has refused to even touch) as we were moving, she got very mad at me and made me take them out of the garbage because they were for her! Afterall, they have fiber AND help her see in the dark!
7/27/09 Nathan (holding mom's hand): "pocket. pocket. down."
Mom: "Okay, let's play 'Ring Around the Rosies.'"
Nathan (reaching out to Brielle with other hand): "No. Baa."
Mom: "Brielle, Nathan would like you to play with us."
Brielle: "Okay."
After playing 4 or 5 times:Brielle (looking sweetly at Nathan): "One more time okay? There is only one more 'Ring Around the Rosie' left."I wonder where she learned that one. :)7/23/09
Dad: "Brielle, sit at the table and eat your food or dad will sit on you (lightly, of course)."
Brielle: "No, those are not part of the options!"
7/16/09
Brielle's word of the day: "squeezy". Definition: adj meaning squishy or soft. For example, spagetti becomes squeezy when cooked and string cheese becomes squeezy when it has been out of the fridge for an hour or so in our picnic bag.

Brielle's accomplishment of the day: She ate the leaves off of the trees (broccoli).
7/13/09
Brielle: "I can't wait until I get big. Then I can reach the salt and pepper."

Eating a red and white sucker given to her by a friend:
Brielle: "Why did they make this sucker red and white?"
Mom: "I don't know. I guess they just wanted both colors in it."
Brielle: "Did they not have enough red?"

5/26/09
Mom: "Let's get the house all picked up. The person who cleans up the most gets a special prize."
Dad (a few minutes later in an effort to get things going a little quicker): "I'm picking up the most."
Brielle: "No, I'm picking up the most."
Dad: "I'm picking up the most, fastest."
Brielle: "No, I'm picking up the most, fastest."
Dad: "I'm picking up the most, fastest first."
Brielle: "No, I'm picking up the most, fastest first."
Dad: "I'm picking up the most, fastest first on one foot."
Brielle: "Why?"
3/24/09
Brielle is starting to think mathematically. She learned her letters so much more quickly than her numbers, but she has recently gotten her numbers through 9 down and she is putting her understanding of them to use.
For example:
Jared (holding 6 Smarties): How many do you get?
Brielle: 3
Jared: How many does Nathan get?
Brielle: 3

Mom: Go get 3 books to read
Brielle (holding her new favorite book): I already have this one. I just need to choose 2 other ones.
Mom (holding 4 M&M's; Nathan was sleeping): How many M&M's does Brielle get and how many does mom get?
Brielle (Pauses for a few seconds): I get 3.
Mom (acting a bit offended): Then how many would I get?Brielle: One...I get 3.That's just the way it is I guess.
3/3/09
Brielle: Mom, what are you doing?
Mom: Cutting onions
Brielle: I don't like onions.
Mom: Me neither. They stink!
Brielle: They stink?
Mom: Yes. They do!
Brielle: They need to go potty!
3/2/09Mom (Grabbing his hand as Nathan tries to hit her): Nathan we don't hit. Do you feel frustrated?Brielle: "Yes, he does."Mom: "Nathan, when you feel frustrated you can say 'grrrrr' and that will make you feel better."Brielle (in a consoling tone): "Good idea mommy"That was a rewarding moment for me! I try to reinforce her when she chooses good ways to solve her problems. It felt good to have her do it back to me!2/12/09Brielle: "When we sit down we have a lap. When we stand up we don't have a lap."
2/10/09 (Showing me her baby doll that she had been taking care of)Brielle: "I put these (barettes) in to keep the hair out of her face."Mom: "That is so nice of you."Brielle: "And I use the comb to get all of the nuts out. She put them in with her hands."Mom: "She put knots in her hair with her hands?"Brielle: "Yes. She put nuts in her hair with her hands during dinner."I guess I need to be more clear when, in answer to her questions, I explain what I am doing when I am combing the knots out of her hair each morning.
2/7/09 (Singing in her bedroom)Brielle: "Twinkle little star...like a dino in the sky..."
At breakfast - 1/25/09
Brielle(eating whole wheat toast) : "Please pass the bear jam (honey)."

Brielle's Personal Prayer - 1/24/09
Dad: "Please help my owie to get better." (She scraped her face badly about 30 minutes before)
Brielle repeats
Brielle (At the end of the prayer): "Dad, it's not gone. It's still there!"
Dad: "What?"
Brielle: "My owie isn't gone after the prayer."

About one week ago Brielle came to me randomly and said:
Brielle: "I have three houses."
Mom: "You do? Where are they?"
Brielle: "My Idaho house, my Utah house, and my Wisconsin house."
Yipee! If she is already thinking about her WI house, maybe this next move won't be so hard on her!

Nightly Family Prayer - Brielle's turn 1/22/09
Dad: "Please help us to sleep well now."
Brielle (kind-of) repeats: "Please help us to sleep not yet."

Brielle's pronuciations:
zebra - "eezbra"
vegetable - "jetable"
carpet - "crap it"
milkshake - "milkshade"

Looking at a book:
Brielle: "Mom, what are these?"
Mom: "Those are insects."
Brielle: "I love sex!"
Mom: "Hmmm...maybe we should call them bugs."
2/3/09S marty pants!!! Brielle's favorite library book is "Franklin Goes to the Hospital." We have checked it out 2 or 3 times. I sat down to read it to her and got part way through the sentence and stopped.
Mom: "Franklin had gone to the doctor..."
Brielle: "for regular check-ups."
Mom: "Franklin had had..."
Brielle: "colds and tummyaches."
Mom: "Franklin had gotten..."
Brielle: "cuts and bruises."
Mom: "And one time..."
Brielle: "the doctor had even come to Franklin's house."
Mom: "But until now...."
Brielle: "Franklin had never been to the hospital."
The whole book went on like that with Brielle finishing sentences about sleep medicine, x-rays, surgeries, and being brave. We had read it to her maybe 7 or 8 times with a couple of weeks since the last time we checked it out. It makes me wonder...what else is stored inside that little brain?

Nathan Updates Archives

7/23/09 New favorite words: "DO IT!!" (meaning, "I do it.")Looking at a picture of me and my sisters:
Mom: "Nathan, who is that?"
Nathan: "Shon. Mommy. Shell."
Who knew that he knew that? Not me.
7/14/09 He was playing with Baby Sara (the doll), comforting her when she cried and doing pat a cake with her feet (I do that with him when I change his diaper). Then he said "Stinky!" and began to change her diaper. He took the mock diaper of and said "whoo wee! Stinky!" while waving his hand in front of his nose. I found it humorous and I love that he is learning to pretend. He has a great role model of that in his older sister.
3/24/09 I can't keep up with all the words he is learning lately. Everyday several new ones pop out. SO FUN! He LOVES outside, trains, cars, food, and books. He also notices every little noise and tells me what makes it. Smartie pants.
3/13/09 Recent words:
"My tun" - My turn (Hmm. I wonder where he learned that one)
"Chicken"
"Nana" - banana
"Some""
Nandy" - candy
"Tick" - Stick
"Foo" - Food
"Shower"
"Owieee"
"Yummy"
"Fishy"
"Tak you" - Thank you
Nods his head a lot in answer to questions
3/3/09'He said "I love you" today! :)
3/2/09 His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! Recent additions:"tissue"-he walks around saying this as his nose is running constantly. He doesn't fight me wiping it anymore."train, choo choo"- everytime he hears the train pass our house he calls this out and runs to the window."vvvrrrooooom"-whenever he sees a car"stinky" - you can guess when he uses this :)"welcome"-we recently realized that this is what he is saying instead of thank you to our "what do you say Nathan?" prompt. He has been saying it for months and we recently mused that he should be able to say "thank you" more clearly since he is talking so much better now. We then realized he is saying "welcome" because we always say "you're welcome after he responds to that verbal prompt.Morning Welcome
2/7/09 I got up this morning at 6:45 to go and play raquetball and heard Nathan calling "mama, mama". It was all I could do to not go in and give him a great big love, but I had to leave to pick up Candida to play ball. When I got home I saw Brielle coming down the stairs, so I said "HI!!" Then I hear "HHHHIIIII! HHHHHIIIIII! HHHHHIIIII!," as Nathan scoots down the stairs as fast as possible (and he is amazingly fast as many of you can attest). He came running over to me and gave me a big, heart-melting hug. Brielle plopped down on the stairs and started giving me a report on the morning as Jared and I do when one or the other of us gets home. "Nathan wake up. I say it is morning...mumble, mumble, mumble." Then Nathan was off to the kitchen making his uh-uh noise which means he wants me to follow. Then he gets in there and I hear "PEEESE. PEEESE. PEEESE. (Please)". I go in to find him standing beneath where the cookies are on the counter reaching as high as he can. "PEESE." In an effort to give him something healthy instead, I went over and opened the fridge to get him some milk. Nathan bee-lined over there, saw a sippy cup of Kool-aid and let out a squeal of glee! He did a little happy dance as he grabbed it and started drinking. How can I say "no" to that? I couldn't.
2/4/09 We went for a walk and Nathan talked up a storm:
"side" (let's go out side)
"ca - vroooom" (There is a car. Vroooom)
"do - ruff, ruff" (There is a dog. Ruff. Ruff)
"nt some" (I'm hungry. I want some)