Cherries, Or, Let's Pay a Million Bucks for a Few Buckets
Growing up, my family spent one summer day each year picking cherries near the Finger Lakes. My brothers, sisters, and I have many memories wrapped around climbing cherry trees; picking, gobbling, and throwing cherries; lunching on ham and cheese sandwiches and Mom's famous red punch from the cooler teetering in the back of the station wagon; picking wild blackberries in between the hillside vineyards; and stopping at every last historical marker that my Dad spied along the way.
We've continued this tradition in a spotty fashion over the last few years with our little family, and the girls are forming their own memories of the same. The amount we handed over for our buckets this year nearly knocked me unconscious, though, so I've warned the girls that this may be the last of the memory-making. I'm a scrooge.
Hot sun, sweaty children, pounds of cherries in our bellies. I took these pictures right before we left to prove that we had come.
First in line are these pictures of a sweet and sweaty little girl who tottered beside me. Isn't she darling?
Then I realized it was Zekie-Boy. Time for a haircut, buddy.
Everyone except Mildred and the papa squeezed in one frame:
I also documented this overtired and ill-behaved munchkin I found in the orchard.
The girls had brought books along, as usual, but only Millie's had the distinction of being nibbled by a genuine bookworm.
After picking, we used our last Five Guys gift card to treat ourselves to burgers and fries. (Wouldn't you?) I removed Ezekiel's pigtails to make him presentable and combed his hair. He thought he looked hysterical, and he was right. (Philip Seymour Hoffman, watch out.)
6 comments :
I remember giving Caleb his first haircut, with scissors and comb. Lachlan held his head still so I didn't impale him with the scissors, but all in all, Caleb was very patient about it all. Not so much so, anymore!! lol.
I STILL haven't done the deed, but at least once every day I talk about it, so that's something, right? The impaling with scissors is what blocks me, I think. Maybe I should wait until after vacation and make you do it! :)
Sure! It wouldn't take long--plus, two people is what makes it less scary. The first time I was scared of impaling with scissors, too, so I had Lachlan put Caleb in a headlock (so to speak). I was a little afraid that would make Caleb squirm more, but he actually got the idea that being very still was the goal, and shortly Lachlan was unnecessary.
HAHAHA! You weren't kidding at all?
Only Zeke could make pigtails look so handsome. They're sure to be all the rage now for young men everywhere.
Oh, I also wanted to comment on how stunning Millie looks in that book-reading shot.
Is she especially fond of pre-digested reading material?
Titi,
Too late! I did it all in a rush the day before we left, with NO ONE HOLDING HIM, which was a grievous error. One of his many wiggles helped me shear off a good half inch more than I wanted to on one side, and he looks a bit silly. Still cute, though.
Heidi,
It's so much easier to read when one worm has already done the hard work for you!
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