Mud = Loads of Fun and Mountains of Laundry

The weekend started off innocently enough. The sun finally came out and we went strawberry picking. However, weeks of what seems like non-stop drizzle, plus a strawberry field, plus two little kids equals either a muddy mess, or a lot of fun, depending on who you ask. Honestly, I was happy when the kids found the mud puddle to play in because it kept them from trying to pick and/or eat all the rotten strawberries they could find. Why was it that they managed to avoid all the nice looking strawberries?

Katie was the first to discover the mud puddle, and soon they were squishing and splashing and getting their crocs stuck in the mud. After a while, James spotted a road cone off in the distance, and sweetly led his sister by the hand so they could go see it.

Behold, the road cone. Nothing could be more fascinating. In the meantime I was rapidly trying to pick strawberries while they were entertaining themselves.



In the end, they were a very muddy mess and required, unfortunately, the towel I only thought I had in the truck. Oops. Wipes would just have to work. The pictures do not do justice to just how muddy they were, and believe it or not, we did make an appearance at the fabric store like that on the way home. Don't tell anyone.



The end result of the strawberry picking adventure (and a while spent over a hot stove) was this: seven jars of strawberry rhubarb jam! The first jam of the season, and just in time, because we are actually getting very low.

Saturday afternoon was spent with friends, including a surprise visit from one of our Colorado compadres! It rained enough to soak our kids, and James spent his time running around after his friends and jumping on the trampoline, all while trying to hold up his water-logged and too-loose Wranglers. And while they had lots of fun, they weren't done with soggy messes just yet! Here are a few pictures of our Sunday afternoon. (Jeff spent his Father's Day putting in a new bathroom floor at the house of stress. Nice way to spend Father's Day, huh?)

In what was innocently supposed to be a romp in the yard, James discovered none other than a mini mud-pit in the yard. Faster than a speeding bullet, he had successfully covered his arms in mud. Katie met him at the mud hole and they proceeded to paint each other with mud and have a grand ol' time. When they were done, I went to spray them off with the hose, and James said 'What hose, Mommy?' Well, yes, that is a good question, James. In fact, as even my 3.5 year old knew, the hose was at the 'other house,' being used for the power washer. To quote Jeff, 'Nice, Megan, nice.' So, I used a card from my mom's playbook and made them strip down at the door. I then carried them through the house and dumped them straight in the tub. And at the end of this mud-filled weekend, this is what I have been left with:

A very dirty tub. And some very happy, albeit tired, kids.



Thus ends the longest and most rambling photo post ever.