Blueberries!!

On Wednesday morning our friends Jenn and Cole kidnapped Stella and I and took us blueberry picking! Jenn had packed all we needed, including a yummy picnic lunch. We went to Mountainview Blueberry Farm, and it was great. Stella and Cole (who is 3) thought picking blueberries was fun for about 10 minutes, then decided they were done. We managed to keep them distracted from their whining for most of the time. Stella and I came home with 6 pounds of blueberries, and we could have had a lot more if we'd wanted! They taste SO good. I've been wanting to go pick berries all summer but never got it together, so I'm so glad we finally went. There are lots of U-pick places around, we could be well-stocked on berries if we started at the beginning of the summer. Now blackberries are starting to come out, and they are everywhere, so I'm hoping Jonathan will take us back to the wilds of Snohomish to pick blackberries by the side of the road somewhere!

So today I baked a bunch of blueberry banana muffins. (I've had a bunch of bananas in the freezer that I've been needing to do something with!) They are half whole wheat and I used just a little brown sugar, so I can feel like they are mostly healthy. :) I froze the rest of the blueberries, except a small bowl for snacking on (which I've been doing for days). I have a recipe for orange blueberry bread that I also want to try, but it just got too HOT to do any more baking today! The high today is 91. We have no air conditioning. Add a hot oven into the mix and it's not too pretty.

Yesterday was hot too, and Stella and I walked down to Green Lake. There's a swimming area at the end of the lake that's closest to us, so Stella and I wore our swim suits and splashed around in the lake. It felt wonderful. It's also right next to the playground, so we went over there for a while, then back to the lake to cool off again. I just wanted to spread a blanket out in the shade and settle in with a good book. Instead, I piled Stella back in the stroller and walked home, uphill the whole way, in the sweltering heat. Poor me. Stella fell asleep on the way, so I plopped her in her bed and then took a nice cool shower. :)

We may head back this afternoon - it's now time for quiet rest time but I'm thinking of skipping it...Stella can nap in the buggy! The only problem is I have this large pile of laundry that has been waiting to be folded since Tuesday...I hate laundry.

Cole



Muffins!
(Sorry, couldn't resist...)