Chesterfield Berry Farms

In the fall in Virginia there was the pumpkin patch, but in the spring there was the berry farm.

Oh the berry farm!

Sadly, we did not take advantage of the berry farm as much as we would have liked, but by the time we paid for the gas to drive to and from, paid for the tractor ride (not free like the pumpkin patch) and paid for the berries (I always picked WAY more than I needed and spent a small fortune) it turned out to be a pricier trip than we would have liked.

Oh yeah...and there was ice cream too.  We couldn't leave without homemade ice cream so just add that money in there too.

But the few times we went were wonderful...and delicious.

Tractor ride to the field.

The berry patches were gorgeous and perfectly manicured.  The only way the kids got dirty in the fields was from the berry juice.

It doesn't get much prettier than this.

Plus...there were no migrant workers placing the berries on the side of the rows- we picked directly off the vine.  It was an authentic experience.

(spring 2005)

 The hardest part was teaching the boys to pick the ones that weren't quite ripe.  If not, all our berries spoiled too quickly after we got home.

 Thankfully there was an eat for free policy.  We only had to pay for what we carted out.

Carter ate a lot of our "mistakes"...and he loved it!

 Andrew was a great helper.

He wouldn't eat the berries, but was happy to carry them for us.

Thats what it was!  Andrew was just saving room for the ice cream!

 After we paid (a lot) for our beautiful berries, we ate ice cream.  It was amazing...

 as you can tell by this very unflattering picture of me.

Fresh strawberry shakes are hard to beat.

(Nuts...now I want one.  Dang pregnancy cravings- in the winter no less.)

Another time Steve took the boys to Chesterfield Berry Farms was right after Colby was born in 2006.

He went with his brother Gary an his family.

 Another tractor ride photo.

 Along with the berry patch, there were a few other things the kids could do.

Photo ops.

 Pony rides.

And the best thing ever...a huge vat of corn kernels to play in.

(I try not to think of it in the same sense as a ball pit at a fast food playland...because then I would be grossed out.)  

Side note:  I got smart this visit and purposely made the boys wear red shirts.  Red hides strawberry stains, plus, it looks really cute for pictures against the green berry patch.