Rachel Zimm: Strawberry picking & life lately

This really is the most beautiful month of the year. The air is so warm, the trees are a vibrant green, and the tiger lilies are blooming along the sides of the road. Everyone seems just . . . happier. I plan on enjoying this last week of June to the fullest! We've crossed a couple of things off of our summer bucket list. First, we went strawberry picking last week, then we had our town's annual festival over the weekend. I haven't been quite so diligent with photo-taking, but here are my favorite memories that we've made over the last two weeks :)

To celebrate our seventh anniversary (June 13), my mother-in-law watched our kids, and Steve and I went out for a bite to eat. We dined at our favorite Italian place, and filled ourselves to the brim with stromboli and pasta.

A couple of days later, we took the boys strawberry picking! It was out of town, so we added Chick-Fil-A and Target to the trip before we went to the farm. Steve had gone strawberry picking when he was in middle school, but the rest of us had never been!

Ephraim was serious about finding strawberries! Nolan picked a few and was done, but Ephraim kept going the entire time. He wanted his box to be full!

The strawberries were shinier and brighter than store-bought, and they tasted amazing!

Those smiles!!!

Steve was a strawberry-picking machine. We ended up with four big boxes of strawberries.

We had such a great time! We enjoyed unlimited strawberries for days, and I have a freezer full of frozen ones for smoothies and/or future baking projects :)

My mom and Don were out of town, so we checked on their house and played on their swingset a few times.

The other day, Nolan decided he had to have a cape. And if Nolan has one, Ephraim wants one too. They were the CUTEST little superheroes!

On Saturday night, our town was having its annual Fireman's Parade. The boys saw this super tiny 8-week chihuahua puppy. They couldn't believe it was as small as Hammie, and in the photo, Nolan is holding Hammie up to compare.

We counted about 22 red, blue, and yellow firetrucks! And the boys collected a huge pile of candy and bouncy balls.

That night, we headed to the town's fireworks. I haven't let the boys stay up that late in years past, but I thought Nolan would love to see them! We didn't tell them ahead of time what was happening, so N was super excited when the fireworks started. He was so amazed, and kept saying things like, "This is so great!"

Meanwhile, Ephraim was scared of the noise and bright lights, so he and Steve watched them from the car :)

Sunday (Father's Day) marked 25 years since my dad passed away. Every few years this day falls on Father's Day, and therefore I've never been a huge fan of the holiday. I just can't wait to see him again one day.

Steve actually preached at church on the topic of Father's Day. He did a really nice job! We spent the afternoon with his parents, and then we went to a friend's going-away party/potluck, which was a lot of fun (despite the fact they are moving). :)

On Tuesday night, some of my MOPS friends and I had dinner on a fancy parlor train car. Dessert was creme brulee, and it was delicious!

We switched Ivy's food in May, and she also swallowed a baby wipe, so she's been having stomach trouble for a month. She was so lethargic that I took her to the vet a few days ago, and the vet really didn't know what to do with her. Luckily, she seems to be doing much better the past couple of days, and we hope she proves to be resilient once again!