Where did the year go? Oh, here is the rest of March!

So, I took a few minutes to look through the blogs that I follow and learned a valuable lesson: recording something a few months late is better than recording nothing at all. Of course, this year has been an emotionally rough one and when my emotions are raw I tend to withdraw.  I am starting to heal from the loss of Dad and have survived a few major events without him. So, I'll spend the next few posts filling in the blanks from 2015.

In March, the girls from the family made a trip to Marble Falls Sweet Berry Farm. We picked strawberries, the girls played on the giant trampoline, ate ice cream, and enjoyed the beautiful Texas weather.

It was one of our first outings with Jamie and her twins. They quickly wormed their way into our hearts.

The berries weren't as flavorful this year as they have been in the past; not really tasty enough to just eat. But, Leslie helped me make several pints of strawberry jam. We used the Pioneer Woman's recipe for strawberry jam and one I found on the internet for Strawberry-Jalapeno Jam. It was really good!

I know it is much easier to run to the store and pick up a package of strawberries that have been mass produced; and, it is probably less expensive to buy processed jams and jellies. However, I will always remember picking strawberries from my Granny Alice's garden and helping Mom "put them up" in the freezer or make jelly. Luckily, Leslie and I are of the same mind set and want to create the same type of memories for the grands.  So what if the berry patch is an hour away and it's a little more expensive?!?  Making memories is worth it! And, for some reason picking berries with these cuties is a whole lot of fun!