opening day of strawberry season + 8 hours =

27 jars of strawberry jam, 3 strawberry pies, and a tradition that continues to live on!

I {heart} May! Here is the only math equation I know. May = Strawberry season!

Today was the first day the fields opened up for us to go picking. We were down there first thing to see what this year's crop looks like.



After checking out which row would be the best, Mamaw gave the boys a quick tutorial on "how to pick strawberries". {Pick the red ones, not the green ones}




It only took a few minutes for Preston to realize that he can eat them right off of the plant. {and that they are very yummy, too!}



This was Paisley's first year picking strawberries. She was very festive in her strawberry pants Aunt Emily got her for Christmas for this very occasion!


It was such a beautiful day today. The wind was blowing a little bit, but that gave us a little bit of a breeze so it wasn't so hot.

We always joke about the farmers having to weigh us before we go into the field and then weigh us again before we leave. :) Having all the strawberries there is just way too tempting!



Row after row of strawberries. How beautiful, right? This is probably one of my favorite things to do--ever! I love to go picking. You should try it, you would like it too!




I don't know if my boys {and Paisley} realize it yet, but they are pretty lucky to have so many grandparents, and to live so close to some of them. Their Papaw sure does love them!

Parker and Preston begged and begged to ride on this tractor. Well, they weren't able to ride on it, but they were able to stand by it. {doesn't that count?}



After paying for our 28 lbs of strawberries, we headed home to wash them up and get ready to make some strawberry jam.


It took all afternoon but...................



We canned 27 jars of strawberry jam for my food storage.

And, the best part is this:



{the jam that never made it into the jar that is still warm and you spread it on a piece of buttered toast. yummo!}

Well, I am exhausted. It has been such a long, fun, day!

Oh, and about the pies? We ran out of time, but my mother-in-law will be finishing them up tonight, and we will be enjoying them tomorrow! :)