Strawberry time...

 It's always best to pick strawberries with friends!

 Yummy!

 NO, that is NOT blood, but strawberry juice and I haven't the faintest idea how it got on her cheek.

 Strawberry picking wears little ones out.

 Ready for jam!

 I love babies....babies are for kissing!

5 baskets picked.  Each weighed right at 7 1/2 lbs.  Took about 1/2 hour to cut up 1 basket and de hull them ...is that a word?  The word is actually hulling the strawberries.  You hull them, you are hulling them.  They have been hulled.   I finished 3 of the 5 baskets.  They are bagged and in the fridge along with the NO hulled ones.  We will decide how many we will "flash freeze" and be bagged for smoothies and how many will be given to friends and then do what we need with them in the next 24 hours before they begin to go bad.  I seldom ever freeze before making jam.  I just simply make the jam.  This will be the first time with a day in between picking and beginning the jammin' process.  5 kids will slow you down, although I had 5 kids last year when I did it.  In fact, the day we picked was the day CPS brought us Mighty K.  I used the 24 hour honeymoon period to get those strawberries in those jars.  It worked and then it got wild!  Mighty K was a force to recon with.  A joyful force, but a force none the less.  All 35 lbs, 4T wearing 17 month old.  What a joy that BIG boy was.  We still miss him so.

Well, I truly planned on recording what we did and how we did it and how much, but alas....I just made jam and this time with a friend and her little ones.  We did make tons of jam and this time made smaller ones as well.  I actually had to buy some jars....shock....I usually always get them from garage sales or freecycle.  This time I had to buy some.  Oops.  I always buy new sealing tops, although some of my old ones sealed so I just used them.  All went well.  Rebekah and I also made jam out of blackberries she had frozen.  They were yummy too.

I simply use the recipe on the box of Sure-gel and then double checked with Pioneer Woman (same thing).  If you want to see some REAL pictures then head over there.

Our strawberries come from McPeaks in Pittsburg, about 45 minutes away.  They were $1.85 a pound to pick your own.  We do it every year!  Now the fun part begins....giving it away!