Strawberry Jam and how to bond your family

Last week I packed up my family, teenagers included, and drove to the strawberry farm. I didn't ask. I required. And strangely, they all happily agreed to come along. Almost, dare I say, excitedly? {gulp}

We traveled up and down the rows on the hunt for perfect berries. And we were rewarded! It was hot. It was hard work. It was so much fun!

They worked hard and we ended up with 13 pounds of strawberries!! And even 5 pounds of cherries (they got distracted!), and apparently picking cherries is EASIER then bending over for strawberries!

Yes I made them pose in the strawberry sign. My man-child was happy to point out there were only 3 face spots, and he wouldn't fit!

And then there was this little fellow, we named him bacon, I couldn't resist adding him to the post...bear with me!

Two hot and sweaty hours later, I rewarded them with slurpees, a cheap favorite summertime treat! They were happy!

Now the time came to actually make the jam. With efficiency in mind, I assumed I would just "get the job done". But then the mom in me decided it might be worth the effort to involved them in the process. A bit of team work. I cringed a tad at the thought. The mess. The arguing. You know how it can be with kids right?

But the teaching mom in me won. So I gave them jobs. Tahlia jar duty. Isabel and Anneke hull and cut. Noah mash. And strangely enough. It worked!

Was it a seamless family endeavor? No hardly. Did we accomplish something greater than jam? Yes, I think so. Is the jam amazing? Well duh!

Sometimes it is worth the effort to make a memory, to create a sense of "look what we did", a feeling of teamwork. I think, at the very least, that happened.

What do you do as a family to bond together? What's your favorite activity?

BE creative!

~ lisa