Life With Our Little Ladies: Cherry Picking & Nagymama's Summer Visit

July is filled with lots of special milestone celebrations this year. Uncle Cory graduated from the Police Academy. Nana turned 90. Ella turned 1. Mama turns 80. Papa turns 60. These special birthdays are in addition to Uncle Tommy and Aunt Alex's regular birthdays at the end of the month. July is packed full of celebrations.

Nagymama came to New York to celebrate some of them. We were thrilled to have her here with us. The girls and I drove down to pick her up one Saturday morning and on our way home we stopped to pick cherries at a friend's orchard. Taking my little girls to the fruit farm with Mama was extra special for me because cherry picking is one of the sweetest memories of my childhood with my grandparents. When I was a little girl, we spent hours in the fruit trees, enjoying the sunshine and fresh fruit, often leaving with more buckets than we had anticipated. Sweet memories.

This was Abby and Ella's first time cherry picking. When we arrived, Abby told us she would help us, but informed us that she did NOT like cherries. By the time, we left her shirt and fingers were stained with cherry juice. As she walked to the car with her stash in her hands, she would pop one in her mouth and say, "Just one more guys!" There's just something about a mountain top and fresh, juicy cherries that can win anyone's heart.

At one point, Ella and I ran to the car to grab my camera. On my way back, I could hear Abby shouting, "Be careful up there, Mama! Please be careful, ok?" I came around the corner to find my three year old shouting to my grandmother (who just happens to turn 80 this week) to be careful because she WAS UP IN THE TREE! Mama couldn't let the good cherries go to waste! I love her! I hope I'm still climbing trees when I'm 80...which probably means I should START climbing anytime now.

Mama was up in the tree. Abby and I were working on the low hanging fruit. Then, suddenly I felt sticky juice dripping down my arm. I looked down to see Ella enjoying her very first cherry. Thankfully, I noticed just in time to get the pit out of her mouth. That girl knows when she sees a good thing and she is even more aware when she thinks it is being withheld from her. If no one was going to give her a cherry, she was going to help herself.

We left the orchard that afternoon with two extra large buckets of cherries, two little cherry loving girls and some sweet memories.

She was up high!

the loot

helping herself to the good stuff

When Nagymama was a little girl, she used to dangle cherry pairs on her ears to make earrings.

Abby trying out her very first pair

gorgeous day

Ella loves any chance she gets to climb up and down the stairs. With Nagymama around for a week, there was an extra person to chase her around. She was a happy girl.

hi mom!

Ella showed us how much she loves spagehetti when we went out to dinner one night. Click the link for video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQKMO3E4Dsk&feature=youtu.be

Mama's visit wouldn't be complete without a tea party. This was Ella's first.

summer nights watching Wheel of Fortune before bed in her pajamas with Nagymama...just like Mommy used to.

Nagymama's hair salon. Abby made her appointment, then sat patiently and had her hair set in curlers. She read a Food Network magazine while she waited.

my girl knows a good read

As if she wasn't a dollface before...:)

She melts my heart.

Ella came down with the Coxsackie virus last week. It started with a high fever for two days straight. Poor baby was exhausted and burning up. As the high fever broke, a full body rash appeared. The virus lasted for about five days.

snuggling Mama

One way to use those cherries is to make strudel! Abby loves every chance she gets to bake, so when Mama started her strudel, Abby ran to get her apron.