We had a completely awesome first week of school. I instituted a new schedule that has revolutionized our lives. That may sound dramatic but I consider it no small feat that everything somehow got done: the kids were educated, the house stayed clean (perhaps the biggest miracle of the week!), everyone had outside playtime, I managed to get workouts in, laundry got done, and the whole family was fed three healthy meals a day. Checklists, stamps, stickers, and a new family bulletin board were all enlisted to make this happen. I told the girls if they got ALL of their work done for the week, then we would celebrate ‘Fun Friday’ by going berry picking. It turns out stamps, stickers, and reward activities motivate my children well!

So today we found ourselves on the way to Western Mountain Berry Patch. Last year we missed our window for berry picking by only learning about it a week before the season ended. This year, I wanted to head out there early. And early it was! We arrived only to find that I had been misinformed as to the date they opened. The owner explained that they don’t open for the season until next week. My heart sank. I was having flashbacks to our apple picking misadventures from last fall. Thankfully, just as the apple farm in Santaquin was exceedingly kind to us, the owner of the raspberry farm told us we could go ahead and pick anyway and she didn’t even charge us for it! The local farmers in Utah are so incredibly friendly.

The harvest may not have been as bountiful as if we were to go in a few weeks, but we had the whole place to ourselves and had a great time picking through the field: Of course, snacking as you go is half (most?) of the fun of berry picking:On the drive home I realized that all I really wanted was a bowl of those freshly picked berries with a little cream. It is truly one of life’s simplest pleasures.

When I was in college I dated a guy whose family had a cabin on a lake in Saskatchewan. (If by some small chance you’re reading this, I’d like you to know I’ve always felt you deserve no small props for staying with me through the WORST haircut of my life and some seriously questionable wardrobe choices.) Anyhow, I remember watching his grandfather take a bowlful of local berries, pour heavy cream over of them, pick up his spoon and dig right in. I soon had my own bowl in front of me. It was the first time I ever tried berries and cream. Not whipped cream, just straight up cream, and it was heavenly.

Today I added a touch of raw honey and a splash of vanilla. I should have taken a picture of Lilly as I photographed the final product because she stood there, inches away from the berries and cream, spoon in hand, patiently anticipating her chance to tuck in to this treat:Vanilla Honey Cream

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp raw honey
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a bowl. Using a hand mixer or wire wisk, mix until the raw honey is incorporated into the cream. Don’t mix too much or you will end up with whipped cream!

Pour couple of tablespoons of Vanilla Honey Cream over a cup of fresh berries and grab a spoon! 🙂

I originally thought I would make a berry crisp or raspberry coulis, but now I’m quite confident we’ll just be eating these berries by the bowlful!Or, you could always go another direction and just drown the berries in the cream! Lilly has already asked if she can have this for breakfast tomorrow.