Clives Fruit Farm in Upton-Upon-Severn

   It's been quite a while since I've posted anything other than Keila's monthly updates. I can't actually remember what topic I was covering last, actually. Was it Palma? In any case, I give up. We have been too busy this summer, what with traveling back to the US, trying to maintain a normal schedule while dealing with a (still) bum leg, you name it. So....I'm going to just skip over whatever topic I was on last and move ahead to....berry picking!!!
 This past Sunday, we overslept thanks to jet lag and didn't make it to church. So, instead we headed to Clives Berry Farm for some pick-your-own (PYO) berries. We were a few days too early for the cherries, but the strawberries were nearly over-ripe, and the raspberries were perfect. Keila had a great time stuffing her face full of strawberries. She apparently doesn't like raspberries quite as much, or else she was full by that point, since she did a better job of putting those into the basket.
 In addition to the PYO plots, Clives also has a really cute farm shop with free range eggs, a butcher's counter (no thanks), and an assortment of home-made/hand-made/local products. There is a small cafe in the shop too. Service at the cafe was rather slow since Clives was crowded (there are signs stating that there will be a wait during peak times, but this was slow even with the warning), and we felt that the cafe staff could've been a bit more polite. One woman was nice; the younger girls...not so much. The rest of the farm shop staff were very friendly and helpful, however.
 Clives is a working farm (I'm not sure what all they do, but there were signs to beware of the tractors), complete with hens, pigs, geese, ducks, and even a peacock. They also have a children's nursery there, which would be great if they weren't a half hour drive from our house.
 I did a quick search online, and apparently Clives is best-known for their apples. I guess we'll be heading back in the fall to see how they are. If they're anywhere near as good as the berries, I will be buying a lot!


         Heading to the strawberry plots at Clives Fruit Farm

Raspberries at Clives Fruit Farm

Peacock!

We were too late for the PYO eggs

Clives Fruit Farm....inside the farm shop

  

Keila is 32 Months Today!

   First off, I just realized that I cannot count. For some reason, the past 2 months, I've posted that Keila has turned 37 and 38 months, respectively. Where did I get that from?
 Anyway, today Keila is 32 months! Really. We've been back in the US visiting Grandma for the past month, and here's what we've been doing.

1. Keila is using complete sentences most of the time now. She also loves to ask WHY? thanks to listening to her cousin say it all the time. I was hoping we'd hold off on the 'whys' for a bit, but no such luck. And yes, responding to one 'why' invariably just leads to another one!

2. Nap time isn't really happening while at Grandma's. I'm hoping we get back on track when we return home in about a week, as Keila still desperately needs them and has been pretty worn out lately.

 3. Keila has been having a blast playing in the sprinkler and the kiddy pool outside on sunny days. She also has a favorite construction hat and binoculars, which she sometimes wears when playing doctor.
 Keila was pretty excited to go see the fireworks for the 4th of July, although in the end she much preferred rolling down a hill at the park where the fireworks were instead of seeing the actual fireworks, declaring them 'too scary'.
 We're also having a bit of a daily battle with her little cousin: he throws things at her and pulls her hair or pinches; Keila retaliates by knocking him over or smacking him. Toddler wars!

 4. Story of the month.....not really a story this month, but Keila did see her first movie in the cinema! We went to see Monsters University a few days ago. Keila easily sat through the entire movie, although a few points did scare her onto my lap. Poor girl had a nightmare that night, too, so perhaps we will hold off on any  more Disney movies for a while.

 5. I haven't weighed Keila or measured her height recently. I'd say that she's at least average still, but maybe we'll stick her on the scale when we are weighing our over-stuffed suitcases later in the week.

  Until August.....