Super-fun-filled day

Juicy nectarines, originally uploaded by MCuthbert.

Today was a super-fun-filled day.

We started off by heading down to Clanton, Alabama, home of the giant peach water tower (or the "butt peach," as Misty calls it) to pick blueberries at Petals from the past. The girls loved picking berries, and we filled up two baskets full (which I guessed was about 6 pints). We were also permitted to eat as many berries as we wanted while we were in the garden, so plenty more went into our mouths.

Next we headed to a farm that offered peach and strawberry picking. After getting turned around a couple times, we finally found the farm's office and learned from the owner that they no longer offer pick-your-own fruits. However, she directed us to another farm a few miles away that had what we were looking for.

We wound up at McCraw's U-Pick, a farm that had peaches and nectarines. We walked through the field filling up our basket, again enjoying eating fresh samples right off the trees as we picked. At one point, Kendall had a nectarine in each hand, juice dripping on her cheeks as munched on both of them in turn.

On the way home, we stopped for a picnic lunch at a rest area. Nothing fancy, but a picnic is always fun.

In the evening, we headed out to Helena for the city's fireworks show -- which they were hosting a day early either to avoid competing with Birmingham's fireworks or to avoid being on a Sunday; I don't know which. Before the show, went to Carmella's Italian Ice Company and got cups of red, white, and blue colored shaved ice. Then we walked down by the waterfall, laid out on a blanket, and waited for the fireworks. It was crowded, but we had a great spot. A boy walked up to us and thrust forth a crawdad that he'd plucked out of the creek, proud of his discovery.

The fireworks were great. The presentation in Helena makes us want to never fight the traffic for Birmingham's fireworks show again. This time even Kendall enjoyed them (she's been scared of the noise in the past).

On our way home, Misty ran into Publix to pick up a couple of pie crusts to make blueberry pie. By the time she returned to the car, the girls were already asleep. Our super-fun-filled day had worn them out.