Monday, February 18, 2013

The Big Squeeze

My Dad came up with a fun new family tradition.  Each January all of the available family will gather to pick all the oranges and lemons from the trees and have a giant juice squeezing party.  We had our first annual Big Squeeze on a very cold night but we kept warm near the fire pit toasting s’mores and juicing in the garage.  Even before the sun went down it was so cold.  Scott, my Dad, and the boys worked hard picking oranges.  My dad likes to lean the ladder against the tree and climb really high into the tree.  It makes me and my Mom cringe.

In attendance was my little family, my Mom and Dad, and Allen and Courtney, as well as my parents’ back-fence neighbors.

SAM_0390

This also happened to be the day of Scott’s liver biopsy.  He was supposed to take it easy so he stayed off the ladder.

SAM_0391

SAM_0392

SAM_0393

SAM_0394

SAM_0395

SAM_0396

SAM_0397

I have been hot pretty much ever since I found out I was pregnant during the summer.  With record low temperatures, this night was one of the first times I was truly cold!  I don’t know how my dad could stand to have his hands in that cold water as he washed the fruit!

SAM_0398

Boston’s jacket got soaked in cold water and so we had to borrow one from Grandpa.

SAM_0399

All participants got to take home jars of fresh squeezed orange and lemon juice.  That fresh squeezed juice is DIVINE.  You know that commercial where they stick a straw in the orange and “hand” it to you?  That is literally what this juice is like and it is so sweet!  We use the lemon juice for homemade lemonade and it is delightfully sour.

SAM_0400

SAM_0402

SAM_0403

SAM_0404

 

The first annual Big Squeeze was definitely a hit and we are looking forward to next year’s event, though hopefully it is not such a cold night!

No comments: