Orange Picking

Today we went to the "Spring Squeeze" at Heritage Park in LaVerne... I think I'm in love! It was the most quaint old orange farm tucked away in the green hills, and the perfect field trip on such a warm spring day.

The tour started off with a tractor ride through the shady orange grove. The smell of oranges was so powerful that you could even smell it over the tractor exhaust!


Of course, we were all in green for St. Patrick's Day! Here's the one and only picture of Sierra for the day:

After the ride, each kid got to pick out their own orange to squeeze.



After washing the orange, they were cut for the kids, then each kid squeezed his/her own orange and poured the juice in their cup.


I hear it was wonderfully sweet... (not that my girls wanted to share it with me!)

This was the cutest part... Next, they took the orange rind and planted a flower in it. Apparently, when the flower is planted in the ground, the rind will feed it, and it should last until fall. Can't wait to try it!

Last, but not least, we were set free to pick our own oranges. We even got to use a tall "picker." For some reason, Natalie was "done" by this point and whining to go home, so I pulled out a lollipop which quickly changed her mood. I'm always amazed by it.. she only takes a few licks, but it gives her an extra hour of contentment!

We spent the next 2 hours having a picnic and playing with friends at the park. If you live in the area, I highly recommend a visit. They have orange picking every Saturday from now until May, I believe. Check out their site here.