Belvedere Pumpkin Patch

Monday, we were a man down again, because C had caught P's strep throat! We took him to the urgent care center Monday morning, and Daddy A stayed home with him all day so that the rest of us - including P - could go to the pumpkin patch.

As we entered the gate, my mom noticed this sign that was posted on the wall.


I took a picture to show Daddy A after our disagreement about barn safety in this post. Technically I guess it actually works in his favor, since it admits that farms are not always safe, but I've already posted it now. Oh well.

Before we headed out to pick pumpkins, P took a "pretend" ride with a "skeercrow." A scarecrow that he kindly reassured me was "a nice one - he's not skeery".


This wagon ride out was the beginning of P's day long love affair with hay. (He may, in fact, still love hay - I'm not sure because he hasn't really been exposed to any since our trip to the pumpkin patch last Monday.) Grandma Paige showed him how to chew a piece of hay.


He sat on the hay. He talked about the hay.


When we got off the wagon and headed into the patch to pick our pumpkins, P chose one for himself and one for his brother early on, and wanted to spend the rest of our time in the field "lookin' at the broken ones" (pumpkins, that is). He was fascinated with pumpkin seeds and insides and all of that gooey stuff.

Tiff and John found a pumpkin, too.


Then my camera battery died, so you'll have to take my word on the rest of the day, sans visual proof. I'll hit some of the highlights:

Grandma Paige chose two pumpkins. John held all five pumpkins long enough to get the "all-you-can-carry" special. P rode the barrel train, pulled by a tractor, in the first seat, right behind the tractor. Twice. He got very dusty. P jumped on the "jumping pillow" (which is similar to, but not exactly like, a bouncy house with no sides or roof). P got a ghost painted on his left cheek. They used actual face paint, so it washed off easily.

We went to the hay barn. P enjoyed the hay but just wanted to repeatedly fall over and lay in it - he had no use for the rope swings and such. We left the hay barn and P played on a tube slide and pile of hay in the field. As you might suspect, he was more interested in climbing around on the hay than going down the slide, which was fine. P played in a giant sandbox (and by sand box, I mean gravel box), for about an hour. He rode two tire swings, one shaped like a horse and one shaped like a bull. We went home to rest.

It was a special day for P, and I'm glad he had the time with his extended family, although I hope next year our whole family hits the pumpkin patch!

Wordless Wednesday (on a Friday): a boy and his balloons

fun in the sun

When we returned from the apple festival, we all spent some time outside. The boys did some of their usual - the roller coaster and riding in "the red car" - but we added some new things to the mix.

The biggest change, of course, was the addition of Tucker. P wanted to "carry" him, but settled for attempting to walk him.


Both boys created art with some sidewalk chalk.


C also spent some time with Tucker. He really liked having a small dog to play with, and since we have been home he's asked for him several times.


Aunt Tiffany found a new photo for her Facebook profile...


...and she, John, and Tuck posed for another family photo.


The boys were more than willing to take Tuck along for a ride in their car.


I haven't figured out yet whether the boys are such good mechanics that they keep the car in top condition, the car itself just isn't in good condition, or they aren't very good mechanics, but they do spend a disproportionate amount of time "fixin' the engine".


No one held still for long, so I guess our time outside was a success!

Graves Mountain

Sunday P was feeling much better, so we all headed to the apple festival at Graves Mountain. Right after lunch, we stopped to say hello to a pig.


There was a ladder leading up to a hay loft in the barn above the pig. P wanted to go up, and I obliged.


Once we were up, there was a rope swing in the back corner, some piles of hay, and a floor with holes. I made P stay very close to me, and fortunately once he had made his way over to the rope swing, he decided he didn't want to take a ride. He did want to sit on some hay so I could take his picture.


Then Daddy A came up to find us. He was markedly unimpressed with the condition of the loft. We came down, but to save face I may have acted like a barn with holes in the floor is totally safe for a small child. Even if it, ahem, isn't.

And we moved on to the goats.


On our way to the pick-your-own apples, we saw a vintage fire truck. The boys climbed around and turned knobs and what have you and had a great time.


I think they thought we were there to pick pumpkins, but we clarified.


P used knowledge he gathered on his field trip to explain how to properly pick apples. John looked for a good one to pick.


We had some trouble finding fresh apples, but Tiffany and John did pose in the orchard.


It may have been an apple festival, but the fire truck was the highlight of the boys' day!

Snead's farm

While we were in Fredericksburg, P and C both got strep throat! Well, to be fair, I should say we brought strep throat, because P started running a fever when we only a couple of hours away from my parents' house. We were able to take him to an urgent care center and get him some antibiotics, but he wasn't able to go to Snead's farm and feed the chickens this year. It did work out that each boy got a turn to do something special with his grandparents, but P's turn came Monday. On Saturday, C got his turn. Aunt Tiffany and John, Grandma Paige, and Poppa Fred took him to Snead's farm.

Tiffany and John posed for a pic with my new nephew, Tucker. Isn't he cute?


Then, Tucker just climbed up onto these pumpkins all by himself, and it made an adorable photo! Or, well, maybe someone put him up there. I'm not sure, because I wasn't there... but either way it makes an adorable photo!

C was in awe of the pumpkins surrounding him.

I don't think he quite knew what to do.

The tractors are always a hit with P, and this year C was big enough to follow in his brother's footsteps. It looks like he really enjoys the pedal tractors, too!

I'm not surprised that C enjoyed feeding the chickens - he's quite the animal lover.

I think C had a blast - here's hoping next year everyone is well enough to go to Snead's farm!

Arlington, here we come!

When we headed to Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred's house for a family trip last weekend, Daddy A and I also made plans to leave the boys in Fredericksburg Friday night and visit my sister Tiffany's new condo in Arlington. The couple of times I have left the boys overnight has been hard, but I've also had some great times, and this one was no exception.

We walked to a restaurant for some delicious pizza with Tiffany and her fiance, John.


We enjoyed some, ahem, adult beverages and walked around a bit.


We loved seeing Tiffany's new place and meeting her new puppy, Tucker. More on Tucker in future posts!

Family Day at Catawba Meadows Park

Daddy A and I took the boys to something called "Family Day" at a local park this year. There were information booths about lots of services provided to families, and Chick-fil-a and Zaxby's partnered to provide free dinners... until everyone ate or they ran out of food. The latter happened. We ran into our neighbors at the festival, though, and decided to take our boys to Chick-fil-a for dinner, so they were none the wiser.

One of the first booths inside the park was a face painting booth. P asked to be painted like Swiper the Fox. Here's the transformation:







The event was on a Thursday night. Before his bath, P asked us to try and "save" his Swiper, so he could wear it to school the next morning. Most of it faded, but Daddy A tried to oblige. Unfortunately, I discovered Friday morning that the "face painting" booth had actually used poster paint to paint everyone's faces, resulting in a slight, um, bruised look around P's eyes. Fortunately, (1) it was very faint, (2) his teachers understood, and (3) the remnants were gone after Friday night's bath.

After dinner at "cow chikin," our neighbor put a dollop of whipped cream from his milkshake on C's nose. After several minutes, he gave up on getting it off with his tongue and used his fingers to enjoy dessert. Yum!


While the evening didn't turn out as planned, we did end up having a good time!

Apple Hill Orchard

In September, P's class took a field trip to a local apple orchard. I gave P the choice to go with just his class or have Mommy come along, and he chose to have me come with him! Since I know one day (sooner than I would like) he won't want me to tag along, Daddy A rearranged his work schedule to keep C so I could hang out with P.

We beat the school bus by a few minutes, providing us with a photo op...


...and time to stop in the store for a delicious apple doughnut.


Once P's class arrived, we began our tour of the orchard, which included learning about the cider making process


and the bees kept at the orchard.


Everyone enjoyed the apple and cider tasting. (P brought his favorite pink cup along for the trip.)


The boys (P's class is all boys, remember?) all got to pick apples to take home. P - and most of his classmates - took this job very seriously. We ended up with some delicious apples, and they didn't last too long at our house!


Everyone took a hay ride through the orchard before we called it a day. P and I had lots of fun with his classmates, and I am so glad Daddy A was willing and able to keep C.

Speaking of C, Daddy A took him to the park while we were at the orchard, where C had some fun of his own!




Happy fall!