Pumpkins

About a month ago we went to the pumpkin patch with some friends to take a hayride, pick our future jack-o-lanterns and visit the farm animals.  It was the perfect autumn day!

Later, the guys scooped the guts and carve the pumpkins.  

 

 The finished products

 Sean's lit up

Apple Picking

Max and I went apple picking at Carter's Mountain Orchard one morning after dropping Sean off at his Living Earth School nature program.  We had high hopes for picking lots of apples. Unfortunately, the trees were picked (almost) bare.  After a long walk up the hill (you can see from the pictures that we're on top of a mountain) and a long walk through rows of bare trees we found a tree with 4 good apples on it.  I picked them and Max immediately enjoyed a fresh picked apple.  He carried that apple all the way down the hill and back to the car, taking bites out of it along the way.  One of the great things about toddlers is that they are thrilled by the smallest things- so to him this trip was a huge success.  (We went to pick apples and we got 4!).  And I enjoyed the beautiful view on a beautiful autumn day and Max's cheerful company.

Meet Zeezee

I have wanted to make a simple doll for years.  The boys were out of that stage when I first felt motivated to do it. So I was excited when I remembered that I have another little one in the house who might be ready to enjoy a soft friend.  I looked at Waldorf dolls for inspiration and decided to try something very simple - easy to make, easy to cuddle, easy to love.  I modified the patterns I found just a bit (I have never be one to follow patterns!) and was so delighted with how this little guy turned out.  Jack helped Max pick out a name- Zeezee.  And I was thrilled with Max's immediate affection towards Zeezee.  Zeezee must be present with us at storytime and is a constant bedtime companion.  He also gets carried around the house for activities, such as the birdwatching below.

Spruce Knob

The last weekend in September we took a short trip to Green Bank to return Becky to her home (that's another story) and have a little visit with her.  We decided to drive up to Spruce Knob to check out the fall colors.  It was a beautiful up there!  Of course, these pictures do not capture the beauty of it all, but they do capture how happy most of us were to be there.  (Jack wasn't crazy about the idea of extending the drive just to go to the top of a mountain, but he seemed to enjoy his time while he was there.)

Max and Nanny sharing grapes.

 

My guys!

 

There were these neat moss covered rocks in places that looked like they would house gnomes and fairies.

 

Brothers

 

Sean loved these mossy spots and wanted his picture taken in one of  them.  He was totally in his element up on the mountain!

Mystery Pictures

These pictures mysteriously appeared on the camera on Saturday afternoon.  I really like them!  The secret photographer gave himself away in the end, though, with the self-portrait. 

Edward, The Monarch

One late summer day the boys and I went to Mountain View Park for a monarch caterpillar search mission.  Honestly, the boys weren't into the search at all, but they did seem slightly interested in the baby caterpillar I found.  We brought him (?) home and I fed him milkweed leaves.  I worried that he'd run out of fresh leaves, so I took him with us on our beach trip.  I named him Edward.  The day we drove home from the beach he turned into a chrysalis.  It happened right next to me, but I missed it because I didn't think to look. Bummer!  2 weeks later, though, we watched the chrysalis change color and then, just a bit later, we saw Edward's new state- a beautiful butterfly.  Such a cool process to watch!  Here are pictures of his release back into the wild. 

An Afternoon at the Park

Chris took the boys, Becky and Gracie to Hillandale Park on afternoon to enjoy the nice weather and throw balls around.  I stayed home and cleaned out a moldy refrigerator (not much fun!).  It looks like they had a nice time!

End of Summer Beach trip

We spent the first week of September at Virginia Beach, in the same hotel where we stayed at the beginning of summer, back in May.  We enjoyed the activity around our oceanfront hotel, but also liked getting away to First Landing State Park, which is just inside the edge of the Chesapeake Bay.  There we were able to get into the water, since the waves were much calmer, and we had a more natural setting with lots of birds and horseshoe crabs (although the crabs we saw were already dead).

A plus for Sean and Jack was that their friend, Alex, came to the beach with his family at the end of our stay.  His hotel was a mile away and they enjoyed checking each others' hotels out and walking the boardwalk in between.  

 

Sean, Jack and Alex are the trio walking on the boardwalk here. 

Jack's Hunger Games Birthday Party

Friends of Jack gathered on a Sunday afternoon to celebrate his birthday and have a Hunger Games battle.  They spread out with Nerf weapons and battled until one person was left.  They all seemed to enjoy themselves and were able to fit in about 4 battles before the time was up.  Here are some pictures from the event: 

Alex and Sean were the first official winners.  They were the only 2 left and Sean agreed to die so that they could share the candy.  Here they pose for the camera.