Happy October! Probably...well, among my top three favorite months. We fit in a whole lot of fun before naptime today!
We started off at Price House Nature Center, home to so many of our Saturday morning memories in Blacksburg.
Said "Good morning" to the turtles...
Wished the bees luck as the hunker down for winter...
And got going with Miles' new favorite Price House activity, animal tracks in the sand:
You can make them with ink too, but Miles prefers the tactile experience of the sand:
They've got about 10 different animal paw molds that you can use to make tracks. Just one more simple and brilliant activity at Price House. I am such a fan of that place.
Next, we were off to the Montgomery-Floyd Public Library Fall Festival! Appropriately, it was completely free!
The events were at a branch about 25 minutes' drive from Blacksburg, so we might not have heard about it if I weren't fortunate to have the head childrens' librarian for a friend. Thank you, Sarah!
First stop: festive face painting. Miles requested to be made into a puppy dog, and he astonished us both with how still he sat getting it done...
Didn't phase him. Maybe he's ready to get his hair cut outside the house after all...
Almost done...
Plus whiskers, and a passable puppy dog. He was pleased as punch, anyway.
Next: to the hayride! I was sure it was going to be a tractor deal, and was pleasantly surprised by the real equine deal.
Thrilling! We even went off roads a bit and he trotted the horses so that we really felt like authentic hayriders. Whatever those are :-)
Next, the part I'd been promising especially all week: pettable goats!
Here is Mom Pygmy Goat:
Below are her three-week-old babies! It was very educational; they were nursing babies.
I wanted to snatch one. They were super adorable.
Bonus: a cage of chickens (non-pettable) nearby...
We played several games. Miles tended to play a modified version:
He's not much of a thrower, but he was a very successful reach-er!
At another game, we won this pumpkin. He adores it; it's in his room "watching him sleep" as I type.
We all enjoy all the free bluegrass concerts we've been running into down here.
They actually played "Man of Constant Sorrow," as well as "Let the Circle be Unbroken." It was so fun!
Miles perfects his jig.
How could this be more fun?
I have two maternity sweaters. I'm kind of hoping I won't need more, but I might be kidding myself. We're not in Maryland anymore!
Among the attractions were a real, live fire truck and ambulance. As a child, I would not have bestowed a second look at either.
I have a boy, all right. He and Papa enjoyed themselves getting a tour while I went to get some *free pie.*
!!
And, okay, we had to take one more hayride. I sat this one out to chat with our friends, but I got a couple of shots:
One of my favorite moments was when this guy was on his cell phone and also driving the team. I heard him say, "No, I've gotta go. I'm giving a hay ride." How often do you get to say that on your cell phone?
Two happy guys.
Thank you for (mostly) holding off, rain! What a great kickoff to October! Too bad the Hokies game isn't going as well as this morning's activities.
Ben loves to have various objects watch him sleep. Whatever his latest acquisition is usually has to spend a couple nights on the bookshelf next to his crib, regardless of what it is.
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