Hiking in fairy dust...

Went to Bull Run Conservancy this afternoon, it was a gorgeous sunny fall day and everything on the trail seemed to be sparkling, the rocks there add a shimmer to the soils as well as the adjacent foliage.

 Sparkly tree trunks...

 H enjoyed finding the pumpkins, they were marking the trail for a "Safari" night hike this weekend and next with non-scary folks in creature costumes informing the kids about local wildlife.

 This would be a lovely and enormous coat rack, if only grandpa could snag it for us...

 An example of the local rocks, and the reason why everything sparkles there...

 Family portrait in shadows...

Lots of birds were out hunting on the cliffs, managed a close shot of this one, which looked much closer in person...

Fires and tie-dye...

Daddy took H to a local Fire Department open house this morning, looked like she had fun...

 A little train ride they did in the parking lot...

 A cooking safety demo...

H at the wheel of the emergency vehicle...

Then afterwards she modeled the shirt and leggings she helped us tie-dye yesterday morning with a few friends...

 Pre-wash...

 Modeling...

Picking berries in the yard after park outing, while Daddy mowed...

Loudon Heritage Farm Museum

Busy week, we had a lot going on each day but Thursday morning's trip to the Loudon Heritage Farm Museum was where we took the most pictures, a fun place to visit and they even gave us a break on admission as a large group was coming in shortly after our arrival.  It was still a lot of fun for the kids, lots of hands on activities, small space but plenty to do for an hour or two for the walkers through preschool I think...

 Milking a cow, water actually sprays out!

 Tending to the chickens and collecting eggs (non-breakable)...

 Riding horses, with a hobby horsie in hand of course...

 Shopping at the general store, they have lots of plastic items to place in your basket, and shopping lists to use to check off your order...

 Puppet show, sheep takes a drink...

 A horse gets a drink too..

 After the large group came in at the museum we dashed over to the Dulles Town Center to catch Rocknocerous there (toddler rock band, songs about hand washing, good manners, etc.)...

 Riding the mall train after attentions spans waned at the concert...

Play time ended at the mall play area, airport themed at Dulles.

Columbus Day Weekend Up North...

Short jaunt up north this weekend to see family, not many pictures snapped but it was a busy weekend and it was good to see folks.  Here are a couple pics we managed...

 The pumpkin patch (Saturday)...

 A friend of grandpa's let H ride up front with him right next to King and Spike (the horses) to the patch and back...

 Hayride stop (Sunday), to see the cows...

 Gleaning the fields for more cow treats...

Grandma and H hug on the hayride...

A feast put on by C's Crew at the Ronald McDonald House of Western Michigan yesterday, the family up north has been doing these in honor of C for a couple of months now and we were fortunate to be up to help out for one, though I ended up burning the rice somehow (thank goodness for fast Chinese take out and helpful volunteers to pick up, dinner was still served on time)...

Clemyjontri...

We've been sick this week but today we were both feeling a bit better so we spent a couple hours at Clemyjontri as H has been requesting the dolphin.  Many more kids out today given the fantastic weather so fewer shots snapped, but here is one I managed:

After that we came home to make breakfast for dinner and H helped me make these with cookie cutters:

Pumpkins...

Today felt like Fall, cool and rainy and a perfect day to do an inside activity, so Daddy and H carved a pumpkin that was gifted to us during our trip to Maine last weekend.  We used the seeds as well, and those warm and toasty spiced seeds along with tomato soup and grilled cheese sammies for dipping made for a tasty cool day dinner reminiscent of our childhood rainy day comfort meals.

Stafford Park et al...

This has been a busy week, a whirlwind trip to Maine lasting just over one full day, the round trip drive time was approximate to the time spent there, but it was lovely to see the picturesque landscape and we met some wonderful people up there who welcomed us with great kindness.  It seems that something up there causes H's allergies to flare up nearly upon arrival, by the time we arrived back home she was doing better and by the next morning all traces of reaction had disappeared.  It was good fun anyway.  There was an outing to Frying Pan with friends, I helped out one day at H's preschool and met many fine young people there and enjoyed myself quite a bit more than I expected to, and after all the rain we've had we managed yet another muddy park outing requiring H to be stripped down to the bare essentials for the car ride home (thank goodness for unseasonably warm weather, I need to start packing more changes of clothes and wipes).

But out of all this I only managed to get pictures of this earlier today, an outing to Stafford Park, a last minute decision after traffic was looking bad on our way to Clemyjontri.  We met a few new friends here who we hope to see again soon.

This was followed by an impromptu "soccer" game, lots of play with a very well mannered dog named Steve who can go down slides in laps and is content to sit in the small kid's swing and be gently pushed, and a good bit of wet fun mastering the art of using a drinking fountain.