Chesterfield Pumpkin Patch

Saturday, October 10th, the whole family, along with our extended Ashmore family, took the kids to their first trip to a pumpkin patch. They had a great time seeing many different kinds of animals, I think Eliza's favorite was the rabbits, got to eat yummy food, and take a hay ride! The hay ride was a covered wagon pulled by a tractor that took us out to an impressive pumpkin patch where we picked out a small pumpkin for each of the babies. We ended our visit with pumpkin milkshakes and a fun wine tasting. We are excited about many future returns. I'm sure each year will be more fun than the last.

The Waterford Fair

On October 4th, Eliza and I attended the Waterford Fair, in Waterford Virginia,

with our good friends the Ashmore's. Waterford is a beautiful 18th century town with

beautiful original buildings. The people living there open up the town, and some

their homes, once a year during the fall. There were hundreds of local artists selling

and demonstrating their craft, live music, great food, and home made goodies.

I think our favorite part was the home made apple butter. A great time was had by all,

we can't wait to return next year. What great family tradition.

Disney On Ice

Last Wednesday we saw the Disney On Ice Celebration at the Hampton Coliseum. It celebrated several holidays, including Halloween, Christmas, and Valentines day, and included all the major Disney characters. Eliza was really mesmerized by it all. Pointing at the ice, jumping up and down, and even enjoyed people watching. All three of us had a blast. This will definitely be a repeat family event!

Children's Day at Jamestown

Saturday, the 12th, we attended Children's Day at the Jamestown Settlement. David was hired to play at the event. He worked part of the time as a strolling minstrel, and then a concert on the main stage. We all had a great time, and the children loved hearing David talk about and play 17th century music.

A Day at the Zoo

Saturday we took a trip to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. It was a small zoo, but still very enjoyable. It was Eliza's first visit and although she didn't get much out of seeing the larger animals, who were out in a larger open area, she really loved the monkey house and getting to feed the goats.

She was hysterical when the goats ate from her hand, and even tried taking a taste of the pellets herself. However I think her favorite animal was a tiny monkey in the monkey house. He sat right up against the glass looking at Eliza as she tried to pet him over and over!

We also discovered that she LOVES water! We let her splash around in the fountain in the front and her reaction made the holiday traffic we suffered worth it.

To The German Restaurant

Yesterday we attended a pre Oktoberfest celebration at our local German resturant. There was live oompah music, lots of great food, and quite a few people came dressed up in their lederhosen and dirndls, including David and Eliza. They were so cute together. Eliza was the center of attention in her dirndl, which we bought in Oberammergau on our trip to Germany this past Easter. She enjoyed the music while we enjoyed good beer and home made German food.

Silly Girl

Eliza was laughing her head off last night which reminded me of this video I took when she was 6 months old. I never get tired of watching it.