Mt. Vernon, October 25, 2014

This time of year is one of my favorites...the time leading up to Halloween (photos to come in another post), which is festive and launches the "Holiday Spirit" of Thanksgiving then Christmas...

One of the most festive weekends (and exhausting!) is the one just before Halloween. We went to Mount Vernon for its Harvest Days festival...and oh, what a difference 2 years makes!

The last time we went, Graham and Julia were 4 years old. Graham donned his Astronaut costume--getting salutes from many retired and active military men and women, and 'ooos and ahhhhs' from others (N. Virginia has many military families, as there's Ft. Myers as well as the Pentagon). Julia had dressed as a fairy that year, and she flitted around in her fairy costume.

 

Fast forward to 2014: The children didn't wear their costumes, and they were more sure-footed when we sat along the wall on the river, soaking up the rays...we roasted apples on a stick, then dipped those apples in honey (yum!), listened to music, and...oh, just look below. It was fun.

 

Julia in front of the horses...we took a short hayride. The horses are Enormous!!

Graham, doing one of the things he loves most: Tucking into small spaces.

Graham gathered snail shells--and oyster shells. Apparently, there was an algae in the water that killed off most of the snails--I believe they are harvested normally. So, there were dead snails along the shore at Mt. Vernon, where you take the boats to Alexandria, and the 'boat keeper' told us that it stunk to high Heaven all summer long ;)

Listening to music...well, over the LOUD sheep that are just beyond the fence behind the musicians...it was funny!

Hoedown! Listening to even more music...