The Rest of the Fests

We took in lots of fall festivals this year- some that were pretty awesome and some that were duds, but thankfully the girls seemed to enjoy them all.  For the most part :)

On a rainy October Saturday, we decided to get the girls out and take advantage of a "Kid's Festival" out in Fairfax.  After a longer than expected car ride, we finally arrived to misty, bone-chilling air that all but closed the carnival type rides.  Other than taking in some cute stations that encouraged healthy eating with games and photo ops, plus a build-your-own scarecrow station, we didn't waste much time before heading to the indoor exhibition area.  There were more stations in the comfortable indoor space, including balloon animals (Maelee got a bunny, Lilee got a fish on a pole), and a karate demonstration where Maelee got to break a board with her hand!

Too bad I didn't get a pic of the scarecrow... 

Let's just say it could scare a lot more than crows!

Hi-ya!

This festival of sorts wasn't exactly a highlight of the season but still something fun to do on a Saturday morning.  A couple Saturdays later, we went down to Cox Farm in Centreville which was definitely a highlight! 

Lilee wasn't up for the photo-op...

But Maelee was willing!

Both of them are ready for close-ups now!

A hilarious but very informative musical act featuring Betsy the cow!

The main feature at Cox Farm's fall festival are their rides and slides!

And the super fun hay ride!

This hay ride pulls out all the stops- characters, actors, 

various big scenes throughout the 15 min ride...  It was great!

This one just cracks me up.

I love how this one captures Lilee's adoration for her big sister :)

Finishing off the day with some beautiful, hand-picked, little pumpkins!

The last Sunday of the month, we spent about an hour at a little carnival at a nearby church where the girls LOVED the different bounce houses and Lilee was adorable on a miniature carousel ride.  

Finally, Maelee's class was supposed to go to a farm in MD (in Waldorf, of all places!) during the last week of October but heavy predicted rain postponed it a week.  So, this last pic is actually from the beginning of November, but since it's from a farm's fall festival, I went ahead and included it.  We're told it was a pretty awesome time where the kids got to see lots of animals, including a cow that loved to eat pumpkins!

That should just about sum up October! A full fall, that's for sure...  November has definitely been less eventful- a nice pause before the Christmas busyness! :)  Pics from this month to come soon.

The BEST of the Fests with Family & Fifer's in DE!

One of our favorite fall traditions has become our annual trip to Delaware to not only visit our awesome extended family but also to enjoy the Fifer Farm Fall Fest.  We were able to do this during the 2nd weekend of October, and thanks to my gracious parents, Steve and I were able to make that quick one day trip up to NYC that Sunday, too, while the girls got to hang out with two of their favorite people for the day.  Our Friday evening drive over was probably the craziest drive to DE we've ever experienced with a huge thunderstorm and stop and go traffic the majority of the trip so we were relieved to finally get in later that night! All that to say, it was a bit of a blur of a weekend, but contained lots of sweet moments and memories.

We headed to Fifer's on Saturday morning and the girls loved the animals, games, and rides like always.  Lilee was definitely ready for her nap before too long but Maelee enjoyed every last bit!  She's been showing her brave side more and more as was evident in her big "jumps" at the end of the afternoon!  The fun continued later that evening with a big get together at my Uncle Tom & Aunt Viv's place with cousin Sam and his family plus Too-Dad & Mary Catherine and my folks.  Maelee went over early to help decorate cupcakes and it was a blast to be with everyone. The night ended with some very loud, bell-ringing, hall-running revelry for the kids :)

Onto the pics of a big, fun Saturday!

 Lilee was not having it with our requests for a sweet pose in front of the pumpkin and corn stalk.  Bless her heart, she was finally ready to go stand by her sister then she got knocked down by an eager toddler running towards her.  That pretty much derailed that, ha!

 Thankfully, the good ole pumpkin barrel rides cheered her back up!

 Maelee loved our final hour there, going through the bouncy houses over and over again and trying out the chord jumps!

 Lilee got some sweet TD time in his chair :)

 Look out!

They were an adorable (if not terrifying!) sight on that tractor, over in Tom & Viv's yard!

 I love their expressions :)

 Yum!  Lilee apparently approves of big sis's cupcake skills!

 The revelry :)

 

Patiently waiting for the ride back with Nana & Pop-Pop:)

What a great time.  We took in a lot of fall festivals this year, but Fifer's continues to be our favorite.  Hmm... maybe the people have a little something to do with with?  The fall festival really is one of the best, but boy, do we feel awfully blessed to be able to enjoy our DE family while we're up there, too. 

Slideshow of our DE fun: