Happy Fall Adventures in VA

If I've said it once, I'll say it again: having lived for 10 years in places that experience all 4 seasons, I could never move back to the Phoenix valley or southern CA.  That is no slight to our loved ones who live there.  But fall....fall is my absolute favorite time of year and those two places just do not do the season justice.  Really.  Virginia, on the other hand, revels in fall glory and it is an amazing and stunning place to live during this time of year.  

We started our fall adventures this year by attending the Graves Mountain Fall Festival in Syria, VA.  This beautiful area nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains is no more than 10 minutes away from White Oak Canyon...one of our favorite hiking destinations.  It was our first and definitely not our last time attending this festival.  There was so much to see and do: an arts and crafts fair, food, a hay maze, tractor rides, petting zoo, Confederate Army reenactors, a Blue Grass band, a pumpkin patch, apple picking, etc.  We had a TON of fun!

The Pedersen Family

Happiness is a pumpkin patch

Hanging with daddy

Chasing the goats

They met...and weren't quite sure of one another

Our little monkey is growing up so fast

Love this picture

Petting the horse

Can you guess what he's looking at?!  If you said "ceiling fan", you would be correct!!!  The child is OBSESSED!!!

Sadly, on our way home from the festival, Dave became terribly ill.  In the middle of the night, I too became terribly ill.  And then we woke to find that Jeffery had joined the ranks of those who were ill in the Pedersen house.  I recall looking at Dave, as I'm about to pass out while bathing a messy Jeffery and Dave's about to pass out while cleaning Jeffery's crib and clothes, and saying "Who is going to take care of Jeffery?  And who is going to take care of us?!"  I called my mommy :) and half-jokingly asked if she could catch the next flight to VA to help nurse our stricken house.  It was a miserable day, only made better by our insanely AWESOME neighbors who went to the grocery store for us to get "sick essentials" like Gatorade and Peaches and Chicken Noodle Soup.  Being that this was a Sunday, we both missed church and spent the day recovering.  It was imperative that I recover quickly; my birthday was that Tuesday and Jeffery and I were leaving for AZ that Thursday.   This was NOT the time to be sick.  :(

Loves his little corners and his shirt from Grandma Jean

By the time we returned to VA from AZ, everyone was happy and healthy once more...just in time to make sure we were prepared for Hurricane Sandy.  We weathered the storm just fine and find it miraculous that we didn't even lose power (normally...with this kind of weather...we do).  Our hearts and prayers are with those in NY and NJ who were not as fortunate.  We spent the night and day of Sandy hanging out with our neighbors, playing in the leaves, and drinking tea while reading books under warm blankets.  

Playing soccer in the leaves before Sandy came

Beautiful fall colors!!!

After Sandy - playing with daddy

Helping Daddy rake the leaves

Wanting to jump in the leaves

Such a little boy!

Every year, Dave and I have hosted an Oktoberfest at our house.  And every year, our neighbors, Kate and Adam, have said that they want to join us the next time.  So this year...we had a Novemberfest (because no one's schedules allowed for an "Oktoberfest") and invited Kate and Adam.  We had SO much fun.  Dave made German Potato Salad (YUM), sauerkraut, red cabbage with apples, knackwurst and bratwurst.  Adam brought oodles of yummy German beer and Kate brought Pearl's cupcakes (only the best EVER!) for dessert!  We ate till we were stuffed, took a lovely walk through the neighborhood together, the boys smoked their pipes, we had the season's first fire, and after Jeffery went to bed, the adults played board games.  7 hours after they came over :)...we called it a day.  It was a blast!

Prost!

My birthday was in October.  It came and went rather unceremoniously.  Well, that's not entirely true.  We woke to find that while Dave and I were on the mend after our weekend's bout of illness....Jeffery wasn't.  Lovely thing to wake up to on your birthday. {said in sarcastic tones} But the day wasn't a complete loss and I was sung to by: my Aunt Weezie (as is tradition...her phone call is the first of the day), my parents, my sister, David, our beloved friends Jason and Barbara, and the singers in JRS.  But all celebrations had to be delayed due to illness and then my trip to AZ for a week and then Hurricane Sandy.  But...it was celebrated today...and boy howdy!!!!  :)

About a year ago, I mentioned to Dave that I would love to have horseback riding lessons.  We talked about it a little bit but then the topic was dropped and I haven't really thought much about it since....except that I would still love to do this.  Well, that is what Dave got me for my birthday.  A horseback riding lesson!!!!!  I was so excited!  And after having to cancel our original appointment because of our illness a couple weeks ago, he scheduled one for this morning!  So, the whole family traveled out to New Kent and while I hopped on a horse and took off for an hour, David watched Jeffery and walked all over the former plantation where the stables are.

Me and Snatch

Me and Milo...my horse for the morning

Jeffery and Orangey...immediate friends

And we're off.....

That white stuff....that is cotton!  It was gorgeous...and they were harvesting it today!

My independent little monkey

Feeling the sticky and prickly cotton

The cotton harvester....basically vacuums the cotton up

It got cold so it was time for the monkey hat and the sweatshirt from Grandpa Jeff

I had an unbelievable time.  The plantation and land was originally owned by President John Tyler's first wife.  In fact, he and his wife were married in the house that still sits on the land.  It was absolutely beautiful country and I cannot believe how lucky I was to have such an amazing morning!!  It was a GREAT birthday gift!  Thank you Dave!!!!!!

Things to look forward to now include: the Nor'Easter that is supposed to hit tomorrow (oh goodie), the James River Singers Concert weekend, Thanksgiving, getting our Christmas Tree with "Uncle" Adam and "Aunt" Kate again like we did last year, Candlelight Concert at UR, Christmas, and my parents coming for a week to visit!!!!!!  So many blessings....such a wonderful time of year!  :)  Happy Fall everyone!!