Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Fall Weekend Fun

This past weekend my mom came to town to visit. Chris played in a member/guest golf tournament all weekend so I made a special request for my mom to come to town for some extra help with the little man and to have some fun too!

We had picture perfect weather and enjoyed our time together. On Friday I took my mom to Carter's school so she could see where he spends his days. We were able to go to his classroom and watch him finish his lunch before settling down for quiet time. After school let out she got to meet his teacher which meant a lot to her. The rest of the afternoon we just laid low and Brandon came over to join us for dinner that evening.

On Saturday we got up and went to a Touch-a-Truck event at a local elementary school. Many schools host these types of events throughout the year and they're a lot of fun, especially for little boys who are obsessed with trucks, cars and buses! This particular one had a fire truck, ambulance, city bus, tow truck and a Dominion Power truck. The kids were allowed to climb all over the trucks, honk the horn, and run around until their hearts were content. Carter's favorites were the ambulance and the city bus. One of his favorite things to do these says is sit in the driver's seat of one of our cars and pretend to drive. He likes to change the radio, honk the horn, pull the visor down and look at himself in the mirror, all the things he sees his mom do on a regular basis, ha! So as you can imagine how much fun he had.
Taking the Traverse out for a spin

Touch-a-Truck at Belle View Elementary School

Afterwards we headed to the Del Ray neighborhood for Art on the Avenue. It's a large art festival that that is held annually the first Saturday of October. They close Mt. Vernon Avenue and line the streets with over 300 artists (jewelers – silversmith & beaders, woodworkers, pottery makers, soap crafters, glass makers, unique painters, sculptures, fabric artists), musicians, a petting zoo, face painting, games for kids and food vendors. We had a great time strolling up and down the avenue and taking in all the sights.

A visit from mom isn't complete without a trip to Guapo's so we headed there for dinner Saturday night. We learned upon our arrival that Oktoberfest was taking place in Shirlington that day and not only were the restaurants slammed but there were drunk people stumbling around everywhere! Luckily we got a table quickly and Carter was provided with quite the entertainment.
Yay for Guapo's! 

On Sunday we got up early and hit the road to Homestead Farm in Poolesville, MD. It's about a 45 minute gorgeous drive from DC. I love to drive along the GW Parkway this time of year. The leaves are starting to change colors and you feel like you're in the mountains. The majority of the drive is down back roads in MD and it was really beautiful. Upon our arrival we took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch to pick the perfect pumpkin. Carter wasn't a big fan of the hayride. It was very bumpy so he was very hesitant the entire ride. I also decided to put him in a cute vest; however, he absolutely hated it. I can't figure it out because he'll wear a jacket without any problem but the second I put him in his puffy vest he unzips it and pulls it off. So of course it was a battle of the vest half of the time we were in the pumpkin patch.
Searching for the perfect pumpkin!
After our hayride we put Carter in one of the wheel barrows and off we went into the apple orchards. They still had a lot of apples to choose from and it was a lot of fun. Carter enjoyed running around and sampling an apple or two while mom and I did all of the work. Who wouldn't want to go apple picking when they get pulled around like this?
Nothing better than a sweet, crisp apple!

Gigi got her workout for the day
Cutest little apple picker I've ever seen!

I highly recommend visiting Homestead Farm if you live in the area. My advice is to go first thing in the morning because it gets very crowded. When you arrive immediately grab a wheel barrow because they only have about 40 in stock and they go very quickly! People will stalk you for one when they realize you're headed to your car. Hayrides are offered on Saturday and Sunday from 9:30a.m.- 4:30p.m. and tickets are $3 per person. They currently have Aztec, Fuji and Enterprise apples to pick.They also have a market with the following items for sale: pumpkins, fall squash, apples, tomatoes, vegetables, local honey and preserves.

We were sad to see mom leave Sunday afternoon but we had a great visit while she was here. As I've said before, as much as I love the spring and summer there is something about this time of year that is the best!

Happy Fall ya'll!