Out and About on a Friday

This was one of our "outside" days .... and the gorgeous weather helped make it even nicer.  First, down to Orange for a drawing class for Lego Maniac and String Bean.  BamBam and I enjoyed walking around the historic town ... and enjoying "to die for" cinnamon rolls at "Not Just Desserts" while waiting for the kiddoes. 

Then, it was off to Montpelier to celebrate Constitution Day and enjoy the afternoon with some wonderful homeschool families (incl one who was celebrating his birthday a few days early). 

After almost two hours of the boys running ... and running ... and running and the girls and moms chatting away, we headed over to visit our newest family member -- Max.  Max is 7 weeks old today and will be coming home a week from Sunday.  We're all (except maybe dh) really excited ...

Isn't just sweet?  And he's the second smallest in the litter and just a charmer! 

Hope your day was just as wonderfully active! 

Field Trip: James Madison's Montpelier

Today is James Madison's 259th birthday.  We know that because they celebrate at his home (and later retirement spot) with a special wreath-laying ceremony by representatives of the US Marine Corps (who knew that the USMC considers Madison their "father") at his grave and allow free admission to his home and gardens.  Which is great for us as it would cost $40 for the kids and I to go see this wonderful spot of American History!

Not only was James Madison our 4th president, he was the one who wrote the United States Constitution.  But he didn't just slap words on paper -- Mr. Madison spent the year before the conference, studying other past republics and non-monarchies to figure out WHY they failed and thus prevent our "great experiment" from failing .... and some two hundred twenty-three years later, we're still going strong!

It was a glorious Spring day down in Orange County, VA ... a strong breeze was slowly blowing the clouds away and you could see the Blue Ridge from the front porch of Montpelier ...

The original house (where the Madisons moved to when James was 13 or so) was smaller than what you'll see today.  Here, you can see the extensions that James Madison put onto Montpelier while he was President -- he and Dolley MUCH preferred entertaining down here than up in stuffy Washington at the new White House -- their guests concurred and there were always anywhere from 25-200 people "visiting".

The kids had a blast getting to know the Madisons ....

exploring the grounds ... including "Mr. Madison's Temple" -- 30 feet below this structure was the Madison "refrigerator" where ice from the nearby river kept food cold all summer long ...

we were also able to see the Archaeology Lab, where the kids could look at artifacts already tagged, bits and pieces still being identified and even practice at a "real" dig.  VERY cool!

We were sorry to end our tour ... although the kids were pretty hungry by then so willingly allowed mom one last look at the Kitchens before heading for lunch!

BTW, James Madison's mother, always called "Mother Madison" or "the old lady" .... always had by her side: her Bible, her prayer book, and her KNITTING!  (On top of that, she had 12 kids and homeschooled them all through what we would call middle school, if not beyond.)  I need to find out more about this woman!

On our way home (Montpelier is only 30 minutes from home ... pretty darn cool!), we stopped at our public library to drop off/pick up books and guess what -- I won a coffee/tea lovers basket for an adult reading program .... the end to a perfect outing!

Field Trip: Traditional County Fair

We've been doing Vacation Bible School all week at our parish -- and the kids are loving it; it's 8:45-12:30 every day and I'm exhausted when I get home as I'm helping in the preK-K room (with kids from 3-6 years old!). By the time we get home, eat lunch, and I work with String Bean on her spelling/reading, I'm ready for an early dinner and an early bedtime.

But today was different ...

We got home from VBS, ate quickly, and jumped into the van and headed down to Montpelier and the Orange County Fair. This year's theme is "We've got a good thing growing" and they definitely do. We spent almost five hours there and it was DEFINITELY worth the trip down.

This is one of those authentic, old-fashioned fairs with lots of agriculture ... including tractors and other farm equipment in every size and shape and color (orange Kubotas for Uncle Noah and blue New Hollands for dad)...
animals of every shape and size ...

from a one week old Jersey ... to a long-horn steer that was not much older ...
rabbits (for sale, of course!) but no, we didn't add any to our menagerie (yet!)...
alpacas from Peru that had just been shorn. These guys gave their lovely hair for spinning into even more gorgeous yarn (but at $20/skein, I didn't succumb to the yarn's siren song!).
... and many types of String Bean's favorite, goats! There was even a breed we'd never seen before: LaMancha goats that don't have outer ears but give wonderful milk. Odd looking but beautiful in their own way.

We spent lots of time talking to a wonderful, elderly man explain about bees and beekeeping and honey. It was fascinating ... nothing quite like talking to someone passionate about a hobby-turned-sideline. This guy was so patient with our goofy questions and didn't mind BamBam going off and coming back and interrupting and generally soaking up only so much for a six-year-old.

We had such a great time going through the judged exhibits ... with the kids (and me) thinking about all the events we can enter next year including: lego building, painting and sketching, photography, crafts, gardening and (of course) knitting and other fiber crafts. We can't wait!

After a traditional fair dinner of corn-dogs, Carolina barbeque pork, and apple slices with caramel, we attended some of the events including:
Hogway Speedway -- pet pigs trained to race with names like Hammy Hamlin and Piggy Gordon (#24, of course). It was great.
A fabulous magician show ended our evening, with String Bean assisting for one of the tricks ... this guy (and his real assistant) did some pretty amazing tricks that amazed all ages.

I didn't get a picture of it, but the kids joined in the bubble-blowing contest, but only got "participant ribbons" but lots of great memories. This was such a wonderful fair ... complete with all but those nasty midway rides/games that are overpriced and run by those raunchy roustabouts!

One thing's for sure: we've got a good thing growing ... here in Orange County!