The Annual Family Pumpkin Carving

Did You Actually Think I was Finished with the Halloween Activities?

Photos from the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring Great Pumpkin Festival.  These different costumes courtesy of our lovely and generous cousins in Long Island.  Our buddies Jackson, Gavin and Zoey were there to have fun too.  It was a mad-house but worth it!

Pumpkin Girl

Fall Sunshine

On this beautiful fall day, we headed over to the Discovery Center at Murfree Spring for a pumpkin storytime.  The girls got to make some adorable pumpkin art before exploring the center's new young child area.  While the older area had one playhouse and a tree, now there are all kinds of "shops" for the kids to explore as well as a padded shape area that is closed off completely for the under two sect.  Very nice!  The pumpkin muffins were an added bonus for the girls before we set out to explore the wetland trails.  Who knew that leaves could be so much fun?  Who needs toys when we have seasons?

 

And the Halloween Festivities Continue...

We went Trick or Treating at Belle Meade Plantation today.  They had candy pick-up points all over the premises in addition to a cupcake walk, other games, and a costume contest.  Noelle won third place in her category of children ages 0-2!  Fun, fun fun!

Spooky Zoo Night and Day of the Dead

We have kept very busy lately with some spooky fall activities.  On Friday night, our family, and friend Jen went to the Nashville Zoo's spooky Halloween Event known as "Ghouls in Grassmere."  We were very impressed with a multitude of fun-yet-not-scary Halloween games, crafts, and activities.  The girls liked the haunted hayride where we saw all sorts of creepy creatures and spooky scenery.  This ride may have been scarier if we waited until dark so I am very glad we chose to do it early!  After that we walked through the Gypsy maze, participated in the costume parade, and trick or treated all the way around the zoo.  The whole set up was a lot grander in scale than I had anticipated and I was very impressed with all that it had to offer.

On Saturday we went over to Cheekwood for their Day of the Dead Festival.  This was another event very well done and I can't wait to go back next year.  There were lots of venders selling Mexican art and food, countless crafts, a puppet show, various mariachi and Inca musical groups, and teenagers from different high schools competing to make the most beautiful Dia De Los Muertos chalk art design.  The girls came home with their bellies full of quesadillas and their bags full of skeleton crafts,  We are a bit tuckered this evening but we have made some incredible memories in the last few days!

Even More Radnor Lake!

We just can't get enough of gorgous Radnor Lake and since we had my great old roomie Jen in town, we decided to sign up for their "Fall Harvest" hike. It turns out it was basically us, a nice older man, and the ranger. Basically, we had our own nature expert tour us around the lake! The girls hunted for all kinds of twigs, leaves, and acorns that poor Miss Jen agreed to carry for them. The ranger showed us some great plants and trees including the black walnut, wild persimin, duck weed, papaw, and hickory. We also were fortunate to see a flock of wild turkey munching on acorns, a fuzzy caterpillar, deer, and a very cool centipede. Natalie made it all around the lake without being carried even once (2.6 miles). Noelle was carried briefly against her will since she wanted to dig in the dirt with a stick instead of walk! Hopefully with all of our many trips to Radnor, we are planting seeds for a life long passion for nature in the girls.

Music and Molasses Festival with Mimi and Poppa

Since my parents have come to town for a few days, I decided that nothing says "Tennessee" like a country festival. They had just the ticket at the Tennessee Agricultural Center. The girls were in heaven. There were goats to feed, a "Farmer for a Day" activity area where they gathered eggs, painted the barns, filled the pig trough with feed, and saddled up on a barrel horse. The festival was filled with venders selling all different products from molasses to jewelry. Bands played fiddles, and a couple dressed in bonnets and overalls fried up cornbread to accommdate some delicious campfire stew. All the fun almost caused us to forget that we were freezing to death during a fall cold spell! According to the girls, the best part was some good old fashioned apple bobbing. Apples were tied to strings and hung on a tree. The girls had to attempt to bite the apple without using their hands. It was hilarious watching them try. Natalie swung her head around while following the apple with her eyes, her mouth wide open. She eventually pulled a fast one and caught the apple between her shoulder and her chin before biting it. Noelle on the other hand, ignore the rules entirely, grabbed the apple in her two tiny hands and ripped right into it! I can't say enough about how much we have been enjoying all the festivals around here. Nashville is such a perfect place for children!

Radnor Lake Autumn Stroll

Today I took the girls to Radnor Lake to hike around and see the animals. We were very excited that our good friends could come with us. While the fall colors still have yet to really pop, it was a gorgous day. It is becoming a tradition that Noelle spots a deer, yells "DEE-YAH!" at it and bolts for it at top speed. Somehow, deer don't like hanging around us for long. This happened nearly as soon as we stepped on the trail. Later on, our friends spotted another deer and we got some good pictures before Noelle caught wind of what was going on. We probably walked about a mile total before heading over to Warner Park for some additional play time. It is so refreshing to have places like Radnor Lake and Warner Park to bring the children. They really love the chance to run and explore the natural world.