Halloween at the Chrysler Museum is one of my favorite things about the holiday. Each year, the staff dress up as works of art and wander the museum so visitors can find them. The costumes are always so creative and this year was no different, with staff dressing as works of contemporary and classical painting, sculpture, even glasswork! Each staff member gets to pick their art piece, and talking to them about how they came up with the concept of their costume is definitely part of the fun (this year's fave: the woman who covered herself in straw and roamed around as one of Monet's haystacks from the Agrarian Ideal exhibit going on now.)

The kids definitely enjoyed the special Halloween hunt, and marking off their finds on the scavenger hunt map (prize: candy) But they also enjoyed just spending time at the expanded play area at the back of the museum, and shuffling through the books, games, and toys there. Note to self: keep this in mind for blustery days this winter.

The Chrysler has some exciting programs for kids and families coming up this month, including Tickle My Ears, on Friday, November 3, and a wild-West themed Free Family Day on Saturday, November 12. More info here.

James's new goal is to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, and he's been doing a section here and a section there when he has the time. This past weekend, Gus, Anouk and I (and some of our friends) joined him for part of one, a hike up to Humpback Rocks in Waynesboro. It's about a three hour drive west on 64, almost to Charlottesville, so we decided to leave after breakfast and pack a lunch to carry up to the rocks with us.

It was a strenuous hike for little legs. Not impossible for a four, five, or six year old to do, but it's going to be a good challenge for them. The hike up to the rocks is only about a mile but it involves basically hiking straight up the side of a mountain, climbing stairs, and then picking your way over rocks. It took us about an hour each way with a 3 year old, two five year olds (and a toddler in a carrier on my back). But there were a lot of interesting things to see on the way -- lichens, fall foliage, caterpillars, caves. And the view from 2643 ft. was spectacular, so worth it.





After we got back down to flat(tish) ground, we walked back to the visitor center and explored the farm museum, a few old houses and grounds recreated from the 1850s. It was especially interesting for me and Anouk because we have been reading Little House on the Prairie lately and there are a lot of descriptions of the house that Pa built the family. We were able to see how the logs were notched and split, how pegs were used instead of nails, and how the walls were chinked with mud. Now when we read we feel like we can see it even better!

Hello, everyone! Today we're going to kick off our return to regular blogging with a recap of the 28th Annual Virginia Children's Festival in Town Point Park that we went to early in October. The festival is not only a wonderful experience in itself but a great way to sample the many kid-friendly vendors and programs around the HRVA area. We have really added to our to-do list after making our way around the many vendor booths and displays that were set up for us to visit.

Some favorites that we're still talking about weeks later: Mad Science and their demonstrations (friction! gravity! hypotheses!), Symphonicity and their instrument petting zoo, and the Hurrah Players singing hits from The School of Rock. We also painted pumpkin ornaments at the Color Me Mine table, crafted with SensoryAbled Kids, and arrrrr-ed with Pirates from the Moody Crewe. We toured the ODU Physics department's real-life science lab, visited the Norfolk Public Library's book mobile, and listened to the Virginia Opera performing Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Sometimes it takes seeing everything your home has to offer all together to make you realize how lucky you are to get to experience it all. We're looking forward to new explorations and adventures.

What have you discovered around these parts lately?

Oh hello! We're busy over here in the watermelon patch soaking up the last few days of summer before school starts (full day kindergarten! sob!). One of the constant on our adventures these past few weeks has been Natibaby Kurpie Chic, courtesy of Marsupial Mamas. Is there anything like linen for summer? I don't think so!

Kurpie Chic is a 25% linen/75% cotton blend which means it is both supportive and breathable -- thin, but never diggy on the shoulders. (In fact, it reminds me a lot of my favorite hemp/cotton blend, Didymos Deep Blue Sea Fish.) It's got good glide, with the passes sliding into place and though I don't feel much microtexture when I rub it between my fingers I have never noticed or worried about things starting to sag. Because of this, I find myself reaching for it when I know I'm going to be outside for a while, being active and not in a position to stop and re-wrap, like on our picnic to Fort Monroe last weekend, where a friend shot these photos.

Kurpie Chic has done great in every carry I've tried it in (from a simple ruck to Maxine's Back Carry to Charlie's Cross Carry), but in my opinion, it shines as the perfect double hammock, as it's got a lot of recoil without being constraining. It's a 6, which is size base -1 for me, but wraps long because of its thinness and moldability -- I find myself being able to do lots of base size carries in it. Very versatile, which is appreciated.

On our picnic it got passed around a bit, and was used on all size babies and even wrapped a bump! I'd recommend it for any wrapper, of any experience level -- it's the perfect all-purpose wrap and would be great in a minimalist stash or as a wrap to last from newborn to toddlerhood. Just be sure you put in the time with it -- Kurpie chic came to me washed and prepped and fairly soft but basically melted the more work I did breaking it in.

Thanks to Marsupial Mamas for letting us play with this beautiful carrier! You can check out their entire selection of Natibaby, including some gorgeous exclusives, here.

A few more from our day of fun:




 Good luck to everybody starting school tomorrow!

From our family to yours! Be safe and have fun, everyone!

To me, summer means stripes and our latest tester wrap from Marsupial Mamas, their exclusive Girasol Titan's Rainbow, is a gorgeous striped beauty that fits the bill. Titan's Rainbow is the sister wrap to Marsupial Mamas' previous Girasol exclusive, Cosmic Rainbow, but with a white weft that makes the colors feel light and airy and fresh while Cosmic Rainbow is darker and moodier. The wrap I tried was a size 6, which for me, is a base -1.

This wrap showed up just as I began to study for the VBE test and it couldn't have arrived at a better time. As I practice and perfect the different carries I need something moldable and easy to work with and this is definitely it. Titan's Rainbow is soft, floppy, flat in hand and thin with very little stretch. Passes glide and lock into place but the wrap is not overly grippy or slippery.

We wore Titan's Rainbow out and about a good amount while we had it. On a hot, 90+-degree day in Colonial Williamsburg it was comfortably airy, and it made a high, long-lasting ruck and supportive one-shoulder hip carry with my 20-pound baby. I did find that if I was going to wear Gus in a back carry for more than 40 minutes or so at a time, sandwiching the shoulders or tying Tibetan made it feel more comfortable on my (admittedly picky) shoulders. It makes a fantastic tight chest pass in double hammock or shepherd's carry, and a small, neat chest belt in pirate's carry with CCCB.




I would recommend Titan's Rainbow for a beginner wrapper (the stripes make it SO easy to keep track of rails), for the parent of a newborn looking for something that can grow with their baby, or for the active caregiver who wants something that can stand up to sun, sand, and water and isn't very pull prone.

Also: epic beach wrap alert! It has those summery stripes, after all.

Thanks to Marsupial Mamas for letting us try this beautiful wrap.