Arboretum Fall Festival

I have been wanting to visit the Cedar Valley Arboretum for a long time--especially after seeing some recent blog posts by other blog friends.  It's a bit of a drive, though, so I hadn't made it there yet.  Thanks to a flyer sent home from school, I learned that today was their annual Fall Harvest Festival with all kinds of fun things going on.  Austin was busy tiling, but the kids & I headed there after church.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous.  We enjoyed a packed picnic lunch before exploring the grounds.

Koi pond with waterfall

They had a scarecrow decorating contest with a story book theme.  I didn't take pictures of some of the cool storybook characters.  These were the kids' favorites.

They have a running garden train.  I knew Lincoln would be enthralled. 

There was a little cable car that went back and forth.  It was on a timer,
but Lincoln was convinced that every time he pushed the rock it made the train go.

Lincoln also loved the giant sandbox area.

They had several fun craft stations set up.  Emily made a pinecone birdfeeder, a tissue paper pumpkin and a little leaf person.  She also made a cute scarecrow bag puppet.  Unfortunately, the overly eager volunteer lady pretty much ended up cutting out all the pieces for Emily and even glued most of them on for her.  Um...hello!  Emily was too shy to say anything, so she just played along and made her own scarecrow puppet when she got home (below right).

They had some neat live animals.  I avoided the snakes and tarantulas. :op

 

They had a pioneer village set up with displays and demonstrations.  

The kids each got to turn a crank to make their own rope.

The kids listened to a Little House on the Prairie book.

It was a fantastic (and cheap) way to enjoy a beautiful day.  The grounds themselves are gorgeous.  I didn't even take any pictures of the flowers and trees.  We will definitely be returning next summer!