Gaver Farms!!!

I LOVE 3 day weekends. I wish all weekends were 3 day weekends. Then I don't have to decide between work and fun. Saturday can be a work day, Sunday is the day of rest, and Monday can be devoted to fun family time! That is exactly what we did Columbus Day weekend. On that Monday, we searched for a fall festival/ farm like place we could go to. I had been looking forward to that day for weeks! Before we went, I did a lot of research online for a cool, affordable place we could go. It turns out, a lot of places were only open on weekends and weren't clear if there was an exception for Columbus Day. Other places were crazy expensive. After looking at a lot of different places, we decided to go to Gaver Farms in Mt. Airy, MD. It was a little under an hour away, but from what I saw, it looked like it was worth it.

  I had no idea how awesome this place was going to be. On the website, it had a ridiculously long list of attractions. I just thought they were really making minute things a big deal. Man, was I wrong. I couldn't believe all there was to do at this place! Here is their list of activities:

5-acre Corn Maze, Kiddie Corn Maze, Farm Animal Arena – 12 different farm animals! Meet and feed our farm friends!, Jumping Pillow, Kid Korner- Meet the baby goats!, Corn Crib, Straw Bale Maze, Kid’s Tricycle 200, Bale Roping, Pedal Kart Track, The Sand Pit, Double Barrel Slide, Gaver Farm Express Train, Straw Jumping, 3 Pumpkin Pitch, Back Woods Fun Park Slide, Tractor & Wagon Slide, Straw Tunnel, Spider Web, Corn Toss Game, Stuck in the Mud, Straw Mountain, Pirate Ship, Cow Train, Tire Playground, Play Tractors, Gravel Yard, Corn Cave, Duck Deck- Feed the ducks on the pond!, Corn Hole, White Lightening Maze, Obstacle Course, Build-A-Log-Home, Rubber Ducky Races.

When we first got there, this is what I saw:

Obstacle course, wooden train, jumping pillow, big slide, corn maze, etc.

The giant jumping pillow (like a trampoline.) It's one of the biggest attractions, but the kids didn't really like it.

 I was pretty excited. This place looked cool. I went back to the car to feed Amelia, and when I came back, I realized that there was MUCH more beyond the corn maze. The corn maze was so huge, that my eyes just didn't go beyond that, but about 3/4 of the attractions are next to or behind the corn maze! There was so much to do!

We were there for about four hours minus the time it took for us to get lunch. If it weren't for avoiding traffic on the way home and getting Claire to her dance lessons, I could have happily played for a couple more hours. There was so much to do and see, we had to convince the kids to move on from an activity after they did it for a while. Their favorite activities were the wooden train 

the sand pit

corn crib (like a sand pit but made out of corn instead)

the duck races. There were two kinds - one that had water flow from the water tower, and one that were pushed along with old fashion well pumps.

And the slides. Man how I, I mean they, no really I mean I LOVED the slides. These were the most awesome slides EVER. They are kind of like the ones they have at the fair that I can never let myself (or my kid) pay 3 tickets for a 10 second (if you're lucky) ride. And they had THREE of them! Claire LOVED going down them, and I'm glad she did because then I could go down them more too. Maddie? Well, she was pretty freaked out by them, but Chris loved them too. And since Amelia was strapped on to me in the sling, she got to ride down them too. (I'm not sure how she felt about it, but she had no reaction, which is a little surprising because they were really quite thrilling.) Who knew a slide could be so awesome, right? There were two slides that were open, and one that was a tunnel. All were equally thrilling. (Forgive the plethora of pictures, but I'm trying to show you how awesome they were!)

Chris's view before he went down the slide. Cool, eh?

"Did you like that, Amelia? Oh, you're still sleeping?" Haha.

Maddie didn't want to be left at the top, so came with me.

That look on her face says it all. Not a fan.

On top of all of these awesome activities, they even had free hay rides that took you out to this huge pumpkin patch where you could pick your own pumpkin. I hadn't been on a hay ride since before Claire was born. It was so fun, and the girls each picked out a little pumpkin that they later painted. 

As you can see, they have a tree farm there too.

The animals!

This turkey may look calm now, but when Maddie was excitedly saying hello to him, he pecked at her and totally freaked her out! Thankfully, he didn't get her, but she was pretty scared and didn't go near him again!

"Like my smile?"

There were probably a dozen different kinds of mazes - corn, hay bales, orange fencing, burlap sac, and so many more.

There were so many things they loved doing that day. Most of all, they loved being outside, enjoying the warm fall day, climbing, playing, exploring, and having fun together as a family! We will definitely have to go back next year!

"MOOOOO!!!!" says Claire.