Gaver Farms!

Last year, on Columbus day, we took the kids to a fall festival in Mt Airy, MD called Gaver Farms. This place is AMAZING. There is so much to do and it's so much fun! It is totally worth the hour it takes to drive there. I was looking forward to going back there since we drove away last year. Sadly, this Columbus day, it was raining so we had to wait until the following weekend. Also, Chris loves taking the opportunity to work on his photography skills and got some great shots last year. Sadly, I had left the memory card in the computer, so he couldn't take pictures with the camera. :( I did get some pictures with the cell phone to remember our day by though. Here are my favorites.

These slides are my favorite. You sit on a burlap sack and ride down. There are 3 different sets of slides. I'm glad my kids like them because then I have an excuse to ride them a lot. 

Claire loved the slides too. This is another one that goes down a hill.

One of the things I love about this place is that most everything is made up of recycled materials. These swings were new this year and are tractor and horse swings made out of old tires! So cool! 

There are lots of places to play and climb like pirate ships, tractors, trains, etc.

It was hard to pull Maddie away from this one this year. There is flowing water down these boards and lots of rubber duckies you can race down. 

 The kids spent a lot of time in the corn hut this year. It's like a sand pit made out of dried corn.

 There was a gravel pit as well.

Chris and Claire especially enjoyed this thing this year. They have old fashioned wells that draw water from a trough. Pipes sliced in half filled with rubber duckies connect them. You pump the water to get the duckies go to the other side.

They have a free hayride that takes you out to the giant pumpkin patch. They let you off and you get to pick your pumpkin.  The girls loved it!

 They have lots of animals there too including goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys, cows, bunnies, etc. The kids loved feeding the goats their special goat feed. :)

This was one of my favorite things this year. It wasn't open last year when we went. They made these cow seats made of old oil barrels trimmed with a cut garden hose and other materials. They painted them, put on cow faces, and named them, then attached them to a tractor that pulled us around for a ride. It was really cool! The older girls wanted to be with daddy, and Amelia and I went together. So fun!

Another slide, but this one is a tube slice and bumpy.

Claire building a log cabin. They are like giant tinker toys.

We made the mistake of going through the corn maze at the end with the stroller. We got a little lost and it was tricky pushing the stroller through as not all paths were this clear. It was fun at first though!

Our traditional family picture before we left for the day. What a blast!

We left that day with special pumpkins, apple cider donuts, lots of memories, and happy hearts.