An A-Maize-ing Adventure

I love fall. I love the changing leaves and the crisp morning air. I love pumpkins and apples and funny shaped gourds. I love candy corn, apple cider, hot chocolate and smores. I love camping and hayrides and stories by the campfire. And I especially love fall festivals.

This past weekend we scored discount tickets to Cox Farms, a local fall festival in Centreville, VA. It was by far the best fall festival we have ever been to, both in terms of quality and value. We spent 6 hours there, and our kids still didn't want to leave. Chris and I, on the other hand, were beat. Here's why:

They had lots of animals to pet and feed, like these goats.


This goat was especially friendly.


And this cow even let Jacob try to milk it. Benjy was not interested. (And no, I was not under the cow's butt while they tried this.)


We hung out at the saloon,


until Jacob was arrested, and Benjy was on the lam.










They had straight slides and curvy slides, long slides and short slides, frog slides and dinosaur slides, castle slides and volcano slides, above and below ground slides. So we slid and we slid and we slid. And then we slid some more.



And when we got tired of sliding, we went on a hayride. And even though it was fast and bumpy and incredibly fun, Andrew went to sleep. Apparently I need to install a jolting, erratic speed on his swing for naps. And forget the soft classical music. I'm replacing that with random outbursts of giggles and squeals.


When Andrew woke up, which was just about as soon as the hayride stopped, I passed him off to Chris, and we all set off to make our way through the corn maze, which was really more of fun path cut through a corn field than a maze. I mean, it was pretty much impossible to get lost or lose your kids in it. Believe me, we tried.

Nevertheless, we had tons of fun. Around every bend was a new surprise, like these Mayan ruins. Who'd have ever guessed that these would be in the middle of a cornfield in Virginia? And so well preserved too.


The boys made a giant card house, and Chris narrowly escaped a man eating plant.








But Jacob was the bravest and tamed a wild, plastic crocodile with his cunning smile.


I did finally manage to get lost,


but then my heroic boys swung in, (or in Benjy's case, fell in) and rescued me.










All in all, it was a fabulous way to spend the day, even without Chris's overalls, which are luckily packed away in permanent storage.