Brian, Parker, Lincoln, and I met up with some friends and their daughter at Cox Farms in Centreville, Virginia. We thought that if we went during the last week of the Cox Farms Fall Festival, it wouldn’t be as busy. We were wrong. It was busy. At the center of the festival, there was a stage with live music, slides in a range of sizes, fun tunnels, their one-of-a-kind Foamhenge, rope swings, a tractor museum, a corn maze, and more. Before meeting up with our friends Eric and Erika and their family, we went down the six-person slide with people we met while waiting in the long line.
Afterward, we headed over to the apple cider station to help ourselves to free homemade cider and free apples. We enjoyed the weather, and our apples, at a picnic table underneath a pavilion as we waited to catch a glimpse of our friends. They were meeting us at the Kiddie Zone across from where we were sitting.
We spent a fair amount of time in Kiddie Zone letting the children run through the wooden train and play in a sandbox full of corn kernels. There was a height limit for entry so that there was no cause for concern about our children getting trampled by bigger kids. The gingerbread house with a slide seemed to be our littles’ favorite; It took a bit of convincing to get them to leave. Luckily, they all worked up an appetite by running around, and bribing them with kettle corn was easy.
We hadn’t realized the food stands closed so early. Brian ended up running ahead of the group, desperately trying to find the kettle corn that he promised Parker. I mean, how can you go to a fall festival and NOT get kettle corn?! Thankfully, Brian was successful in his mission. We sat on bales of hay and ate our snacks while we watched the “Pumpkin Drop”. That’s where they dropped large pumpkins from a sky-high crane, letting them smash on the ground. The bigger the burst, the louder the cheers. I had no idea that was even a thing. As we headed to the exit, we passed through Cox Farms’ market where we picked up a few small pumpkins.
Erika and I grew up in Centreville where Cox Farms was a regular fixture for us. It was kind of special to have the opportunity to introduce our children to a community staple from back in the day. It’s always a good time when our families get together, especially because our boys genuinely adore Eva, Erika’s daughter. She is a few months younger than Lincoln, but all three children played well together. It was sweet to see my boys be so affectionate with her. It reinforced what I knew about Parker being a good big brother; it let me know that Lincoln would be a good big brother as well. Eric, Erika’s husband, vibes well with Brian so it’s a good time when we all get together: with or without the littles. It was a fun day out with friends and the little ones left exhausted.
L. Bradley 