The Orchard Co

Fall is definitely in the air in Ohio!

And for the Hauck family that means hitting up all

the pumpkin patches in the Central Ohio Area (we also do garden centers

and really anywhere that has fall themed decorations). 

This past Sunday we visited a new (to us) pumpkin farm - 

and while it was a bit further away - it was totally awesome!

It was made even more awesome because the Dotson family joined us!

This new fall wonderland was called The Orchard Co - 

and while you can definitely pick apples - we decided to just

go for the fun kids stuff...can't go wrong there!  The ten 

dollar wristband covered nearly everything  - and

was totally worth it in that I brought home a very tired/worn out Max. 

We took the tractors on a pretend spin around the farm while

waiting in line to buy tickets.  Max still loves to "pretend drive"

which is kind of hysterical and almost fell off the seat

while reaching for the clutch. 

The first order of business once we got our wristbands was

bouncing.  Now, this is no ordinary bounce house at The Orchard. 

It's called a bouncing pillow - has no sides - and it safe for both adults

and children. You have to sort of run up the side to get on the top (the sweet spot for jumping)

and by the end - the boys were running around the edges, sliding down and running back up 

and generally just loving life. I have to say it was really fun (and a good work out)!

 

We loved the bouncing pillow so much we went back several times! 

Another super fun activity they had was called the "corn box" - which

is fitting since it's literally a wooden box full of corn kernels. 

Max was hesitant at first and definitely did not like it when the 

corn kernels went in his shoe - but the allure of the tractors/diggers/dumpers 

proved to be too much and he was soon knee deep in kernels himself. 

This corn box would have probably kept them busy for hours...

He loved filling up the bull dozer and then dumping them in the truck. 

At one point Max had to go to the bathroom and Rob took him. 

Upon their return, Rob said that when Max took his pants off

to use the toilet - lots of corn kernels came spilling out too... :)

Later, I found some at the bottom of the washing machine too....

So basically we have enough kernels now to make our own box!

There were also delicious pumpkin donuts too - those 

didn't last long. :)

I didn't feel bad about the donuts though because I'm pretty

sure I burned off all those calories by either the jumping

or racing up this enormous hill. (seen below)

The hill had HUGE tractor/truck tires wedged into the side of it and 

filled with sand.  Max wasted no time climbing up the tires, 

sliding back down the tube at the top and saying "let's do that again"!

He came zooming out the slide and raced right back up the hill

for another go round!

We also made a stop in the animal barn - which had goats, 

pigs, cows, and one bunny (although they had indicated

there was a "bunnyville" activity on the paperwork so maybe 

there were more bunnies at one time?). 

Max still loves to get right down and pet them.

The boys rode the "Moo Town Express" with the dads. 

At first we were going to let Max ride it alone -but thought 

better of it - and Rob ended up saying it was probably a good thing 

because the pasture and orchard were bumpy. And, the tractor

driver did some figure 8's...so it was one wild ride!

We capped off our afternoon with a wagon ride.

The boys enjoyed their snacks (and even shared)! 

We saw some more cows but overall it was pretty chill. 

This was the only time when they were actually sitting sill too!  

We stopped by the pond on our way out - the boys just content to 

gaze out at the water. I could tell Max was getting ready for a nap

(hello yawn city) and so we said our goodbyes and parted ways.

Max fell asleep two seconds into the car ride and 

we made the transfer to his crib seamlessly (which isn't always the case)!

This place was pretty great - and we had such a lovely time with

the Dotson's.  Can't wait for some more fall fun!

xxoo