Va Va Voom, Va Va Vala's

Having grown up in Omaha, it's easy to feel like I know most everything about the city.   Last week proved me wrong when the munchkins and I ventured to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. Boy, did it take me by surprise!  Let's just say that it far exceeded expectations.

Leaping into the hay bales. It was Girl Scout week, so we got a great discount for dressing in uniform.

Talia's on the go.

Six is old enough to drive a tractor, right?

We liked this purple tractor even better since the color reminded us of NomiAnn and Central High.

Go Central Eagles!

Vala's had trikes for the little tikes...

...and the big ones too!

Cornhuskers everywhere!

Got corn?  Way more fun than ethanol.

These enormous jumping pillows were an absolute riot.

The only challenge was convincing Annika that they were not intended for flips.

Fortunately no one got hurt, but Brooklyn played possum anyway.  Given the flowers in her hair, I may have to dub her Ophelia.

Next stop was the pig races.

Better hold on tight!

The Beverly Hillbillies makeover.

This goat went to great heights to get a closer look at Eli.

Every pumpkin farm needs some giant pumpkins.  Only at Vala's, however, do you have to beware of wandering too far and being splattered by pumpkins being shot from a cannon.

When we added Annie into the picture, it looked like she laid a giant egg.

Guess what we found in the corn maze?  Friends!  Front and center is Talia's classmate, Elena Pospishil.

Just behind was Thomas, Eli's kindergarten BFF.  Apparently the two occasionally hold hands as they walk from the bus to their classroom.  Thomas looks happy as can be in this photo.  His mom, on the other hand, was absolutely terrified at this moment, having lost track of him in the maze.  So scary!

Needless to say, our morning excursion to Vala's quickly turned into an all-day affair.  The kids were plenty happy to substitute the world's largest bag of Kettle Corn for a nutritious lunch.  (The first and last time--even though we didn't even make a dent in the bag, we had some pretty sick tummies after.)

Truth to be told, I think I enjoyed the Big Slide just as much as any of the kids.  Thanks to our combined mass, Annika and I were lightning quick!

A train ride, a hay rack ride, some pumpkin picking, a haunted house, and a tour of the apple barn later, and we were feeling quite worn out and ready to go.  That is, until the kids spied these life-sized lincoln logs.

Lickety split, our engineers were full-speed in action. 

What happens when the offspring of a home builder collaborate with the offspring of an architect?

Lincoln log magic!

In a few weeks, Eli's kindergarten class is headed back to Vala's.  I'm looking forward to tagging along as a chaperone because believe it or not, we never even saw a third of the attractions.  What can I say?  Vala's, you surprised me.