Exactly one year ago...
Sep. 27th, 2010 11:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
navygreenI had spent the most lovely, happy of days hanging out with my besties and their beautiful, fun children. The only thing missing in my life on that day was my special AnnieMcFranniePants and her little family.
The memories are so vivid, so wonderful, and today, so bittersweet!
Lily, John, Jack, A.J., and Catherine.
Vala's Pumpkin Patch was an annual tradition during our years in Nebraska. We went to the patch each of our eight fall seasons, and it only was better and better each year. Most years, we also went on a separate trip to the smaller Bellevue Berry Farm & Pumpkin Patch as well. Still, Vala's was the big ticket.
This last year, we set out to enjoy everything "one last time," and we made every second count. Heather and her family were moving to New Mexico the next week (which is why we visited Vala's the first weekend it opened in the season), and we were headed to North Dakota two months after. Marissa brought Lily for her first real "Patch experience," and she was just the perfect age to dig in and enjoy. It was an amazing day!
There is no way I can condense this post to just a few pictures, so I'm going to put most everything behind a cut.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
katielovesmatt, this is the place your dreams are made of!
Posed pumpkin pictures.
A.J. and Jack check out the map.
Token artsy picture.
Lily feeds a goat with no fear at all. (Her mama, however was a different story!)
John, Catherine, and Jack fed the goats, too.
Lily is bewitched, and John is SO TALL!
Sweet Marissa and her Lily-Bean.
Jack and A.J. spin the wheel to decide what to do next.
Meanwhile, Johnny plays in pumpkins.
I absolutely LOVE how Heather's face just lights up when she is with Catherine. I'm so glad to have caught this moment!
The Siebert family feeds goats together.
Jack feeds the goats on a ramp while Catherine says goodbye to her goat.
Bye, Billy!
A.J. jumps into a hay pit, and I noticed that it barely comes to his shins anymore... where has my baby gone?
Marissa and Lily high on a windmill, and Lily wasn't the nervous one!
The cutest thing. Lily clung to Philip most of the day, and they walked the path together.
A.J. and John on a tractor. This one makes my heart go flip-flop. ♥
Jack thinks his tractor's sexy!
Catherine 'drives' with Shane, while my boys ride tandem on the slide... of their own accord!
Hay Jumps!
Attack on A.J.!
This time, Philip and Catherine lead the way to the next thing.
Marissa and Lily watch the scarecrow band show.
Then we all rode the train together.
John takes some pictures with Heather's camera... (no, but not that one of me and Philip!)
Girlies on the play train.
Lily and I pumped water duckies in a race.
Then Philip helped her, while A.J. was on the other side, sending the ducks back to Lily.
The corn box was new, and they all worked to bury A.J. in the kernels.
Lily dug corn out of her toes, while Jack was buried in the kernels.
Jack dug i the corn "Scooby-Style."
Jack on the giant, jumping pillow.
He tried to push A.J. down...
But A.J. remained victorious!
The boys rode the horse swings one last time.
Jack poses with the Pumpkin Princess (and his orange soda, of course!)
Milking the cow in the dairy barn.
Jack fills out his caramel apple form with his choices: M&Ms, crushed Oreos, and chocolate chips!
Then he tries to actually eat the thing!
The Mum Maze - another new attraction.
Lined up and watching the Pumpkin Chuckin' Cannon.
The boys play the Apple Slingshot.
Jack and A.J. before entering the corn maze.
We cooled off with snowcones after the long, hot maze, and we watched the pirate skeleton band perform.
The boys shot paintball for the first time.
Goggled Jack (which was ridiculously cute!).
A.J.'s traditional pumpkin picture.
And Jack's picture, too.
We watched one last show: Zander, the Pumpkin-Eating Dragon.
We played a round of Graveyard Golf. (This was indoors, under black lighting.)
The special pumpkins and swan gourds.
Taking a picture under the 'Pumpkin Moon' one last time, on one last year.
*sniffles*
The memories are so vivid, so wonderful, and today, so bittersweet!
Lily, John, Jack, A.J., and Catherine.
Vala's Pumpkin Patch was an annual tradition during our years in Nebraska. We went to the patch each of our eight fall seasons, and it only was better and better each year. Most years, we also went on a separate trip to the smaller Bellevue Berry Farm & Pumpkin Patch as well. Still, Vala's was the big ticket.
This last year, we set out to enjoy everything "one last time," and we made every second count. Heather and her family were moving to New Mexico the next week (which is why we visited Vala's the first weekend it opened in the season), and we were headed to North Dakota two months after. Marissa brought Lily for her first real "Patch experience," and she was just the perfect age to dig in and enjoy. It was an amazing day!
There is no way I can condense this post to just a few pictures, so I'm going to put most everything behind a cut.
katielovesmatt, this is the place your dreams are made of! Posed pumpkin pictures.
A.J. and Jack check out the map.
Token artsy picture.
Lily feeds a goat with no fear at all. (Her mama, however was a different story!)
John, Catherine, and Jack fed the goats, too.
Lily is bewitched, and John is SO TALL!
Sweet Marissa and her Lily-Bean.
Jack and A.J. spin the wheel to decide what to do next.
Meanwhile, Johnny plays in pumpkins.
I absolutely LOVE how Heather's face just lights up when she is with Catherine. I'm so glad to have caught this moment!
The Siebert family feeds goats together.
Jack feeds the goats on a ramp while Catherine says goodbye to her goat.
Bye, Billy!
A.J. jumps into a hay pit, and I noticed that it barely comes to his shins anymore... where has my baby gone?
Marissa and Lily high on a windmill, and Lily wasn't the nervous one!
The cutest thing. Lily clung to Philip most of the day, and they walked the path together.
A.J. and John on a tractor. This one makes my heart go flip-flop. ♥
Jack thinks his tractor's sexy!
Catherine 'drives' with Shane, while my boys ride tandem on the slide... of their own accord!
Hay Jumps!
Attack on A.J.!
This time, Philip and Catherine lead the way to the next thing.
Marissa and Lily watch the scarecrow band show.
Then we all rode the train together.
John takes some pictures with Heather's camera... (no, but not that one of me and Philip!)
Girlies on the play train.
Lily and I pumped water duckies in a race.
Then Philip helped her, while A.J. was on the other side, sending the ducks back to Lily.
The corn box was new, and they all worked to bury A.J. in the kernels.
Lily dug corn out of her toes, while Jack was buried in the kernels.
Jack dug i the corn "Scooby-Style."
Jack on the giant, jumping pillow.
He tried to push A.J. down...
But A.J. remained victorious!
The boys rode the horse swings one last time.
Jack poses with the Pumpkin Princess (and his orange soda, of course!)
Milking the cow in the dairy barn.
Jack fills out his caramel apple form with his choices: M&Ms, crushed Oreos, and chocolate chips!
Then he tries to actually eat the thing!
The Mum Maze - another new attraction.
Lined up and watching the Pumpkin Chuckin' Cannon.
The boys play the Apple Slingshot.
Jack and A.J. before entering the corn maze.
We cooled off with snowcones after the long, hot maze, and we watched the pirate skeleton band perform.
The boys shot paintball for the first time.
Goggled Jack (which was ridiculously cute!).
A.J.'s traditional pumpkin picture.
And Jack's picture, too.
We watched one last show: Zander, the Pumpkin-Eating Dragon.
We played a round of Graveyard Golf. (This was indoors, under black lighting.)
The special pumpkins and swan gourds.
Taking a picture under the 'Pumpkin Moon' one last time, on one last year.
*sniffles*
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no subject
Date: 2010-09-28 05:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-29 03:02 pm (UTC)Wow,that looks like a fantabulous place to go! We have a couple of places like that around here in central IL but I am not sure they are THAT awesome!
I love all of the pictures too;they will for sure provide lasting memories for you,your friends,and the entire family,and thanks so much for sharing them here with us! ♥