Ever since I can remember, a family Halloween tradition I have had has been to go to the Pumpkin Patch. Here in Nebraska, the most well known one is Vala’s Pumpkin Patch. This year we decided to buy the season pass. It made sense for us since we planned to go at least 2 times, which by then it pays for itself. Plus, there is so much to do that in order to do it all you have to go more than one day. It essentially is on amusement park status.
We wound up taking our first trip there last Monday after Pickle got out of school. It was seriously the best, least crowded day that I have ever been there. I don’t know about everyone else, but more people is more anxiety for me. It was so nice being able to enjoy everything without worrying about the kids get trampled on or lost.
On the drive to the farm, you can see all the houses decorated with plenty of Halloween decorations. My favorite this year is the pallbearer skeletons, holding a casket, with a mummy jumping out. Then of course, you arrive to the parking lot and drive past all the signs.
Welcome to Vala’s!
My favorite sign that I laugh at every time I see it is this one.
Watch out for those free range kids! 😂
We love everything at Vala’s! One of my personal favorites is the Story Book Village. They recreate scenes from kids books and nursery rhymes. It is pretty cool seeing it and feeling like you are in the story.
Monkey loves all the animals. We saw chickens, rabbits, a horse, a donkey, and goats. We fed some of the goats; one was making noises that sounded like a cow mooing. The kids thought that was hilarious. Chris decided to feed the one that was standing up on a boulder.
Of course, there are always places to stop and take pictures. This one cracks me up as Bug can be seen completley angry.
There are also a handful of “haunted” houses. Chris took the two older kids into this one. I stood there waiting to get their picture as they came out.
Several minutes had passed when all of a sudden they appeared from around the side of the building. Apparently they had to decide between taking the “sleazy” way or the “squeezy” way. They picked the squeezy way and wound up having to squeeze their way through 2 giant air bags. Monkey was not a fan, so they took the chicken exit out.
We did go see Xander the pumpkin eating Dragon. He is always comical, like bad dad joke style. We also stopped by the cookie shop. I had to quickly snap this picture of Pickle actually voluntarily sharing with Monkey.
There are so many little things to stop and see as you are roaming around; old fashioned school house, skeletons doing silly things, live entertainment (magicians and musicians), animated animal characters being silly or singing, and so much more!
We also just HAD to go to the pig races. Monkey demanded that we go see the pigs. Little did we know she would be chosen as a race leader.
I believe she was the yellow leader, but her pig was the smallest and ended up in last place. They also had a duck race at the end, which was funny because they just sort of stopped and had to be chased around to the finish line.
And of course you can’t go to Vala’s without taking an obligatory picture in the giant rocking chair.
That doesn’t even cover everything! We went back again tonight with my whole family. We spent 3 hours there, but it was definitely a lot busier tonight than on a weekday afternoon. We did the “haunted” pumpkin mine and the train ride. I just didn’t get any pictures. We are planning to go at least 2 more times before the season is over.
There is a couple other smaller patches nearby that I would like to check out, too.
Do you have a pumpkin patch? Is it a must for Halloween like it seems to be for everyone in my city? Let me know!
🎃jenn
Reclaiming My Sanity 