Quotes of the Week

 As we seek to purify our lives and look unto Christ in every thought, everything else begins to align.

Over time, it all becomes one work. One joy. One Holy purpose.

It is the work of loving and serving God. It is loving and serving God's children.

Being disciples of Jesus Christ is not just one of many things we do. The Savior is the motivating power behind all that we do.

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Everything good in life--every potential blessing of eternal significance--begins with faith.

--Russell M. Nelson

I pray that we will ever stand in awe of Jesus Christ and His complete, infinite and perfect love.

--Ulisses Soares

Quotes of the Week

 There has never been a time in the history of the world when knowledge of our Savior is more personally vital and relevant to every human soul. The pure doctrine of Christ is powerful. It changes the life of everyone who understands it and seeks to implement it in his or her life.

--Russell M. Nelson

When we are in awe of Jesus Christ and His gospel, we are happier, we have more enthusiasm for God's work, and we recognize the Lord's hand in all things. When we intentionally and truly dedicate ourselves to look unto Him and learn from His perfect example, we come to know him better.

--Ulisses Soares

The gift of agency is not simply the right to choose, it is the opportunity to choose the right.

--Randy D. Funk

If we want the Savior to lift us heavenward, then our commitment to Him and His gospel can't be casual or occasional.

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Quotes of the Week

 Let us be confident, not apologetic, valiant, not timid, faithful, not fearful as we hold up the Lord's light in these last days.

--Jorg Klbingat

Your Heavenly Father has known you for a very long time. You, as His son or daughter, were chosen by Him to come to earth at this precise time, to be a leader in His great work on earth. You were chosen not for your bodily characteristics but for your spiritual attributes, such as bravery, courage, integrity of heart, a thirst for truth, a hunger for wisdom, and a desire to serve others. You developed some of these attributes premortally. Others you can develop here on earth as you persistently seek them.

--Russell M. Nelson

There is no substitute for the time you spend in the scriptures, hearing the Holy Ghost speak directly to you.

--Mark L. Pace

Vala's Pumpkin Patch in Omaha---Better Than Disneyland!

The long-awaited day had arrived for our mini family reunion at Vala's Pumpkin Patch. 

We were sad Ben's family and Rebecca's family were not able to be there with us. All of our children had planned this adventure together, but then two families ended up not being able to go.

We had been watching the weather for Omaha and it looked like it was going to be rainy on our Vala's day. Sarah was going to opt out of the whole trip because of rain. 

Look at the beautiful weather we had all day long at Vala's with not one drop of rain in sight. Sarah would have been horrified to have bailed out only to learn it hadn't rained at all.

This picture was taken with Jonah as our photographer. Notice that he was actually in our photo with us.

I took a lot of photos of the buildings and cute decorations. There was so much to see and do. We were there from when it opened until closing time. 

Now just sit back and enjoy the day at Vala's with us. It was not crowded at all. It was a divine day!!

Even the restrooms were decorated cute.

Everywhere we went, there was something for the grandchildren to do or play on.

We spent a lot of time at the corn pit. The grandchildren loved burying themselves and each other in the corn kernels. 

Abe decided to liven up the corn kernel pit a little more by burying a dollar bill somewhere in the pit.

After much searching in the general area Abe had put the dollar--they all came up empty-handed. Some lucky kid will come across it in the future and will enjoy finding the buried treasure.

This area had some balloon pillows that made for some fun jumping.

We took a seat and waited for the pig racing to begin.

The farmer came out and we did the piggy call and out came the racing pigs. 

After several pig races, out came the ducks doing their waddling race.

There were some great children's play areas.

This was a big sandbox with toy tractors and excavators and bull dozers to move the sand.

On the far side of the pavilion was a musical area.

There was a carousel--visible to the left of the big swing.

Abe bought a bucket of apples to see who could shoot and hit the targets.

Another adorable playground.

The hand-held wands were dipped in soapy water to make gigantic bubbles.

This was a huge playground area.

Lots of fun activities in this area for the older children.

This was a fun obstacle course with a spider web rope in the center.

I just have to say that Vala's is one of my most favorite places on earth in the fall.

Who needs Disneyland when there is Vala's just waiting for family-fun exploration and excitement!!

Thanks for hosting our mini family reunion, Jacob and Laurie. See you next year--same time, same place??