Sam Invades Galaxyland

Yesterday, we woke up bright and early and, armed with a shopping list and a hyper toddler, we hit the West Edmonton Mall. After killing some time at Zeller's waiting for the rest of the mall to open (yes, we were there that early!), Natasha and Rachel headed off to do some shopping, while Sam and Dave headed for Galaxyland, the amusement park at the West Edmonton Mall. (Note: for anyone who hasn't visited the mall, you will find that you can insert pretty much any noun into the phrase "the _____________ at the West Edmonton Mall" and not be disappointed.)

On our way there, we happened across the sort of coin-operated "rides" that populate pretty much every mall and, after a bit of initial interest in the bulldozer...

...Sam decided to head off for the main event!

Once we got to Galaxyland, Sam was very excited about the rides where he got to ride on a vehicle of some kind. First, he got to "drive" the fire truck. The strange camera angle is a result of my having to ride along with Sam, because the ride attendant decided Sam was too little to go on his own.

But the highlight was getting to ride the motorcycle all by himself! As you can see, he was pretty excited about this!

Then, it was off to the ball pit/play structure part of Galaxyland.

Sam had a great time playing in the ball pits, and only occasionally tossed the balls out of the pit!

He also had fun climbing up and down the three-story play structure. Note the feet-first method of going down the soft stairs.

Finally, he spent a long while in a smaller ball pit, which he had all to himself.

All in all, it was a great way to spend a morning at the mall :)