Honey, I've decided we're AMISH!

Well, at least for a day anyway! While in Pennsylvania, we kidnapped my Grandma, my sister and her boys and headed to Cherry Crest Farms for the day! It was a great time. We didn't even buy the extra "Maize Maze" pass and still had so much to do that we had to skip the animal portion of the farm "because we'd all seen animals before!" The farm is located near the Strasburg Railroad so we were even able to catch a few glimpses of a really cool steam engine as it passed. This, of course, brought back memories of going to see Thomas last year and Marshall and Amelia constantly thought the next activity would be riding the train like we did last year!

Movement and activity was the name of the game for the day. We were able to do a few small mazes, put together with hay bales. They were actually puzzles that were very difficult to solve, if you were doing them more than just for the joy of running through. (yes, that's right, I couldn't figure it out!) They also had a rope maze that had the children tethered to a mess of ropes and they had to figure out how to get to the exit. The giant slides were a huge hit and the kids just wore themselves out dragging their burlap sacks all the way up a very steep hill time and time again. I stood at the top and helped the kids lay their sacks down without falling down the slide and Lorry watched from the bottom, so we were able to see them all the time. That of course meant that I was able to take a few rides down myself. I have to admit, I think I giggled the whole way down! I was able to talk Lorry into pretending she was a kid again and joining me in one of the rides. The kids also had fun with an obstacle course, hay jump, pumpkin slinging, a hay tunnel and this gargantuan air filled pillow on which they jumped and jumped till they could jump no more!

The girls put together little Amish dolls. All the sewing is done by local Amish women. The craftsmanship is amazing. The black prayer Kapps are so detailed and precise. There is no way a machine could come close to what these women are able to do. The room they were in looked like a little Amish schoolroom. The woman who was leading them told them about all the different aspects of Amish life and some of the words that they use for everyday things. They had cards with the most commonly used Amish names that the kids could pick for their new babies. Abby ended up with a Rachel and Amelia has an Ava (which by the way means "full of life"). The girls were able to sit at little desks and were given a sample tablet like what the Amish children use to learn to write. They were also able to give knot stitching a try on a quilt in the corner of the room.

The boys all chose to do little wooden trains. We couldn't talk any of them into a little Eli doll! :) They chose their vehicle and then were shown how to use a hammer in an "Amish workshop". They were so excited and tired that it was impossible to get a good picture of any of them.

At the end of the day, they were all tired, filthy and stinky. Just the way kids should be in the summer! (Which I have to admit is unfortunate for the Tux shop.... that's where we headed for fittings when we were done! LOL!!!)

Amelia learning to tie knot stitches

Abby and Rachel

That is one sleepy boy making that train!

Marshall perfecting his shot on the Pumpkin (aka tennis ball) Slinger

Amelia wearing off some of her extra energy!

Not sure why they'd all follow Amelia........

This one's for you, Laura! Our lunch was fresh roasted sweet corn and funnel cake. It couldn't have been better!

Amelia trying to make off with the only train they'd let her drive

Marshall's holding on tight to his favorite cap while going down that loooong slide!

Caleb helping Amelia through the hay maze

This was some sort of game that they were way too busy to learn the rules of, but enjoyed pushing the ball around anyway.