Amish Goodness

On Saturday we drove an hour to the Weaver's Farm and Furniture store in Amish country.  They were having a special semi-annual customer appreciation day with lots of free stuff!  

Quick story.  The Weaver family grew up Amish and joined the LDS church just a couple years ago.  I wish I'd thought to get a picture of Bro Weaver, he still has his beard and looks very much Amish (the Weavers are easy to pick out at Stake Conference).  It was so fun to talk with them.  They have "only" 6 children, but there was another family helping out at the store that day (LDS, not Amish) who had 15 children!  The sister missionaries were there working in the bakery with a daughter of one of the other Amish to LDS converted families (there are 3) who is getting ready to serve her mission in Oklahoma.  Then there was a former senior missionary couple who had come back to visit and help out for the customer appreciation day.  It was a Mormon gathering at an Amish store!  

The kids loved the giant chair out front.

They were handing out fresh homemade pretzels which were unreal!  They were glorious!  Buttery and soft and warm.  Oh my!  

We got to play corn hole (where you toss beanbags into a board with a hole.  I never knew it had a name) and Mike won us a chocolate peanutbutter oatmeal cookie.  Mmm!  Then he also won us a half deli sandwich with his mad basketball skills, which Mike and I ate on the drive home and it was delicious!

The kids didn't win anything, but they didn't care cuz they got free root beer floats.

They also had free kettle corn.  Made in a real kettle! 

We spent a good hour inside the store eating samples (more free food?) and looking at all their beautiful furniture and playing with marble contraptions.  One of our neighbors has a neat marble track of Amish design so I was intent on buying one if I found one.  They had several!

We finally went downstairs to the barn.  Isaac got to make a rope and we got to see a few animals.  Lydia fell in love with this horse.

Evelyn and Bridget got to ride a pony.  Alice would have nothing to do with it.  

We had such a good time!  And here is our marble track!  I actually felt guilty taking it out of the store because so many workers commented "oh, that was my favorite!"  And I imagine many a child loved playing with it there.  Now I am happy to entertain many a child in our own home with it!  I told the kids that not only did we buy it for them to play with, but also for THEIR children to play with as well.  This brings me such joy!  

Ohio Beauty

Mike and I got dolled up to see The King and I in the Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus.  

It was a great show and the old 1928 theatre is absolutely gorgeous!

Spring is gorgeous here.  I knew it would be, but I didn't expect so many gorgeous flowering trees!  The pink tulip trees are so beautiful!  This one is near the elementary school.

And the ornamental pears are stunning with their white flowers.  This isn't a very good picture because I waited too long and most of the petals started falling off.  Imagine it much more white.  And they are everywhere!  This one is on our street.

And I absolutely love dogwoods!  

This is outside Bridget's preschool.  Bridget was feeling too silly to be in the picture, but Alice stood so nicely.  

Spring also brought some surprises.  Look at this crazy dandelion!  The stems grew fused together.

And the little girls and I went to a park and saw this white squirrel!  I thought I was seeing things, but one of the moms said there were several in that park.