This might be the first summer our family doesn’t get to take a vacation so Tim and I were trying to think of a few fun day trips we can do in between chores. We thought about the Omaha zoo or the Minnesota zoo and even considered St. Louis but after more researching we decided those places would be impossible to do within our 12 hour time frame so…we went to Amish country! Haha! 40 minutes away! I was able to take a vacation day so I loaded up the kids and picked Tim up on the way! Roadtrip!!! Let the fun begin!

Minus the hot weather, no air conditioning in the van and gravel roads which prevented us from rolling down the windows…everyone had a good time! I did question In the beginning, however, just how long this trip would last with Leah and Asher. 

The VERY FIRST store, Leah had shown us a big bag of gumballs she wanted and we told her to just put them back and wait. She walked back to put them away with Skyler and Nathan while Tim, Asher and I continued to browse. As I’m talking I hear something hit the floor and roll…followed by another one and another and then it’s very apparent that somebody had dropped a whole bag of something. For some reason I didn’t even consider it to be my kids and I looked at Tim and said “well that doesn’t sound very good.” Tim looked at me like “duh” and said “that was our kids I guarantee it.” Sure enough, the bag of gumballs had somehow spilled all across the floor…what a way to start the trip! We did later discover the bag did have a slit in it so with Leah carrying it, it must have finally just broken free! Ohhhh the joys of children…but she did get her gumballs after all because we paid for the bag and she was able to chew the few that were left!

Skyler especially enjoyed seeing all of the little children out working or playing in the fields! We also got to visit with a lady who gave us the whole history on one of the Amish families who have ten boys and one little girl! That right there tells me I could not be Amish! 😉 

The shops were great and the little kids were fun to visit with. The lifestyle amazes me with their simplicity yet extremely hard work! 

I was looking forward to some baked goods but unfortunately we did not come across a bakery that was open so we ended up with…a necklace Leah picked out, rock candy for the rest of the kids, homemade noodles for Tim, then virgin coconut oil, a Minnesota Vikings potholder and an Iowa Hawkeyes potholder for myself! Haha, what a combo right?!

   
  

 Those kids were too adorable though not to buy anything from! Probably the reason parents have the kids managing the shops! 

We then hit the Pizza Ranch for lunch…

  
Follwed  by Fontana Park where the kids had fun seeing the animals and painting turtles…as well as leaving their names and drawings on the white board to mark their presence!   

  

  

     

We were able to make it back just in time for chores! It turned out to be a fun little day and thankfully, it is just stairs and inclines where I begin to struggle, and the walking is never bad, so I was able to enjoy the trip without any issues regarding my FM! Not even a skipped heart beat with Skyler driving!!! And no worries mom…the van was stopped while I was pumping gas 😉

  

And now, I do have a request for some prayers as Asher goes to the ear doctor tomorrow for a follow up on his tubes! He continues to have problems with his speech and is still a very loud talker at times. Asher also has a raspy voice so there are concerns that he might have developed some nodules in his throat. Please pray that his tubes are still open and working and that his little “rockstar” voice will be nothing to worry about! 

I will now end with…miss Leah!

Wardrobe change and lipgloss…no better way to work with cattle…