The Amish, A Baseball Game, and Other Happenings

On Friday afternoon we got to my Aunt's house, just outside of Hershey, PA. Just in time for dinner, might I add. So much for getting there early. Our friends from Baltimore came up that evening and we all slept at my Aunt's house. Thanks so much to them for having all of us!

We had planned to go to the little town where my Aunt and Uncle lived when they first got married to an Amish sale on Saturday morning. My Aunt speculated that it would be good to get going for 7 am. Let me just say that you cannot get 3 kids who are 4 and under and their parents up and going for 7 am. It's not possible. Especially when the youngest is sporting a nice fever (which went for about 3 days and just disappeared) and was up and down all night long. So we actually left just before 10 am. My Aunt claimed that the drive was "about an hour". We wound our way through the wilds of Pennsylvania and I was pretty much convinced she was taking us back to Canada through country roads. It was at least an hour and a half later when we arrived. It was a beautiful spot, though I am not sure there really was a town. More like a couple houses and a schoolhouse. The Amish sale was a benefit for the schoolhouse and the proceeds help pay the teachers, taxes, and other costs. Ingenious! They had several auctions happening: one for plants, one for miscellaneous farming bits, and a large one for quilts that the Amish ladies had made. There were also a few small animals, set up like a petting zoo, which were auctioned off at the end.

And the FOOD! There was so much food. We ended up having roasted chicken legs, large containers of fresh fruit, and freshly made ice cream. The kids even rode the horse who was making the ice cream! (Well, he was powering the contraption that was making it.) Just before we left I bought some fresh donuts. Let me just say that their custard donuts were more custard than donut!

The Amish sale was fun, but much better for older people than the little kids, so we were happy to get going too. At the end of the day, we packed up and headed for Baltimore.

Sunday afternoon we went to a Baysox game. The kids had a blast! They met Dora, got to ride a merry-go-round, and then bounced in a bouncy castle. We had a couple of our other online friends join us there too. It was great to see everyone...maybe someday we'll get to watch the game too!

Braeden with cotton candy:

Xander and Hannah:
Liam "hanging around":
Sarah enjoying her ice cream:

The actual game:
Other than this, we've had some sleep issues (who can blame them, since we've skipped naps, had erratic bedtimes, and slept in many different locations), gone to the DC zoo, and had lots of good time with our friends.