Another Way of Life!

Yesterday we spent some time with Rick's parents for his Dad's birthday. They have been wanting to take us out to a Mennonite farm community where you can buy fresh vegetables, fresh baked goods and other items. It's about 30 minutes from their house. They have a country store, a bakery, several places to get fresh vegetables, and leather items. The craftsmanship is amazing! I was so taken by their surroundings and how hard they work. I took so many pictures, after asking of course. I wanted to respect them and didn't want to offend them or make them uncomfortable so I always checked first. They were so friendly and accomodating.

They had beautiful farms

Don't know what these are called but thought they were cool. You can see the dust swirling in the photo....yeah, hubby was real happy about that after just getting his truck cleaned! He then knew why Dad wanted him to drive! LOL.

Beautiful flower gardens and well kept yards

Ok, so I have to tell you this.....Rick's parents were buying some corn on the cob (well, they were buying a lot of it because she cans it or something like that???). I told Rick I'd like to buy some corn on the cob. He started laughing and chuckling! I asked him, "Why are you laughing?" He asked me, "Do you know what to do with it?" By this time, Donnie and Peggy were both laughing too. I guess my city-self trying to be country is just not going over too well! I only wanted a dozen or so to have fresh corn on the cob....I wasn't going to be canning! It really was the chuckle of the day!

This was the dinner bell on top of their house.

This is Mom with her 6-year old, Esther. With eight kids I guess you would need a dinner bell on the house! She said she has children ranging from 20 years old all the way down to a 3 year old!

This little darling is the 3 year old. She was so sweet and so cute.

The children were fascinated at having their pictures taken. They never really said anything but they were watching like crazy. And when I would take a picture of one of them, the others would start coming around.

When I was taking pictures, I noticed this little boy went and sat on the tractor. I turned around and nodded my head as if asking if I could take his picture. He just smiled and shook his head yes. After I took the picture, I asked him if he wanted to see and he again, just shook his head yes. I showed him the display on my camera and the biggest smile came across his face. Then I showed the others their pictures and they were fascinated.

This little one was so sweet and polite. I caught her leaning against the tree and couldn't resist.

This was their little store called "Country Pantry"

This was the Tack Store.....had some amazing craftmanship.

This was the bakery. When you walk in you gain 5 lbs just by going through the door! The smell is amazing. They have fresh baked goods along with jams and preserves.

After our little trip to the country, Donnie & Peggy wanted to take us to lunch for Rick's birthday which is Friday. Since Rick and his dad both are celebrating their birthdays this week, they brought the biggest mountain of chocolate cake and ice cream! It was so rich, I had one bite and was done! Don't get me wrong....it was delish but would knock your eyeballs out if you ate too much.

Here's the two birthday boys! Exactly 20 years apart, almost to the day!

We had such a great day. It was a lot of fun and quite an experience. Just seeing people who live a completely different life and yet are so happy and content was very refreshing.

Sorry for the long post but you know me and my pictures! Have a great day!