Weekend Fun - Ohio Style

We had a super fun weekend...packed, but super fun!  

Friday: pizza and a movie at home 

Saturday:  Jeyson biked with friends in the morning while E and I hung out and went grocery shopping.  After lunch we headed out on our big adventure (for a small town area that is!)

First stop was a cheese factory/shop.  There are several of them around the area and they specialize in Swiss and Colby cheeses.  

Pearl is one of the more famous shops in this area.  There wasn't a lot to actually see (you can see them making cheese M-F) but at this counter you can try as many kinds of cheese as you want for free and then you can buy them for pretty good prices.  They have tons of different flavors and blends - smoked cheddar, cheese with bacon bits in it, cheese with caraway seeds, dill, horseradish, etc.  It was tons of fun and sampled lots.  Elijah liked them all including the horseradish swiss!  

We bought a bunch of cheese - though this (real) swiss cheese block was just for the picture

 Then we headed to an Amish petting zoo

Giant horse

Elijah didn't seem to like sitting on the hay...maybe it was itchy?

But he loved petting the animals!

And this little baby goat with only gums loved nibbling on Eli's fingers

And he thought it was lots of fun

Apparently goatees are in style!

 But what made the weekend really memorable was the Amish auction that we went to.  It was actually an auction mainly for Amish people themselves and there were very few non-Amish there.  Seriously...the parking lot (park of it below) had about 50 buggies and 5 cars!  We seemed welcome there and enjoyed homemade Amish ice cream as we watched people bid on baskets and wood projects.  

We also stopped by a Walmart on the way back to our town and this Walmart which is more out in Amish-town even has a special area for horses and buggies to get hitched!

 When we arrived back in our town there happened to be a parade down the main street. We stopped and watched the end of it.  It felt like such a typical American summer moment.  Elijah loved it all, even the marching band and fire trucks.

A plumer who advertising his services with a float of an outhouse and they were throwing toilet paper rolls at people

And a float that was absolutely hilarious. This Presbyterian church had a float complete with a marriage ceremony, a pew of people, baptismal basin and everything!

Sunday we took long naps after church and then headed to the local park for a light hike.  

Lots of family fun.  It was the kind of weekend where we really lived it up yet felt relaxed at the same time.