An Amish Farm

Today was our last full day here, so we packed it with all the things we couldn’t get done in the rain the other day.  First we headed to The Amish Village.  It was wonderful!  We started out with a very informative, guided tour through a farmhouse:

An Amish farmhouse.
A child's bedroom.
Just look at those quilts...

Got to meet some lovely farm animals:

This baby cow is only a month old! So cute!
Mr. Ed. Wonder what he has to say...?
A baby goat. Another cutie!

And then the highlight for the girls…the one-room schoolhouse.  They were enchanted!  First they played being students.  Then they took turns being the teacher.  Anna read all the numbers on the number line on the desks.  Carolyn read all the school rules and the lesson plans.  Then they wanted me to be the teacher.  Even better?  There was a bell to ring!  (Thankfully the rope ended at adult height.  Someone planned that well.)

Anna studying her number line.
Carolyn waiting to be set lessons.
Not the most studious of students!
Teacher Carolyn
Teacher Anna

There were lots of buggies outside to take pictures in.  And they were selling bonnets in the gift shop, obviously.  Really, it was a fabulous way to spend the morning, and I’d highly recommend it!

Two girls in a buggy.
...and in another buggy!
Just such a lovely place!

We had a nice lunch and went on a buggy ride.  It was really more of a horse-drawn wagon with a roof, but it went through some incredibly beautiful countryside.  And the girls got to sit up front with the driver and kept everyone entertained with their commentary on all the little white butterflies and the cows in the fields.

A farm and a cornfield on a perfect day.

Unfortunately, the buggy ride went longer than we expected – the horses were tired and couldn’t be coaxed into going very quickly – so we didn’t make it to the pretzel factory tour.  We still stopped there to get some pretzels to eat, though.  We had a wonderful day, and truly enjoyed spending time in this beautiful, peaceful part of the world!

Genesee Country Museum

Our theme this week is “Olden Times”, though most of our week will be spent experiencing that rather than crafting things.

We started today by visiting the Genesee Country Village & Museum, where they were having “Laura Ingalls Wilder Days”.  We only spent the afternoon, but next year we will definitely plan to spend the whole day!  The girls had so much fun!

Not quite authentic prairie dresses...

First, we ran into a friend of mine, Ron, who was demoing dyeing yarn with indigo, cochineal and onion skins, in dye pots over open flames outdoors.  This was in the backyard of a house filled with various spinning wheels and looms.  I quite possibly could have spent the day exploring just this one house!

Ron, in his pioneer garb.
An antique, sure, but I bet it still works!
Makes me want to take up weaving!
Carolyn was going for the old time "pout" in this photo.

Then we went to farmhouse where the girls could make cornhusk dolls.  They were thrilled!  And they spent the remainder of the day playing with them and making up stories for them.

Learning how to make dolls.
Wait, where do the arms go?
Such simple, perfect toys!

We walked a bit further on and got to taste ginger water, and see cheese being made.  Then, after a quick ice cream break, the rain started in earnest.  We ducked under a tent and Carolyn, Denis and Anna all took turns making a tin ornament with a hammer and nail.

Watch those fingers!
Excuse the blurriness...

We dashed to another house and the girls got to try their hands at kneading bread dough.  And then at another they washed some laundry the 19th century way…in the rain, no less!

It's hard work, kneading bread by hand!
Anna was thrilled with this activity!
You never saw two children so eager...
...to do laundry. In the rain, no less!

Finally, we rode the tractor-pulled wagon around the entire village, hit the gift shop, and headed home.  Both girls had a wonderful time today, but Carolyn especially loved seeing how Laura and her family would have lived, worked and played.  I highly, highly recommend this to any Little House fans!

Carolyn in a soggy sunhat.
Anna and Mommy on the wagon.